What happens when five Wesleyan theater students get together to make play? A story told through four magnificent tales all leading up to a grand ending that will leave you speechless.
Telling Tales is a fun adventure, albeit a tricky one, that will have your attention from beginning to end.
Tales is a 90-minute play by Texas Wesleyan students Logan Rodger, Kimberly VanKirk, Cameron Byerly, Dean Phillips II and Carlos Brumfield. The play, which was performed twice on Sunday at the Thad Smotherman Theater, was a part of ongoing theater tradition at Wesleyan called the Playmarket.
Marking the 45th play in the Playmarket series, Tales is a showcase of original work and “an opportunity for playwrights to workshop new scripts,” according to the play’s playbill.
ive people all have their , all with with different viewpoints and each having their vision of what the play could and should be, .
Five writers. Five viewpoints. Five mind-sets. Sounds a little cluttered, right? Well, it wasn’t. The writers did a great job of blending each of their voices into one story.
Tales is a story of a woman, played by Kim Owen, waiting to meet her end while The Man, played by Trey Cardona, plays the role of companion, comforting The Woman through her final hours.
In order to pass the time, The Woman tells The Man four stories, showing lessons of forgiveness and love. These lessons come to a close in dramatic fashion as the play’s final moments conceal a horrifying twist, leading to an ending resembling a cherry on some ice cream.
Tales is a great play. I give immense credit to all of the students involved. This play is testament to what creative minds can do if they work together regardless of the tools given. The stories were well written, well executed and most importantly believable.
The play does a fantastic job of telling four compelling stories while always staying true to the overall story arc. Jumping from fables to present-day reality was done in almost perfect sync, which is another testament to the dedication of these Wesleyan students.
I must say that although the the cast as a whole performed fantastically, it was Cameron Byerly who stole the show for his roles as the lost warrior Nayati and the hilarious water demon Kappa.
Another stand out was Logan Rodgers for his role of the colorful bird Iye. Both of these actors clearly gave their heart and soul as they both contributed greatly to the pace and mood of the stories.
Altogether the play was very entertaining. The five playwrights did a fantastic job of both telling their stories and making sure everyone stayed true to the overall meaning of the story: That an end is always a new beginning. It was a perfect way to end the Wesleyan theater season.