Feature Story
Finding the Extraordinary in Everyday Moments: Theatre Performs Pulitzer Prize Winner “Our Town”
In a moving production exploring the joys, simple pleasures, and everyday moments of life in a small town, Southern Virginia University’s theatre program performed Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” on Sept. 25–26 and Oct. 1–3 in the Performing Arts Center.
“At the heart of this timeless story is a question that echoes long after the curtain falls,” wrote Director David Dwyer in the play’s program. “In the third act, as Emily Webb stands in the cemetery looking back at her life, she asks the Stage Manager, ‘Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it–every, every minute?’ The Stage Manager’s answer is a sovereign truth: ‘No. The saints and poets, maybe–they do some.’”
“Our Town” is a three-act play written by American playwright Thornton Wilder in 1938. It presents the fictional American town of Grover’s Corners between 1901 and 1913 through the everyday lives of its citizens. It went on to Broadway with several revivals and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in May 1938.
At the center of the play is the Stage Manager, an omniscient narrator who breaks the fourth wall to address the audience directly, introduce the town and its residents, field questions from the audience, and occasionally play some of the roles. Unlike most plays, “Our Town” is performed on a mostly bare stage with minimal props, inviting the audience to use their imaginations and see something of their own lives in Grover’s Corners.
“Emily discovers too late that the most beautiful parts of life aren’t the grand achievements or the historic milestones,” Dwyer continued. “The true value of existence is hidden in the quiet, mundane, and repetitive moments–a mother’s voice, a ticking clock, or a simple ‘goodnight.’”
Dwyer also served as technical director and set designer for the production. Student Emily Ruffell served as stage manager, with fellow students Kendilyn Olson and Maddy Pies serving as assistant stage managers, and Liliana Mottas the costume designer.
The cast of student actors is as follows:
Stage Manager: Jonah Rasmussen
George Gibbs: Tommy Davis
Emily Webb: Mariana Lopez
Dr. Gibbs: Ezekiel Gonzales
Mrs. Gibbs: Evelyn Humphrey
Mr. Webb: Lily Goodworth
Rebecca Gibbs: Claire Fryer
Wally Webb: Maisy Wagner
Howie Newsome: Courtney Bowles
Mrs. Soames: Venus Slagle
Simon Stimson: Adam Pena
Joe Crowell/Si Crowell: Cecily Rasmussen
Prof. Willard/Joe Stoddard: Landon Gumucio
Constable Warren: Kimberly Peden
Sam Craig: Kendilyn Olson
Townspeople: Liliana Mott, Maddy Pies, Molly Brady, Sydney Black