By DACODA MCDOWELL-WAHPEKECHE, Sports Editor
Northwestern’s Fine Arts Department is hosting the theater program’s only production of the semester, “Greater Tuna,” on April 15, 16 and 17 in the Herod Hall auditorium.
Kimberly Weast, a professor of theater arts, said the play is a comedy.
“Greater Tuna is about a small town in the smallest county in Texas,” Weast said. “You get to meet a lot of interesting characters. If you grew up in a small town – in western Texas, western Oklahoma, probably a small town anywhere – you know these people.”
The play, written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard, is set in the fictional town of Tuna, Texas. The play debuted in Austin, Texas, in 1981, Weast said. She said it had its off-Broadway premiere in 1982.
The play is part of a four-play series.
The production of “Greater Tuna” has 14 cast members. Most of them are Northwestern students. They’re joined by Dr. Dena Walker, an associate professor of mathematics; Mickey Jordan, director of technical theater; and Erin Lehr, a Northwestern alumna.
Adele Callaway, a freshman from Shattuck, said she hopes to bring joy to audience members.
“I hope through seeing some funny characters they’ll give themselves some slack whenever they need to be vulnerable,” Callaway said. “They’ll see that it is OK to be vulnerable and not be that funny person.”
Anastasia Harper, a freshman from Alva, said her character is someone who cares a lot about animals.
“I will be Petey Fisk,” Harper said. “He runs the humane society in Tuna. He has his own little radio segment where he does commercials.”
The theater students work about 18 to 24 hours a week on their productions, Weast said. She said the theater students started rehearsing “Greater Tuna” two weeks before spring break.
Callaway said she enjoys the practices at the end of the day and hopes people enjoy her character within the production.
“My character is the manager of the station, O-K-K-K,” Callaway said. “He has his own little segment. He gets to talk to some of the characters, and we get to see more into the characters through my character. … My character is really a gateway to see into the other characters.”
Weast said audience members have a lot to gain by attending shows.
“When they walk out, they will have an understanding that humanity is so similar,” Weast said. “We all think we are so unique and different but the similarities between us are valid.”
Harper said she and her fellow cast members hope to take show-goers away from reality for a short time.
“I hope they just get a break because right now is a very stressful time in the world,” Harper said. “It’ll give them a little bit of a rest from the sadness and anything else going on in their lives. Just laugh, even if it is for a couple of hours.”
Normally, the Fine Arts Department hosts four plays per year. This year, the department was only allowed to have two productions. The program’s last production was “45 Plays for 45 Presidents” in October.
Tickets for the play are limited because of restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Weast said.
General admission is $10, but Northwestern employees get in for $5, and students get in for $3 with a student ID.
She said the likelihood of people being able to walk-into Herod Hall and buy a ticket before the show is small. As of press time, a number of tickets had already been sold.
To reserve tickets, call Weast at 580-327-8458.
Weast said she hopes Northwestern staff, faculty and students go to the play and enjoy the theater students’ hard work.
“Students often say, ‘There’s nothing to do,’” Weast said. “I’m like, ‘Come on to the theater, come to the play. Go to the soccer, volleyball, basketball, football.’ There are things to do, but you have to leave your dorm room and come and experience other activities on campus.”
