Written by Amanda Davis, staff writer
DAYTON, Tenn.– Time travel, shenanigans and Victorian class take center stage during a comedy play presented by Hilltop Players of Bryan College On the Verge. Alexandria, Mary and Fanny are three American explorers of the Victorian Era who are suddenly thrust forward in time. They gradually make their way through time and end up in 1955. It’s an imaginative portrayal of the future and explores the three women’s different reactions to what the future holds. The three women are Alexandria, Mary and Fanny.
Rachel Burdyshaw, a senior Theater major, is the Stage Manager of On the Verge. She claims Hilltop has never done a production quite like this before. The play is attempting to use the fantastical and imaginative elements of the story to enhance the play by having minimalistic props and sets. Burdyshaw describes the play as a “fun story for all ages.” To her, the message means, “Keep going, keep trying, keep looking for that adventure, your own personal adventure or whatever is waiting out there.”
The critical and morally upstanding Fanny is portrayed by Dana Rice, a junior Marketing and Theater double major. Fanny is a very traditional woman who struggles with embracing the future but throughout the show slowly begins to appreciate the new. Rice says, “I hope the audiences will really think about what it means to be in this cultural moment and the great responsibility we have as humans to steward what we have well.”
Sophie Jaeger, a senior Theater major, plays the scientific and curios anthropologist called Mary. She approaches the future from a scientific viewpoint but throughout the show begins to show she has many different sides. Jaeger says, “It’s a glimpse into the past, and you get to see the ideology of the late 1800’s clashing with the early 1900’s.”
The young and independent Alexandria is played by Haddie Ward, a freshman theater major. Alexandria yearns for the future and struggles with having an appreciation for the past and at the end of the play discovers what she truly wants. Ward believes a message the show portrays is that “It is so important to look forward to the future and have hopes and expectations,” but that one also should have an appreciation of the past.
On the Verge will be showing from Oct 28-30 at the Rudd Auditorium 7:30-9:30 PM. Tickets will go on sale ten days before the performance and can be purchased online, at the Box Office in Rudd 305, or over the phone (423-775-7498). Tickets are six dollars for the Bryan College Community, eight dollars for non-Bryan students, and twelve dollars for adults.
Amanda Davis is a freshman communications major at Bryan College. She is a Kansas City Native and loves reading, writing, and photography.
