By Lily Papendick
On Feb. 14-16, Degenstein Theater hosted “An Evening of David Ives,” featuring seven short plays put on by five senior student directors from the theatre department.
American playwright and screenwriter David Ives is best known for his comedic one-act plays full of absurdist humor, and his collection of six one-act plays. “All in the Timing” was the most produced play in the United States during the 1995-1996 season after Shakespeare’s own plays. “An Evening of David Ives” consisted of all six short plays featured in “All in the Timing,” along with an additional short play written by Ives.
To create a close-knit atmosphere, audience members were seated onstage, providing them a full view of each play and enhancing their immersion into the world of David Ives.
The night opened with “Sure Thing,” featuring characters Betty and Bill as they learned to resolve disagreements through the “redoing” of interactions. Each time a character responded negatively to the other, a bell rang and reset their entire conversation. By the end of the play, both characters resolved their differences and became companions. Director Emily Mae Rautzahn said, “The idea that love is all about timing is touched on a lot in media, but this play took such a new approach to that as we see all of the different ways things can get in the way.”
Next up was “The Universal Language,” directed by Isaac L. Austin, who previously played Judas in the fall musical “Jesus Christ Superstar.” In this humorous yet absurd play, the audience follows a young woman named Dawn in her attempt to learn Unamunda, advertised as the universal language by inventor Don. Despite the initial language barrier, Dawn begins to pick up Unamunda quite quickly, right along with the audience. She even finds that her previous stutter has disappeared, but it’s only when Dawn tries to pay Don $500 for the lesson that he reveals the language is a fraud. Regardless, the two characters realize they are in love and decide to continue to spread the language of Unamunda. Though the majority of the play was just mere gibberish, frequent use of physical gestures and facial expressions allowed the audience to follow along with the story, demonstrating how communication can transcend language barriers.
Following this exploration of human connection, the evening shifted to a more satirical tone with “Words, Words, Words,” the first of the two plays directed by Luke Rider. A satirical take on the infinite monkey theorem, the three intelligent chimpanzees Kafka, Milton, and Swift, are part of Dr. Rosenbaum’s hypothesis that three monkeys typing randomly for an infinite amount of time will eventually produce “Hamlet.” While performing their task, the chimps discuss fate, creativity and the mere absurdity of their situation. The play concluded with Kafka successfully typing out the first words of Hamlet, leaving the play on a note of hope.
The next play, “Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread,” mimicked the repetitive yet minimalistic style of American composer Philip Glass. Directed by Kirsten J. Weirich, the scene itself is simple: Philip enters a bakery to buy a loaf of bread but falls into an existential crisis when he encounters an old love. However, the play’s dialogue is fragmented and looped, creating a surreal and almost disorienting effect on the audience. The characters—including the baker and two women—echoed and repeated certain phrases, creating a sense of musicality that mirrors many of Glass’s own compositions.
The second of Weirich’s plays, “The Philadelphia” presented a situation in which a young man named Mark finds himself struggling to get his way, only to be told by his friend Al that he has fallen into a “Philadelphia,” a metaphysical state where the only way to get what you want is to ask for the opposite. A humorous take on city stereotypes, Al continues to explain that he woke up in a “Los Angeles,” and everything is going great. Mark eventually begins to embrace his absurd new reality and successfully orders himself a cheesesteak, just as Al begins to slip into a “Philadelphia” himself.
“Variations on the Death of Trotsky,” Rider’s second production of the night, was a comedic reimagining of the assassination of Russian Revolutionary Leon Trotsky in a series of absurd variations. The play itself took place on the day of Trotsky’s death back in 1940, with Trotsky fully aware of the ice ax lodged in his skull, which he learns about from an encyclopedia entry read by his wife. With each variation, a different perspective on Trotsky’s death was presented, ranging from denial all the way to straight comedy. During the performance, a red light focused on Trotsky, signifying his end.
In director Liam Finnerty’s “Time Flies,” the final play of the night, two young and hopeful mayflies, Horace and May, meet at a pond and decide to spend the evening together only to realize their entire lifespan lasts a singular day. After watching a nature documentary hosted by famous environmental advocate David Attenborough, the two mayflies get sent into an existential panic after learning they will die by sunrise, emphasizing the brevity of life. It ended the evening on the important note to embrace every single moment; you never know when you’ll turn on a nature documentary and see your own predicted death day.
Through absurd humor and clever wordplay, “An Evening of David Ives” was not only a testament to the brilliance of Ives’ work but also to the theatre department’s talent and the artistry of each student director. The theatre department’s next production will be a historical murder mystery on Mar. 28-30. See you there!