The UDM Theatre Company and the Digital Media Studies Program collaborated on a short comedy production called “Check Please.”
It wasn’t the first time The Theatre Company has teamed up with the Digital Media Studies program. A couple years ago the two programs collaborated on the production of “Autobon.”
In “Autobon” and most recently “Check Please,” projections were used in conjunction with the productions.
“I found this great play,” said director Andrew Papa. “It’s only about 20 minutes long. It’s just tables and chairs, and because of the simplicity of it, it allowed there to be a very creative means for the Digital Media Studies program to design things around (the set).”
Papa collaborated with UDM's Claudia Bernasconi, the architecture installations director in the production.
The short comedy was written by Jonathan Rand, and performed in UDM's Grounds Coffeehaus March 31 and April 1.
“The dating world nowadays is very different then it was, even 20 years ago,” said Papa. “We’re so much more reliant on technology in order to find people face to face and communicate to at all. And what that technology can do is it can create this kind of absurd world where people don’t listen – or sometimes people say that they’re one type of person, and they show up and they’re a totally different person.”
Interviewed days before their performance, UDM theatre majors Bridget Smith and Deshawn King are among the cast members in the play.
“It’s a comedy about a guy and a girl who are at least separately pretty normal, who go on a collection of horrible dates,” said Smith.
Theatre and digital media students said the collaboration on such projects benefits UDM.
“Getting to know different kinds of students is good because you kind of get isolated in your own school, so with us it’s good to get to know theatre students,” said senior MBA major Kylie Birney, one of the students responsible for creating projections for some scenes.
Added Smith: “It’s been a lot of fun working with everybody, getting to know the other people. It’s a good opportunity to another extracurricular, that’s hands-on and a lot of fun.”
