Standing next to his identical twin, it was easy to tell which of the brothers was Justin Swader by the huge grin on his face and the shower of compliments from every direction. The small hallway outside the Cave theatre bustled with excited cast and crew members, as the senior directing and theatre design and production major's debut night as a director came to a close. All 41 theatre seats were sold out for last night's premiere of "The Thugs."
"It went really well. It's the best run we've done," said Macie Tonn, a junior acting major who played the role of Dianne. "Life wasn't in the way and we were just enjoying the moment."
Cast members accredited the successful performance to Swader.
"Working with Justin is probably one of the greatest things I've gotten to experience," senior musical theatre major Alexandria Van Paris said. "Justin is really good at connecting all the dots and making the show a complete show and not just a bunch of scenes that look good."
Rehearsing for four and a half hours, five days a week for the past month, the cast and crew were relieved to see the production come together.
"It was so nice to sit back tonight," Swader said. "It was so much fun to see it with an audience."
When Swader read the script by Adam Brock two years ago, he knew he wanted to direct this play someday. For most plays "um", "yeah" and interruptions are kept out of the script, but for "The Thugs," those awkward phrases make up the story.
"Sentences abruptly end. People talk in fragments. It's been a fun challenge to make it really realistic and naturalistic," Swader said.
The basic premise of the play is a group of temps working in an office, who begin to hear rumors and try to uncover the secrets of the office.
"I hope they leave feeling completely different then they felt coming in. It's a weird quirky little show," Swader said. "It's a great mix of characters, people that most playwrights don't write about because they are so quirky and just sort of mundane."
Other directors may have overlooked the subtleties of the play, but Swader and his eight-person cast have paid attention to the details since they began rehearsing.
"We didn't even do a read through before we started rehearsals because we just wanted it to be really organic," Swader said. "We just dove right in and I really think that helped them take ownership of the choices they were making. It just made the entire process collaborative."
In order to enhance the mood of the play, Swader has even made changes to the theatre itself. He set the space up so the seats surround the outside, making the audience feel trapped in the office. Ball State donated florescent lighting to add to the mundane effect.
For Swader, the design was what he is accustomed to, but the directing was new.
"It has been fun to do something different and work on that side of the storytelling, really getting in and establishing the whole world," Swader said. "I guess as a theatre person I am always watching people's quirks and mannerisms. I feel like I've gotten to put a lot of that stuff into these characters."
In the script the personal stories are implied, but most of the background for the plot is left up to the audience's interpretation.
"I'm excited to see how the audience handles that because you kind of leave still going ‘what?' and ‘who?'" Van Paris said.
For sophomore acting major Taylor Del Vecchio, working out the story behind his character, Bart, was a challenge.
"He's homosexual, which is a difference [from me]. There's a trap to playing a stereotype," Del Vecchio said. "It's said in the text, it doesn't change who you are. It's difficult not to play a stereotype. I try to treat him as if his sexual orientation doesn't matter."
Identical twin brother Christopher Swader, who also directed his first play, "The Receptionist" last semester, offered his support during opening night.
"We're both really supportive of each other. He should be so proud," Christopher Swader said. "Both shows are so odd and so complicated."
Check out "The Thugs" at the Cave Theatre tonight through February 18 at 7:30 p.m., and February 18 and 19 at 2:30 p.m.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
