The student actors UB has to offer are exceptionally professional, even in rehearsal. Spectrum had the chance to catch rehearsals of Rebecca Gillman's "Spinning Into Butter" before its debut this weekend.
The title of the play comes from Helen Bannerman's 1921 book, "The Story of Little Black Sambo." The play is about an African-American student at a university who becomes the recipient of hate mail, which sends the students and faculty into a state of shock. Eventually they try to prove their own tolerance by accusing one another.
The ultimate theme of the play is racism and how even those who think they are tolerant are racist in very subtle ways.
"This play offers various misconceptions about race and racism but it has very humorous scenes and offers the viewer a definite sense of hope," said actor Tim Eimiller.
"College students who haven't seen a play since high school should come because this play is more than entertainment. It makes you think and you will also be surprised at how much more professional the acting is than it was in high school," said actress Meghan McAdam.
The acting is pinpoint, and one of the greatest assets the play has is director Maria Horne, who is very intricate and precise with her directing. The students feel that "Spinning Into Butter" is easy to relate to and very prevalent, even on this particular campus.
"This play teaches you that racism is not someone else's problem. It's our problem and its not just geared towards African-Americans like in the play. Students can relate to it and (racism is) not always open. It can be very subtle because people don't go around screaming ethnic slurs," said Giselle Nicholson, student assistant director.
Another interesting tidbit that separates this play is the fact that all the characters are real; there are no stereotypical extreme antagonists and protagonists.
"There's no villain. We wanted to sit there and twirl our mustaches and hatch our schemes but there's no good and evil in this play. They all have flaws but they all have some good in them, too," said actress Jamie Elvey.
The consensus was that the characters were more relevant in this play because everyone has said something at least borderline racist in their lives, even if they didn't mean it. The cast has even gotten an invitation to perform at a festival in Belgium where many different people from different cultures and languages perform.
Perhaps the best reason to check out "Spinning Into Butter" comes courtesy of actor Stephen Stocking.
"Come see what your fellow students are capable of. The theater department is taken very seriously and everyone we work with is very professional. We do it for you. We act because we love it and we'd love to have people come see what we can offer."
Tickets for "Spinning Into Butter" cost $15 for the general public and only $6 with student ID at the Center for the Arts. The show runs Thursdays through Sundays, through Oct. 24. The 2 p.m. performance on Oct. 17 is free, while tickets last.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
