By Camryn Manning, Opinions Editor
This year’s MUSE Project, “Community Garden,” will be shown Feb.15-19, each night at 7:30 p.m., in Verser Theater. The show is directed by Ouachita student Abby Burlison and highlights the importance of caring for the earth and the value of community. The MUSE project, a unique show opportunity, is a long-standing yearly tradition in which a production is student-directed and completely crafted together by students in the theater department. Previous years have included hits such as “Clue” and “Tanglewood.”
Burlison found a love for directing at OBU and wanted to practice her skills through the MUSE Project this year.
“I took a directing class with Professor John Forkner, and I really took a liking to it,” Burlison said. “I thought it was really interesting being on the other side, off the stage and seeing a creative vision come together. I really like putting all those creative elements together and working with my peers. Getting to see them onstage and work with them in their talents is very fulfilling.”
“Community Garden” places emphasis on community and environmental care from a background of faith.
“I really wanted to communicate how we are all stewards of God’s creation,” Burlison said. “‘Community Garden’ is set in a community garden in Chicago, and the show really talks about how helping take care of the world around you can also help you take care of other people. We have a motto for our productions. ‘Community Garden’ is like a sapling being planted by very careful and loving hands. All of our characters have this support system, and the garden is their safe place. Even though most of us don’t know basic gardening, just taking care of creation, even in small ways, can help us make some special connections.”
The production is set in modern-day Chicago, and the garden has a set of volunteers taking care of it. A new volunteer, Ralph, enters the picture, and he begins meeting all the different personalities that have taken care of the garden before him. “Community Garden” takes a different approach to storytelling by presenting vignettes that reveal the overall picture.
“We witness people coming in and out of the garden as their safe place,” Burlison said. “We see some love stories, some friendships and a very overarching theme of connection between people. We have a few main characters, but everyone is the main character in their parts of the story when they come out.”
Kailey May plays the character Trace in the production, a whimsical but secretly fate-driven character.
“I feel like I really connect with her because she is very fun-loving and has this air about her where she wants to just live in a happy world, in a better place,” May said. “However, she is kind of covering for how she really feels and is struggling to actually communicate with people. Her character arch in this is figuring out how to move on from the situation she’s in and how to open up after. There are a lot of good things in this show, and that’s one of them.”
Brooks Harrison plays Ralph in “Community Garden.”
“Ralph is the newcomer to the garden,” Harrison said. “He is very shy and nervous, and he’s also really self-conscious. He loves people, but he’s also very much an introvert.”
May truly has seen how this show is meant to impact others and wants her role to have that impact.
“This is such an important show in terms of taking away from it,” May said. “The whole thing is about portraying a message of self growth and environmental growth. I want to become a more authentic actor so people can see themselves in the story because I tend to also find myself in a lot of the characters I play.”
Through “Community Garden,” Harrison has especially learned the value of being in the character’s shoes and being in the moment during shows.
“Sometimes in acting, it’s like I’m just reading the lines off the page,” Harrison said. “In those moments I never really process what I’m saying and think about it. One thing Abby has really harped on is that this is all natural. This is a community, and you’re all having a conversation with people onstage. I find myself feeling like I’m truly having a conversation when I’m talking to other characters. I can definitely take that away from this and put it into other things I do.”
As a student director, Burlison has learned much about the job she has undertaken. “Something I really enjoy that I’ve learned is letting your actors have creative freedom to make some choices,” Burlison said. “Yes, you can say, ‘Hey, you move on this line,’ or ‘You need to be here on this line and do this specific gesture,’ but seeing them make choices and be spontaneous in the moment when you’re making those connections with each other is really fulfilling to me. I can look at my peers and think, Wow. They are so talented, and it’s something I really enjoy about directing.”
