English department welcomes school year with student-written one-act play
Janel Shoun |
The Difference Between Oranges and Lemons, a one-act play written by Lipscomb senior Drew Smith, will headline a welcome back gathering for the university community at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 30 in the University Theatre. The performance is free and open to the public.
Lipscomb’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society, will hold a reception after the half-hour performance.
Smith, a Hickman County English education major, has published works in Lipscomb’s literary magazine Exordium and appeared in numerous university theatrical productions including Trojan Women, The Curious Savage, The Martian Chronicles and Snoopy!!!.
Oranges and Lemons, however, is his first try at writing a play.
“I had a snippet of an idea for a short story,” Smith explains. “And then, within the space of a week and a half, I had three people ask me if I was going to write a play. And one was a complete stranger! So I thought, I better write it as a play.”
The Difference Between Oranges and Lemons, depicts a grave-side conversation between Travis, a concert pianist whose parents were recently killed in a car crash, and Christine, an elderly lady also visiting the cemetery.
While Smith says the play was not inspired by anything in his life personally, he did admit that the character Christine is a combination of various inspirational women who have affected his life, and Christine is giving advice to Travis, a young guy similar in age to Smith.
“One of Christine’s great ideas about life is that you can always find humor in it. In fact, that’s where the title comes from – from the phrase, ‘When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.’”
This is the second year in a row that Lipscomb has produced a student-written one act, said director Deb Holloway. Producing student plays gives them valuable experience in learning how words translate to stage and showcases the strong talent in the Lipscomb theater program, she said.
Smith said the process so far has been excellent, but a little nerve-racking. Much like listening to your own voice on a tape recorder, he laughs.
“It’s a lot harder (than writing a short story) in a way because you have to tell the entire story through dialogue,” he noted. “It was hard to do that, and get all the character’s history in, without making it sound terribly corny.”
But despite his vulnerable position, Smith says he’s looking forward to hearing the audience’s feedback on Thursday.
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Smith appeared as the Hare in The Re-Match of the Tortoise and the Hare,