Woodshed, a student-run, experimental theater organization, will be presenting “Snow Hen” at the Shiva Theater on Nov. 21 and 22. The cast, only comprised of three students, Mariah Ghant ‘17, Thomas Lawler ’15, and Penny Luksic ‘15, has produced the show almost entirely on their own, with help as well from Sierra Garcia ‘15, Taylor Dalton ‘15, and Meropi Papastergiou ’15.
Luksic, on behalf of the ensemble, wrote in an emailed statement, “…We work together to stage, design, and put on the show…We as an ensemble have spent many hours working on adapting the script for our use. As a small group of only three people, we’ve spent a majority of the semester working on how to devise a show together as an ensemble by taking each other’s suggestions and implementing them into our work.”
Drawing from established sources as well as adding their own ideas, the Woodshed performers described their upcoming show in an email, “The Snow Hen explores the days and nights of a woman whose family and civilization have been lost. It’s loosely based on a plague fable, so there are some threats of disease and disorder present in the story. The Snow Hen spends her days collecting remnants from her lost life until a haunted Wanderer crashes into her world.”
They continued, writing about the production undertaking, “We’ve also focused on learning about design and incorporating that learning into the process. Luckily it is a short script and we’ve had help from some amazing friends and supporters to execute some of our more elaborate ideas.”
One of the many theater productions of the fall semester, “Snow Hen” is relatively short, but is intended to bring a devised drama to the stage. “We want the audience to enjoy the weight that this short piece has to offer. Even though it runs under an hour long, it’s a heartbreaking and compelling story. We’re excited for the audience to [experience] the live action and sound of bodies moving on stage,” the ensemble commented.
Within the whole of the drama, there are specific motifs which Woodshed wants to illuminate for the audience. They wrote, “The Snow Hen struggles with and explores themes of isolation, loss, resourcefulness, friendship, and the idea that things come and
go, sometimes in small ways and sometimes in ways that wreck you.”