The Cavalier Daily
Serving the University Community Since 1890

'Spring' ideas deserve better funding

THE FREAKS came out three different nights this past weekend and they put on three student-written one-act plays. "Wrights of Spring," the contest which gave life to these three plays, offered definitive proof of the existence of a University subculture and of that subculture's penchant for quick creativity.

The sets weren't elaborate, the costumes were pretty plain and the acting was raw at best. But the writing was good and, really, that was the point of the whole thing anyway. Anyone with enough money and the proper training can put on a Tennessee Williams play without completely ruining it. Few are able to sit down with a pen and a pad and spawn a coherent, if short, statement on the younger generation. Three members of the University community did it without much fanfare and without any glory.

They did, however, receive $100 each for winning the "Wrights of Spring" contest. It's depressing that the contest organizers felt the need to offer a paltry monetary reward for creative thought. The name of the competition should have been, "Who Wants to be a Poor Playwright." They could have pitted authors against each other in a "pen duel" -- the last three standing get $100 and a play. In a personal interview, contest organizer Emily Swallow said that the winners "could use that money to write plays or buy a lot of ice cream." But the writing was good and, really, that was the point of the whole thing anyway.

Perhaps the best part about "Wrights of Spring" is that it has no clear-cut agenda. Cavalier Daily columns usually are written to influence students' ideologies. The Virginia Advocate appears to be published so that fascism and religion can gain popularity. Unless the agenda of "Wrights of Spring" is to create gay smokers, it has no agenda. Such unselfish acts are rare at a University where every squirrel is looking for the biggest nut. The existence of such acts should be lauded.

They also should be subsidized. Despite the possibility of fouling art with the rancid stench of money, the fact remains that art isn't always cheap. While the "back to basics" sets and costumes added a certain intimacy to the production, they may have left some of the squirrels in the audience looking for a shinier nut. Additionally, the show's inability to take Art$ Dollars may have left some of the students looking for art elsewhere -- perhaps in the parking lot outside of Helms Theater.

Contest organizer Emily Swallow said, "We wanted to provide an opportunity for undergraduate plays to be produced in a quality manner." This goal was met. Maybe the goal next time should include putting these grassroots plays on in an extremely quality manner. That, unfortunately, requires greater funding and Swallow even pointed out that one of the criteria of play selection was "would we be able to put this on with a limited budget?" That's not good.

The writing wasn't done by three drama majors stuck in drama-induced comas either. According to Swallow, two of the authors are not drama majors. Drama "people" have plenty of opportunities to express their eccentricities. For the rest of the University, these opportunities can be rare. The "Wrights of Spring" contest was one of them.

This year at the University has revolved around diversity discussions -- be they about racial diversity, sexual diversity or economic diversity. Rarely does the community stop to notice all the other social cliques. A group of drama majors is homogeneously dramatic. A group of government majors is homogeneously governmental. A group of psychology majors is homogeneously psycho. While these barriers aren't daunting, they do exist. Name the last drama production that featured a computer science major in the lead. The reward is $100.

No matter what department they call home, those kids with spiked hair and tinted eyeglasses are thinking about something. It's nice that some of them got the opportunity to put those thoughts on paper and offer them up to the University in play form. Whether many people saw these plays or not remains to be seen. But the writing was good and, really, that was the point of the whole thing anyway.

(Chris DelGrosso's column appears Mondays in The Cavalier Daily.)

Comments

Latest Podcast

The University’s Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admission, Greg Roberts, provides listeners with an insight into how the University conducts admissions and the legal subtleties regarding the possible end to the consideration of legacy status.



https://open.spotify.com/episode/02ZWcF1RlqBj7CXLfA49xt