By Shane Mead | Reporter
Baylor Theatre held its opening night performance of The Thanksgiving Play by playwright Larissa FastHorse on Tuesday night.
The narrative of the play follows a teacher and aspiring director in charge of her own Thanksgiving play working with a local street actor who she has an intimate relationship with, a cliché Los Angeles actress and a geeky history teacher with dreams to be a playwright.
During their rehearsal, the four characters offer differing insights into how they should navigate the course of the play. Each individual’s distinct perspective was satirically portrayed to highlight different viewpoints within modern culture.
“I laughed the entire time,” Seattle junior Katie Fuchs said. “I think I was the loudest person in that theater.”
In between each of the four acts were renditions of grade school Thanksgiving performances done by five other Baylor Theatre performers.
Similarly to the main storyline of The Thanksgiving Play, the renditions were satirical and generated laughs and applause from audience members throughout.
“Every single scene with the kids performing the [renditions], I was laughing so hard because they were throwing things and dancing,” said Fuchs. “And when they shot the turkeys and when the balloons came down, [it was] an immaculate moment.”
Austin sophomore Lainey Killian, a performer, viewed The Thanksgiving Play as especially important because of who it was written by.
“It is the first play Baylor has ever done produced by a Native American playwright,” Killian said. “The reason why it’s so funny is because it’s kind of hard-hitting and true.”
In addition to FastHorse’s unsparing humor poking fun at modern culture, Killian believes The Thanksgiving Play and the milestone it set of the first Native American playwright at Baylor was perfect in highlighting social and expressive disparities endured by Native Americans.
“The absence of Native American voices in our history and in our art in modern days is a refined reflection on that while also being really fun and uplifting,” Killian said.
There are five more showings of The Thanksgiving Play, all located in the Mabee Theatre. The show will run from Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. each day, concluding with a final performance on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Baylor students in need of Creative Arts Experience credits under the “theatre” category are able to earn one by attending the play.
“Come if you want to die laughing, learn something and have a crazy time,” Killian said.
