'Rosemary and Time' selected as play for New Play Initiative 2019

This year will mark the fourth year for The New Play Initiative in the department of theatre at Ball State. Emma Rund was selected as this year's playwright. Department of Theatre, Photo courtesy
This year will mark the fourth year for The New Play Initiative in the department of theatre at Ball State. Emma Rund was selected as this year's playwright. Department of Theatre, Photo courtesy

When: 7:30 p.m. April 9-13 and 2:30 p.m. April 13 and 14

Where: Cave Studio Theatre. 

Tickets are $6 and can be purchased online or at the box office. 

For a year and a half, senior playwright Emma Rund has been writing and rewriting what she called her masterpiece, “Rosemary and Time.” 

With “breathtaking plot twists and stunning technical elements,” Rund said she hopes all audience members are able to find an aspect of the play they truly enjoy. 

“Rosemary and Time” is part of the annual New Play Initiative, where student written plays are submitted and one is selected to be developed throughout the semester as a combined collaboration of a playwright, director, dramaturg and actors.

As a family drama set, “Rosemary and Time” features 56-year-old Rosemary who has Alzheimer’s but is trying to prepare Thanksgiving dinner. 

“This is a play about holding on to things and learning to let go,” Rund said. 

While on the surface the play may seem straightforward, Rund said she has included many plot twists audience members won’t expect. 

“To me, the play is heartfelt, disorienting and sentimental,” Rund said. 

Erika Ziner, a junior and the director of “Rosemary and Time,” said she chose to take on this play because she felt a deep connection with Rosemary’s character.

“This past year, I struggled with my mental health,” Ziner said. “It’s hard to give up control, especially when you can’t take care of yourself. You have to let people do what they need to do to take care of you.”

Ziner also said people are likely to relate to the situations within “Rosemary and Time” more than they think because they have probably witnessed loved ones going through mental deterioration like Rosemary does.

“This play is a chance for a story to be heard that we don’t hear very often or even acknowledge most of the time,” Ziner said. 

For Rund, “Rosemary and Time” was the sixth full-length play she has written, but for Ziner, this will be the first full-length play she has directed. 

To prepare, Ziner said she “ripped the play apart and dove into certain parts of it” in order to study what realistic actions or responses would look like. 

“The hardest part [of directing my first full-length play] has been getting things going,” Ziner said. “It has been completely up to me to reach out to everyone and coordinate all of the groups. But I think this play has turned out compelling, heartbreaking and vulnerable.”

Contact Katie Lucchetti with comments at kelucchetti@bsu.edu

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