Georgetown’s theater scene can be a little insular. Even the theater kids admit it—the different performance groups tend be exclusive, all the plays feature the same actors, and a lot of the theater kids hang out with each other. And so the average Hoya could be forgiven for not realizing that Georgetown theater is blowing up.
According to Jimmy Dailey (COL ‘11), director of the Donn B. Murphy One Acts Festival, the change began in 2005 when the theater major was created and the Davis Performing Arts Center opened.
And so the University stepped it up, merging the various student performing arts groups under the umbrella of DPAC. Georgetown invested in quality faculty with deep connections to professional theater in D.C., started the Theater and Performing Studies major, and provided students with opportunities to be involved in polished productions at the Gonda.
Jue Chen
And the University’s commitment is reaping dividends. According to some of DBMOAF’s cast and crew, more and more Georgetown students are looking to enter the fields of theater and performing arts after they graduate. They won’t be the first. Matt McNally (COL ‘08), Georgetown’s first theater major, is currently studying acting at Brown University, one of the nation’s top programs. Several other recent alumni have acted in Washington Shakespeare Company and Synetic Theater productions, while others are becoming professional playwrights or jetting off to Hollywood.
Georgetown’s theatrical renaissance is evident in this year’s Festival. Each year, a panel of Georgetown professors reads student-written one-act plays, the best (or most feasible) of which are then performed the following February as part of a “one-act festival.” This year, Dailey wanted to reach out to people who were “not in the theater community but had creative juices,” and the Georgetown community answered this call. For the first time ever, the festival will include interpretive dance in addition to traditional drama.
“When I first got to campus, I was upset that people could only choreograph if they were part of [Georgetown University Dance Company], so this was an opportunity for them,” Dailey said. In addition to the play and the dances, each night of the festival will offer some other Georgetown performance art, such as improv, singing, or readings of other student plays from the one-act competition.
And as for the play itself? Well, it’s a better study break than going to MUG. For about the same price as your coffee, you can experience 20 minutes of the best of Georgetown theater. Written by Tom Carroll (COL ’09), who joined the Navy after graduating, “The Hypothetical Detective” is a slapdash parody of a noir story, featuring a woman with a cigarette and a red dress, a mafioso called The Baker, trench coats, eye patches, guns, fedoras, and some truly delightful over-the-top acting. Throw that in a showcase with dance, comedy, and music, and you’ve got a festival that’s sure to delight all audiences.
The show runs February 24 through 28, in the Davis Performing Arts Center’s Devine Theater.
There is a factual error in this regarding the student at Brown.