A spotlight on U of C talent in Our Town
By Ansharah Shakil, February 11 2025—
Thomas Wilder’s timeless three-act play Our Town was first written in 1938, and has enjoyed continued success since its debut, inspiring revivals even now. SCPA will be presenting their own production of Our Town from Feb. 7-15, directed by Assistant Professor Jane MacFarlane.
Our Town is narrated by a stage manager — in this production, two stage managers — and follows the lives of the intertwined Gibbs and Webb families in the small town Grover’s Corner. Among the student-studded cast, consisting of the entire 500-level acting class, fifth-year Joseri Mae plays Emily Webb, while fourth-year Drama and Psychology major Ian Riep plays George Gibbs. Both named their respective characters as their favourites.
“[George] is really sweet, he has a lot of humanity, a lot of heart. I think at the centre of the story, it is Emily’s story about going through life and making sure not to take anything for granted and really see the world around us while we’re living in it. George’s role in that is just really supporting her on that journey,” Riep said. “He’s imperfect but he learns to change and he wants nothing more than what’s best for Emily.”
“I definitely connect with Emily. It’s really different from who I am, so it’s interesting how I can find ways to connect with her,” Mae said, though another favourite for her is side character Professor Willard.
“All of the characters, even the really small ones who only have a couple of lines and those actors play different characters as well, [are] such real people, which I think is really refreshing,” Riep added.
For both Riep and Mae, participating in this production is a special experience, allowing them to try new things, get more experience and make new connections.
“It’s always such a pleasure to be in shows here at the university,” Riep said. “I think it’s a really supportive, uplifting environment and it gives us an opportunity to practice and to grow our acting skills and get real hands-on practice in a professional environment.”
“This play […] means a lot to me,” Mae agreed. “For me as an actor it checks off a lot of the little boxes I have for what I want to do in the university as my last big hurrah […] and I’ll definitely miss it: the experience, the memory, the process, the product and everything else in-between.”
Appreciating the process itself is something both actors enjoyed even more because Our Town encourages focusing on every minute of life, to not take any small moment for granted.
“I really enjoyed the tablework of just sitting around and finding the gems within the text. That collaborative space of finding […] who these characters are before we go onstage […] it made me open my eyes a lot,” Mae said.
In its original iteration there are aspects of Our Town that feel dated. But the reason it’s still so meaningful today is because of its touching portrayal of the subjects of life and death through a portrayal of ordinary people living ordinary lives and its undeniably moving message about living life.
“It’s a classic for a reason. It has stood the test of time and it’s still being performed because it’s still so relevant and human,” Riep said. “The fact that we’re still performing this play as the next generation of artists is really inspiring, to see our take on it and how we’re crafting Grover’s Corners in our own way.”
Mae looks forward to the experience of actually showing the play to the audience, seeing it grow and watching the energy of the cast match the energy of the audience, which is of course one of the greatest aspects of live theatre.
“I’m just really excited for people to watch it, open their hearts up and hopefully learn something from it. There is a lot to learn from this play,” she said.
Riep recommended both people who know the play and people who know nothing about it to attend.
“Even if you know it and you’ve read it and you love it and you come to see it, I think you’ll find something new about it in the choices that we’re making,” he said. “It’s gonna be a wild ride if you’ve never heard of it and don’t know anything about it, and I hope you fall in love with the characters and the story.”
This production of Our Town promises to be a universally beautiful experience, the kind of play that sticks with you. If you’re a U of C student, don’t miss out on receiving a free ticket for one of the shows through Claim Your Seat and seeing the unique take the production will have on the remarkable play.