BHSU Student-directed Plays Premiere This March

Black Hills State University will be featuring the student directed plays "Waiting for Godot" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" on March 15-18, the two plays alternating each night, in the Experimental Lab Theatre located under Pangburn Hall.

Jacob Roman, one of the student directors, has been very busy preparing "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" to get it ready for the premiere. Roman's director duties include cutting the script, choosing the cast from all of the auditions, make up designs, stage designs, costume designs, and more. He has to organize and keep track of all these tasks while he manages the play's ever-changing schedule.

The student director said one of his favorite playwrights is Edward Albee, which lead him to his current work. "I had the chance to read ‘Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' this year, and I really wanted another chance to direct, so I made it my senior capstone project," said Roman of the play choice.

"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" is about a complicated marriage between a professor and his wife from a New English town called New Carthage. Their ever-lasting battle of words- sometimes arguments- force them and their guests to reach a dark place where they all begin to learn who they really are. The play is generally interpreted as a dramatic piece, but Roman would like his audience to see how comical it is as well.

"I like to have a lot of fun in my productions. I like to make sure no one takes themselves too seriously and is open to just enjoying the experience," Roman said of his directing experience.

Auditions for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" were held February 1 and 2. The current season of BHSU Theatre productions can be found at www.bhsu.edu.