2008 Woodie Awards
All Eyes On
Lauren Hainley
Issue date: 9/15/06 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Sophomore Elizabeth Swan-Jones went to her Hendrix mailbox one day, and inside was a simple envelope. Inside the envelope were the results of last year's Murphy playwriting competition.
"I thought it would be a polite let down," Jones said. However, it was just the opposite. Jones won honorable mention, which has resulted in her play, Los Ojos, being performed in tonight's Playwright's Theatre, along with Dimebag by Marie Mainard-O'Connell, who graduated from Hendrix in 2002.
Los Ojos is a play about two teenagers who become pregnant, but this really functions as a foil. The true plot in Los Ojos revolves around the relationships between parents and children.
"The children are okay with it. The problem lies in their parents. These are people who can't even really take care of themselves. I just keep thinking because the subject matter is so serious it will have a sense of being on the WB, so I tried to make it as humorous as possible." Jones said.
Jones said she became interested in the idea of playwriting during a Murphy workshop last year.
"The winner of last year's competition came, and we did a lot of simple exercises," she said. "In fact, one of the scenes I wrote in the workshop is included in the play."
Jones then went home with the intention of writing the entire play before the contest deadline of October 28. When October 27 rolled around, Jones had only finished half of the play. She had only told one friend she was writing and submitting a play, and she told him so she would have to follow through with it.
After the play was chosen, Jones worked closely with Dr. Ann Muse, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts, to prepare it for performance.
"I had to rewrite some of it. The transition to telling her parents was not clear, so I created a whole new character, the grandmother," Jones said.
Both Swan-Jones' and Mainard-O'Connell's play will be performed at 7:30pm today. Following the plays, there will be a question-and-answer session with the audience regarding the writing, acting, and directing of the plays.
"I am feeling nervous there will be too many questions," Jones said, "but also that they won't give a damn."
The purpose of the play's reading is to allow the playwright to hear the play out loud and make adjustments from that knowledge. Jones wants to gain knowledge of her characters and plot through the director and actors' interpretation.
"I don't think people really talk like this and I will be able to change things as a result. I think things are a little simpler than we make them out to be," she said.
"I thought it would be a polite let down," Jones said. However, it was just the opposite. Jones won honorable mention, which has resulted in her play, Los Ojos, being performed in tonight's Playwright's Theatre, along with Dimebag by Marie Mainard-O'Connell, who graduated from Hendrix in 2002.
Los Ojos is a play about two teenagers who become pregnant, but this really functions as a foil. The true plot in Los Ojos revolves around the relationships between parents and children.
"The children are okay with it. The problem lies in their parents. These are people who can't even really take care of themselves. I just keep thinking because the subject matter is so serious it will have a sense of being on the WB, so I tried to make it as humorous as possible." Jones said.
Jones said she became interested in the idea of playwriting during a Murphy workshop last year.
"The winner of last year's competition came, and we did a lot of simple exercises," she said. "In fact, one of the scenes I wrote in the workshop is included in the play."
Jones then went home with the intention of writing the entire play before the contest deadline of October 28. When October 27 rolled around, Jones had only finished half of the play. She had only told one friend she was writing and submitting a play, and she told him so she would have to follow through with it.
After the play was chosen, Jones worked closely with Dr. Ann Muse, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts, to prepare it for performance.
"I had to rewrite some of it. The transition to telling her parents was not clear, so I created a whole new character, the grandmother," Jones said.
Both Swan-Jones' and Mainard-O'Connell's play will be performed at 7:30pm today. Following the plays, there will be a question-and-answer session with the audience regarding the writing, acting, and directing of the plays.
"I am feeling nervous there will be too many questions," Jones said, "but also that they won't give a damn."
The purpose of the play's reading is to allow the playwright to hear the play out loud and make adjustments from that knowledge. Jones wants to gain knowledge of her characters and plot through the director and actors' interpretation.
"I don't think people really talk like this and I will be able to change things as a result. I think things are a little simpler than we make them out to be," she said.
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