Comps Insider: A production about hot dogs, masculinity, and friendship

2024年4月4日， 热狗游戏 opened and ran in the Weitz Theater until Saturday evening, April 6. It featured only two actors, but the work of over 30 people behind the scenes. 作For一个产品, it was also the culmination of two seniors’ work at 菲律宾十大彩票平台: the actors, Tosh Le 24和Collin 参照 24.

The production itself had a set featuring the corner of Morisi’s Hot Dogs, 芝加哥的一家小连锁店. 墙上贴满了著名电影和音乐活动的海报, and the floor was painted in a classic black-and-white checkered pattern. At the front of the stage was a small table with a sandwich on it. Le and 参照 utilized the entirety of the small space throughout their 90-minute perFormance.

雷和普雷维斯都是双学位, with Le studying physics and theater arts and 参照 studying English and theater arts. This comps was a collaborative project to present their work as theater majors.

For什么他选了这么重的双学位, 勒说, “我一直在演戏……我想大概是在我大一的时候, 我爱上了戏剧系.” He described the department as a community that he wanted to engage with deeply, 虽然他一开始想修辅修.

“我打算去读物理研究生,他说, 我承认，如果我这么做了, I won’t have as many experiences to dig into the theatrical world.”

Understanding that he would have to “meticulously plan out courses,他最终决定，双学位对他来说是合适的. “我一点也不后悔，”他说. “I’ve found myself falling more and more in love with theater — the people who joined and the people who’ve left.”

Le describes his double major as “an opportunity to stretch or flex both my creative muscles and my analytical muscles… I really love that.”

当我进行这次采访时, 乐的物理作业在接下来的一个小时内就要完成了, 勒和普雷维斯“正在排练的阵痛中”,尽管两人在整个谈话过程中都有说有笑. “生活是美好的，”普雷维斯说，“不能抱怨太多.”

在他自己的学术道路上, 参照 recalls loving theater since he was much younger and wanting to be a professional actor. Though he added that after learning about the business, he “kinda re虽然t that.” He still took courses in the theory and practice of theater during his first two years at 菲律宾十大彩票平台, 但他决定他还需要第二个人, “更实用”的专业.

显而易见的结论是英语, 我现在意识到这并没有我想象的那么稳当,他笑着说, 尽管两人最终关系很好. My real passion is in analyzing media, especially when it comes to character. 人物如何思考, 它们是如何构造的, 他们是如何与世界和彼此互动的, and what they have to teach us and how their experiences can reflect our own.” 参照 describes the relationship between a character and oneself as a large component of acting.

的剧本 热狗游戏 was the work of 参照, who wrote it For his English comps the previous term. The play is an exploration of character work — motivations, relationships, and actions. 在提交了英语作文之后, Le and 参照 realized that it could work For their theater comps as well, showcasing everything they’d learned as theater majors by producing and starring in a completely original play.

关于将项目整合在一起的协作性质, 勒说 that the theater comps “involves the most people not normally associated with the theater department. 举个简单的例子, 我们有一个导演, 布景设计师, 灯光设计师, 声音设计师, 服装设计师,” and many technicians who construct and deconstruct all aspects of the production, 大多数人都不是戏剧专业的.”

参照补充说，当他在写剧本的时候, he 虽然t ahead to the staging and decided upon something “minimalist” For a “two-man show.”

“这部戏本身没有移动的套路, 只有我们两个, 但即便如此，这仍然是一项艰巨的任务, 对我们自己和其他人都是如此,参照说. “As it turns out, don’t believe what they tell you about minimalism. Everything is maximalist if you put your heart and soul into it.”

在阅读和排练时, Le caught himself and director Skye 火花 ’25 analyzing lines with the 虽然t of “author’s intention” in mind. That was interesting to grapple with, he said, considering the author is his peer and close friend.

从剧作家的角度来看, 谁知道每一行散文的意图,普雷斯说。, “sometimes [火花] would come up with this absolutely wild reading that feels more correct than the thing I wrote.”

一度, 斯帕克斯说，她认For参照的性格, 路易, 在撒谎, 这是他以前从未考虑过的, 但是在表演的过程中. “这真的需要一秒钟, 第三, 第四双眼睛给一张它的总结肉,参照说.

A significant change Le and 参照 took on in the theatrical process of their comps was switching roles. 这出戏是关于两个男人的, Cruncher and 路易 — best friends from childhood estranged by fifteen years apart, 他们的生活走向了截然不同的方向. 最初，乐扮演路易斯，而普雷维斯扮演克朗彻. 一旦他们通读了剧本, 然而, 火花 asked each of them to read the other’s lines and decided they should switch. 参照 said that now it seemed “almost insane” that they had ever considered doing it the other way.

In the play, 路易 is a successful author and Cruncher is the manager of Morisi’s Hot Dogs. They come together at the start of the play after 路易 runs into writer’s block and is looking For inspiration in his childhood best friend. He soon begins to take unflattering notes about Cruncher’s character, 虽然, 基于男子气概和不诚实的争吵随之而来. 两个角色都对对方说了令人遗憾的话, 在某一时刻, 两人都在地上的水坑里哭泣. It takes screaming matches and swearing For them to sit in front of each other, 脆弱的, 并接受自己也是同样不完美的人. 最终, 热狗游戏 is a testament to relationships — the best and the worst parts of them.

参照 describes the play as “strange” (in a good way) and that “it’s a lot of fun.他补充说，这个过程“非常私密”，只有他一个人, 参照, 火花, 27岁的格蕾丝·梁和27岁的卡罗琳·斯坦顿, 以及竞赛顾问大卫·怀尔斯, 戏剧副教授, 通过线条和分期工作. “这与大多数其他排练过程截然不同,，其中一次有多个场景和多个角色. In 热狗游戏, there are no scenes and the two actors stay on stage For the entirety of the play’s run.

“和托什一起工作绝对是一种乐趣，”普雷维斯说. “He has kept me sane these past few weeks… I couldn’t imagine a better co-star.”