‘Our Play’ is about a group of high school students coming from all sorts of different backgrounds who build relationships with one another while preparing to perform their upcoming school play. After a school shooting results in tragedy, each character learns more about the appreciation of life.

Winner of the 2023 Lanford

Wilson New American Play Festival, ‘Our Play’ was chosen to become part of the Dobbins Conservatory’s upcoming season. This is the first time the original work has been performed at full length.

The cast of Our Town talks about the night of the shooting.Photo by Stevie Koontz

Assistant professor of theater: acting and directing, Kitt Lavoie took on the role of directing ‘Our Play.’ Lavoie was also amongst the panel of staff and faculty who chose ‘Our Play’ to be named winner at the festival.

According to Lavoie one of the primary reasons in choosing to perform ‘Our Play’ revolved around the relevance to current world issues.

“When we pick our upcoming seasons, we consider a wide variety of factors, mostly having to do with different types of opportunities from season to season because this is an educational setting and we want students to work on different types of plays,” Lavoie sai

d.

Playwright Jessica Moss, the creative force behind ‘Our Play,’ has gotten to spend a lot of time with the students.

“I am so knocked out by the SEMO students,” Moss said. “It is such a friendly and involved campus. The support you all have of one another is amazing.”

The Rust Flexible Theatre can transform to an array of different seating styles based upon what is fit best for the show. ‘Our Play’ is centered around a thrust type of seating, which has audience members on three sides around the stage.

Characters Anton and DJ hang outside of the theater as Becky watches from another perspective in Our Play.Photo by Stevie Koontz

“Because so much of this show is about watching people live their lives there was something that felt very appropriate to have the audience on three of the four sides.” Said Lavoie.

Senior BFA Acting major Natalie Williams takes on the position of student assistant director for this production. According to Williams, this is a show about young people for young people.

“It’s real, it’s relevant, and it is urgent,” Williams said. “And it talks about a lot of our fears, goals and dreams and how we go about accomplishing or maybe not accomplishing them.”