By Bailey Garza
Student Reporter
Today social media consumes most people’s everyday life. Most of those people do not realize how much social media affects and consumes their lives in both positive and negative ways.
The theatre program has been getting ready since august for the play Anti Social. This play focuses on social media and it affects people in their everyday lives. Antisocial was written by Don Zolidis. It is broken up into seven mini plays making fun of social media.
The theatre program has five directors directing the play. Two directors have two of the mini plays and the rest have one mini play each. The two of those directors are Northwestern alumn Alica Hall and Michelle Penner.
Alica Hall attended Northwestern from 2001 to 2005 and then from 2009 to 2012, and lastly 2013 to 2017. Hall received degrees during her years at Northwestern. Those degrees would be in business,a bachelor’s in speech and theatre, and a master’s in American studies.
Alica Hall not only attended college here at Northwestern, but is an Alva native. “I have seen a lot changes in the theatre department,” Hall said. Her first show on a Northwestern stage was at 7-years-old in the summer of 1990.
Hall said that this play makes you think how much our lives are surrounded by social media. One of her plays or scenes is about a girl who wants to become a Youtuber. The other is about how no one is on Myspace anymore.
Michelle Penner, one of the five directors is also a Northwestern alumn. Penner graduated in December of 2017 with a masters in adult education. She in currently an adjunct for the theatre department, teaches theatre history, and works for the bookstore on campus.
Penner is only directing one of the mini plays. Her play is called “Trollz.” It is about Facebook friends meeting for the first time in the park and then the trollz start to show up. “It is really relatable to people’s behavior on social media” said Penner.
“The practices are going very well’’ Penner said. Practices began in August shortly after school had started. Auditions were held the first week of school. Over 30 students audtioned for the play. Penner said that she and the cast are very excited for the outcome of the play.
Kimberely Weast brought in alumni and former students for this play. Mickey Jordan and Patrick Wilson are some of those alumni.
“In any play you have to find a message. This one is that you have to be connected with the real more than social media” said Hall. Opening night for the play will be at 7:00PM on Sept. 28th, and the last show will be at 2:00PM on Sept. 29th.