On Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m., The Wellesley Girl had its opening night at the Telfair B. Peet Theatre. The play is sponsored by Auburn University Water Resources.
The Wellesley Girl was written by Brendan Pelsue and directed by Scott Phillips, an associate professor of theater and dance at Auburn. It provides commentary on the complicated world of political factionalism.
Set in the distant year of 2465, nearly the entire United States population has fallen to an ecological disaster. The only supposed group of humans live in a walled-off community in New England.
Having a population of less than 435 people, every member of the community serves as a representative of Congress, minus one woman, Donna, who acts as the sole member of the Supreme Court.
When an unknown army visits the remaining survivors, the population debates how to handle the situation, as they try to honor the democratic process while having an incomplete understanding of it.
In 2016, Phillips saw a showing of The Wellesley Girl in Louisville, Kentucky at the Humana Festival of New American Plays.
Intrigued by the show’s timely subject matter on political factionalism, Phillips submitted the play to be performed this year by the Auburn University Theatre and Dance Department.
“We’re losing our respect for [the democratic] process,” Phillips said. “Younger people are [also] losing their faith in democracy.”
Phillips commented on the ideal of “the democratic idea” holding “us all together” when asked about a central theme of the play.
However, he ultimately says it’s up to the “subjective experience of the viewer” to determine what lessons are learned from this showing.
The department of theater and dance has worked tirelessly to prepare The Wellesley Girl since the spring when they held auditions.
In the summer, the department of theater and dance hosted meetings to discuss the show’s logistics, including sound modeling, set creation and wardrobe design.
The cast started their four hour, five days a week practices on the very first day of classes.
“[I’m] very proud of the cast, they bring so much energy and enthusiasm,” Phillips said.
This past week also marked the start of technical rehearsals for the play.
Sets, lighting, sound and projections are all tested in cohesion with the actors and script to provide the best results come show time.
All Auburn theater majors are required to complete 40 hours of volunteer work for four semesters, called practicums. They assist with set design, costume creation, sound equipment and much more regarding the production of the play.
Students and faculty alike have worked diligently and persistently in presenting the best possible show they can.
“It’s been extremely rewarding, but it’s been a challenge trying to play an authoritative figure [who has] a lot of wisdom,” said Daisha Flint, the student actress portraying Donna.
Flint is a senior majoring in performance with plans of pursuing theater after college in any capacity she can.
“Theater is my passion, and I love work that fosters positive change,” Flint said.
The energy before the play was high. Prior to the play was a reception which served the audience assorted vegetables, breads, pastries and other dishes.
“There’s nothing else I'd rather do on a Friday evening," said Katie Melby, an Auburn local.
Scott Enebak, former professor of forestry at Auburn, has been coming to Auburn theater performances for 28 years with his wife.
“[The students] put a lot of effort into the scenery, into the costumes, and so this is just something we look forward to," Enebak said.
The play attracted a large and lively crowd, with people buzzing about their excitement for the show. The crowd loved every moment of it, clapping and laughing along.
After the show had finished, the cast did their bows and were met with thunderous applause.
“I thought [the show] was pretty good. I liked the futuristic aspect of it. It was very interesting to watch for sure,” said Carter Stremmel, junior in actuarial science.
The Wellesley Girl will run for the next week. Show times include Sept. 29 at 2:30 p.m. and Oct.1-5 at 7:30 p.m.
In a time of political tension surrounding the presidential election, The Wellesley Girl presented a unique view on conflict, showing the audience how disagreements can be resolved in our democratic system – for better or for worse.
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Sam Bainter, freshman in English language arts education, is a culture writer for The Auburn Plainsman.
