By Tito Aznar
Goodwell, Okla. — Ending the week of the OPSU’s 100th birthday, the Department of Communication will make history as students perform two original one-act plays by Guymon resident Andrea Mendoza-Williams: Midnight Train and Small Degrees of Clarity.
Mendoza-Williams, who holds a Master of Arts in Drama from the University of Oklahoma, has received several awards for her writing and creativity. As a student, she wrote the university’s historical self-guided walking audio tour, which introduces the campus to prospective students and their parents; said tour won the Governor’s Award on Innovative Tourism. Midnight Train, one of the plays OPSU students will perform, was published in The Kennedy Center/American College Theater Festival Best Student 1-Acts to represent Region VI, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Midnight Train has undergone extensive rewriting since its publication. It tells the story of Cecil, a feisty 89-year-old woman, who longs for a little freedom in her life and of Jesse, a down-to-earth 18-year-old from California, who longs for a sense of family. Brought together by Henry, Cecil’s son-in-law, this encounter provides each woman with an opportunity for much more.
Small Degrees of Clarity, formally known as 5th and Haven as part of Mendoza-Williams’ thesis, has also undergone extensive revision and is considered a work-in-progress by the playwright. Small Degrees of Clarity explores the psychological dynamics of the relationships between a mother, Harriet, and her two children, Lydie and Dictionary, while awaiting the return of their husband/father and breadwinner. As dynamics shift, life takes on a clearer reality that allows each character to begin to define him-/herself.
Both plays will be performed with a short intermission between them to allow for set, costume, and makeup changes. OPSU visiting instructor of English Tito Aznar directs the production with a cast of both returning and new students, including Alexander Anderson, Owen Larson, Amber Foster, Elizabeth McCulloch, and Angelena Reed. Performances will be on November 6 and 7 at 7:00pm and November 8 at 3:00pm. General admission is $6.00 and OPSU students enter free with their current OPSU ID.
