Playwriting is Not Dead at Purchase

By Cage Evinger

Tired of the lack of representation for playwriting majors on campus, Frederick Durocher decided to organize the Short Play Festival held on April 15, with the goal of students being able to have their work performed in front of a live audience.

“A lot of it was just because there wasn’t a lot of opportunities for playwrights here,” explained Durocher. “Unless you were an upperclassman, you don’t generally get to do much.”

“I started playwriting in high school, and I got to test a lot of my scripts out. That’s why I’m here, right now. A lot of these people that found out they want to do playwriting now – they don’t get to do that," Durocher continued. "They don’t get to test anything out, and so I wanted to make something where playwrights could test out what they like, what they want to write, and actually have it performed.”

Fred Durocher addressing the audience before the festival begins.  (Photo by Cage Evinger)

Many people were quick to join in Durocher’s mission, with five shows being put together for the festival. Featuring the written works of Gabriel Berger, Willow Giegerich, Indira Hewitt, Laura Nikolla and Maya Oquendo, the festival quickly grew into something much more than the small idea Durocher had originally.

Once there were plays, they needed actors to perform them. Each of the plays were performed from the same cast of five: Ben Chase, Drew Kemp, Cecelia Norris, Emile Regnier-Kline and Vae Rubin.

“It was difficult at times, because it was very much a time crunch, but it was really good,” Indira Hewitt, one of the writers for the festival, spoke on the development process.“I thought it was really interesting because, like, I didn’t expect it to – It’s just so different than practicing it in a class and practicing in front of, like, 20-plus people, but I was very happy to see it done.”

Drew Scott (left) and Vae Rubin (right) performing in the festival.  (Photo by Cage Evinger)

“There were a lot of different pieces, different parts coming together, but I enjoyed doing it,” said Drew Kemp, a performer in the festival, on some of the behind-the-scenes work. “I really loved the scripts. You get to see, like, kind of an inside view on what the everyday Purchase student is working on.”

The day of the festival finally came around after months of preparation, and there was a clear excitement in the Cinema Room at the Stood, where the festival took its home. With every chair being filled, and some people seen standing in the back, it was clear that there is support for original playwriting on campus.

Speaking on the festival in the end, Kemp said how “it turned out amazing – such a big crowd. It was a really enthusiastic group of people who came to show support, and the performances came out amazing. Even with our bumps in the road we had, it all came together.”

The Cinema Room was full of audience members eager for the performance. (Photo by Cage Evinger)

“I didn’t have any expectations, really,” said Nathaniel Thorne, an audience member who came to support his friends. “Before the show, he [Durocher] was talking about how, you know, playwriting at SUNY Purchase is dead, and I feel like if he has this mission on making it more lively and more engaging for other students into writing, it will be a good program.”

While this festival was a success in his eyes, Durocher wants this to become less of a one-off performance and more of a regular event for playwriting majors and non-majors alike to be able to have a place on the Purchase campus. “There’s, I think, me, and a group of writers that I found really want to find a lot of opportunities to get out of this. I love this – I’m so proud of it—but what I’m getting at is that there’s so much more to do.”