Bryan College Triangle

Kaity Kopeski
Editor-in-chief

The Hilltop Players began their season with the ancient Greek play "Oedipus."/Photo courtesy of assistant theater professor Jared Cole

A Greek play written 2,500 years ago doesn’t initially excite me, but since I enjoy the Bryan Hilltop Players productions, I decided to give Sophocles a chance and attend “The Oedipus Story,” performed last Wednesday through Saturday. The play, especially the first half, was entertaining, which is a testament more to the talent of the actors rather than the writing of Sophocles.

What I remembered about Oedipus was a vague mix of high school English and Freud’s famous Oedipus complex. When I read that the Hilltop players were producing Oedipus, I was curiously confused. Why would Bryan produce a play about a king who sleeps with his mother? And how, with all that chorus chattering, will this be remotely interesting? I was intrigued enough to attend, along with around 100 others, on Saturday night for the final performance.

The play begins with “Oedipus at Rex.” The chorus, all wearing white masks, calls in unison for King Oedipus. Oedipus, played by senior Beau Boutwell, appears on the stage and the plot begins. The kingdom has been cursed because of a prophecy about a King’s son who would kill his father and sleep with his mother. Oedipus, who doesn’t know his real heritage, is determined on finding the truth. With every new piece of information about Oedipus’s past, the plot escalates to the climax when Oedipus finds that it is he who has blindly committed these sins and brought the curse upon his kingdom. His wife, also his mother, hangs herself. Oedipus gouges out his eyes and banishes himself from the city. This concludes the first half. Read full story »

by Krissy Proctor
Copy Editor  

Couch potatoes remain seated. Channel-surfers put down your remotes. Familiar faces are now appearing on televisions across the region as students and faculty from Bryan star in local commercials for the Women’s Care Center of Rhea County.

For the past 25 years, Bryan College has been well-known for its involvement with the neighboring community. However, over the last two summers it has brought that involvement into the 21st century by donating time and effort to producing eight, one-minute commercials, a 30-minute promotional film and a 12-part web series for theEDGE, a teen risk-avoidance program established by the Care Center.

According to the program’s website, the EDGE, “initially began in 1993 to equip the youth in Rhea County with information so they would not find themselves in an unplanned pregnancy situation. It has grown into a program that not only encourages abstinence-until-marriage, but also helps youth make smart decisions in all aspects of life.”

The media project, produced by Bryan alum Taylor Hollingsworth, has used almost 30 Bryan students, alumni and faculty over the two-year period of filming.

Current students who were involved include seniors Jason Hundley, Emily Hendrix, Taylor Gentry, Justin Winters and Xavierian McCall, juniors Yuri Lopez and Nick Tuttle, sophomore Emilie Belisle and freshman Jake Ricketts, as well as faculty members Dr. Randy Hollingsworth, Dr. Ken Turner with wife Reagan, Chris Clark and Paulakay Ricketts.

According to Connie Arnold, education director for theEDGE, students and faculty were mostly contacted by word of mouth, with emphasis on prior familiarity with staff members, though auditions were held last summer for the film “The Ripple.” Read full story »