The Omnibus

Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: Gallery

Media Credit: Grace Jeoung Sophomore Kelly Crosby and junior Jessica Elder play a mother and daughter in the drama "'Night Mother." The play forces the audience to deal with the idea of suicide. Senior Shana McCoy directed this drama, which will run throughout the weekend. There will be a discussion on suicide following the play, which will be led by McCoy.

Senior Shana McCoy has made the audience get up close and personal with suicide with her production of "'Night, Mother."
When audience members first arrive, they will notice the odd seating arrangement. McCoy has created a thrust stage by seating all audience members on the stage on three sides of the performance area. This technique forces the audience to get up close and personal with the action of the play.
McCoy says that she chose to set up the production with a thrust stage because it makes the audience become intimate with the characters, and without that intimacy, the play would not be as effective in drawing the audience into Jessie's situation.
The thrust stage also turns the play into a communal experience because as Dr. Elissa Sartwell, assistant professor of theatre, says the audience can see each other as well as the actors on stage. Everyone is close to the action, making the audience personally feel the discomfort of the topic of suicide.
In order to help her audiences maintain some distance between themselves and the taboo theme, McCoy decided to abandon strict realism by creating an abstract set. Several black boxes serve as two chairs and a sofa while one black door frame stands in the center of the stage. This simple set helps the audience remember that what they are watching is indeed just a play.
"'Night Mother" centers around two characters, Jessie, played by junior Jessica Elder, and Momma, played by sophomore Kelly Crosby. While Jessie and Momma are enjoying their evening, Jessie tells her mother that later that night she will kill herself. During the rest of the play we see Momma try to understand why Jessie would want to kill herself and then try to stop her from going through with it.

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