Original student works to debut as ‘Advents,’ two nights of staged readings at the Clayton Center
Nov. 22, 2022
The assembled musical ensembles of Maryville College will take the stage of the Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre in the Clayton Center for the Arts on Dec. 6 for a holiday extravaganza, but over in the Haslam Family Flex Theatre, the actors in the MC Theatre program have a more intimate observance in mind.
For two nights, they’ll lift up the works of three of their own — Olivia Cameron ’25, Lauren Gaines ’24 and Rachel Ealy ’24 — for an evening of staged readings that acknowledges the holiday season through themes of love, harmony, peace and the struggle to attain those traits.
“It’s not exactly a Christmas show so much as it’s a chance for students to share their own work dealing with some of the themes of the season,” said Andy Vaught, visiting lecturer of Theatre at MC. “We’re calling it ‘Advents,’ because we want to actively acknowledge the season, and because we’re using this time to think about the literal definition of the word: a great occurrence; the arrival of something important. That’s what a lot of drama is, and ‘Advents’ allows us to meditate on that and open it up to the community.”
The College’s student actors are only a few weeks removed from their fall production, a presentation of Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles,” and in assembling “Advents,” they were working under time constraints. Giving a voice to their original works, Vaught feels, is vitally important to their creative development, and so the selection of three original scripts for staged readings was something of a happy medium.
“It was important to make an experience where they could spend time working on something very specific, but also something that they could accomplish,” Vaught said. “The three of them have been working in tandem for the better part of two months now, and we do feedback sessions where we employ a technique called ‘rose and thorn’ to critique the works.
“The ‘rose’ is what’s good, and the ‘thorn’ is, ‘What do we have questions about, and what could be clearer to help you achieve your vision?’ I’ve enjoyed working with them as they’ve developed new ideas while pushing each other to make the best work possible through clear, constructive feedback.”
Feedback, in fact, will be a part of the two-night production of “Advents,” Vaught added: Audience members at Night One will receive feedback forms to fill out, allowing each playwright an opportunity to edit her works in time for Night Two. In that sense, he pointed out, it’s another form of experiential learning, as is the opportunity for their acting peers to read the scripts during the performances.
“The Clayton Center as a place and the Theatre program itself mimics the professional world really well,” Vaught said. “We’re really close to being an ensemble in the Theatre department, because not only do the students perform, they do a lot of the tech work, too. I think it’s important to have original drama coming from within the ensemble, and in this case, each writer is going to direct the staged reading of another writer’s play.”
Each playwright’s voice, he said, strikes a unique tone. One play is almost a slapstick comedy throwback to classic television shows like “Mama’s House” or “Martin,” while another is reminiscent of Thornton Wilder in form and theme.
“And one play, I was really excited by the lyricism and the poetry of the words themselves and how they were arranged,” Vaught said. “These students are bold, courageous and willing to share work with other people, and I’m excited to hear the actors read these works and bring them to life for a little moment.”
For the audience, Vaught added, it’ll be an intimately creative evening — one that reflects the College’s best and brightest students, and the mission of a liberal arts institution.
“This is, in many ways, honoring the tradition of our school,” he said. “When I think about the programming we can do at Maryville College, I’m always thinking about the continuum we exist in, and how best to lift up voices within. We have students from the region around us, within our community, who are getting to develop their own unique way of looking at the world.
“For the audience, it’s a glimpse of something that’s just beginning to develop, and an invitation to take part in it. To be in on the ground floor of that is a great gift, and also a great responsibility, and we’re looking forward to a cozy, informal experience.”
“Advents” will be staged at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 2 and 3, in the Haslam Family Flex Theatre of the Clayton Center for the Arts. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for seniors and area students. Admission is free for MC students, faculty and staff. For more information, call the Clayton Center box office at 865-981-8590.