As the actors and actresses of the 60/50 Theatre Project took their places on the stage Friday night, a voice spoke. “The conversation has begun,” it said.
The narrator was referencing the project’s goal to create a campus-wide conversation about diversity and human rights.
Created by Theatre Department Artistic Director Rob Roznowski , the performance presented a series of fictional scenes that represented real events of both inclusion and exclusion that have occurred on MSU’s campus throughout history.
“Much like the goals of Project 60/50 as articulated by the Office for Inclusion, the goal is to promote conversation,” Department of Theatre dramaturg Dan Smith said. “The idea is to present a number of different perspectives and to hopefully allow for people to continue the conversation after they see the show.”
As the play encourages students and other members of the community to engage in this discussion by reflecting on MSU’s involvement in the history of human and civil rights, it also poses the question of whether the MSU community has done enough to combat instances of discrimination and inequality that used to be so prominent on campus, and still exist today.
“I think the major theme of the piece is thinking about what it means to be a citizen of the MSU community,” Smith said. “We hope that students will see themselves represented in some way.”
Media and information junior Jake Samson said the play took a unique approach in representing the different stereotypes that exist within society, and demonstrating the adversity that students face in light of these labels. Each member of the cast played characters that differed from them in terms of gender and race.
As a white male who had to play a black woman during the performance, Samson said many members of the cast were uncomfortable with the script in the beginning, but overall, this method of casting strengthened the whole concept of diversity on campus.
“I think it’s a very cool opportunity as an actor to not only tell a story, but to also talk about something that is so recent,” Samson said.
The production will host five more shows from Sept. 24- Sept. 28 in Studio 60, located in the lower level of the Auditorium.
