Outlaws act out of the arts underground
PHOTO: Cody Goddard
Brian, played by Eric Lawry (sophomore-theatre) tries to talk as Victoria, played by Katie Juza (sophomore-theatre and neuropsychology) pulls the phone away from him.By Stacey Federoff
Collegian Staff Writer
On a Thursday night at 11, the campus is deserted, devoid of the thousands of students who walk the sidewalks during the day.
The Arts Building and its courtyard are eerily quiet in the dark. Not a single note comes from the windows of the Music Buildings. But, the theater in the basement of the Arts Building often overflows with noise from people waiting for a performance to start.
The four producers of Outlaws Playwright's Workshop come out onto the small stage and silence the commotion of the crammed room with the shout, "Welcome to Outlaws!" and the crowd bursts into applause.
The student-run theater group, formed in 1990, features free short plays written, produced and directed by students which are performed in room 6 of the Arts Building at 11:15 p.m. every Thursday.
Each Sunday, a script that has been submitted to outlaws@psu.edu is chosen by the producers to be performed on the following Thursday. The producers also choose a director, who in turn chooses his actors and holds rehearsals before the performance.
Mike Viola (junior-theatre) directed last week's performance, Blue Genes, written by Alyssa Mulligan (junior-theatre).
"You have all the components of a professional show," Viola said. "You have students doing everything, doing it very well and doing it fast."
He said he has acted in and written other student pieces performed by Outlaws and debuted as a director with Blue Genes.
"The experience was very rewarding because I had a very committed and dedicated cast that learned their lines well, pushed their characters and worked well under high-pressure, fast-paced circumstances," he said.
The subjects, characters, and tone of the performances vary each week. Last week's Blue Genes dealt with the decision to genetically engineer unborn children.
Outlaws performs three special shows each year, including a Halloween show in October, A Charlie Brown Christmas before winter break and The Penis Monologues in the spring.
Other performances are only planned a few days in advance from the e-mail-submitted work of students, producer Scott Andrews (junior-theatre) said.
"Other than [the special shows], we have our inbox that we go through. It will be here every Thursday," he said.
Producer Tom Pogue said the group's Web site, outlawspsu.com, will be updated on a regular basis this year to let students know about upcoming performances. The group is also considering using the Pavilion Theatre more often for its shows.
Andrews, who is a new producer this year, said he loves to experience the enthusiasm of the audience crowding the small theater every week, when he gets to shout the weekly welcome to everyone.
"The energy that comes with the audience is awesome," he said. "It's the coolest feeling ever."
