Springstead leads the drama department in “subText”

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Sydney Haulenbeek, Editor in Chief

When the lights illuminate the stage on the first showing of “subText” and two teenagers become visible, it becomes clear that something is going to be different about this play: both Cameron, played by Pandora George, and Dani, performed by Kylie VanHoose, are on their phones.

 

This is the opening scene of subText which is all about the common topics teens deal with: social media, being “left on read”, relationship drama and whether or not they’re reading the subtexts of their peers right in a digitally focused world.

 

In a series of vignettes, subText challenged the value of “perfect relationship[s]” on social media that may be not-so-perfect in real life, and addressed teenage communication in the digital age. Cameron and Dani compete in selfie-taking for fun and Drew bursts into Taylor Swift songs when angry at her boyfriend. Dudley tries to use a Beyonce dance to win over a girl he has a crush on, and Bridget chooses an orange dress as a metaphor to explain sexuality.

 

It was a well-performed depiction of the awkward mess of today’s generation, with dramatically illustrated lines like “They give me hope I’d find my soulmate, or at least someone I can take cute photos with and make other people jealous” and “You’re very sweet, but your texts are going to hold me back” that was chosen specifically for that reason – teens could relate.

 

The new drama director David Springstead, who selected the play, said he did so “because its about them” and that he felt it actors would enjoy participating because “its dealing with things that teenagers deal with every day.”

 

And the actors agreed. Leah Hobbs, who played Bridget, said that she felt subText was an acurate representation of aspects of her life.

 

“I can really relate to my character.”

 

Their opening night was produced smoothly, with flair and no mishaps other than slight technical difficulties, which the actors artfully worked around.