UMD Intro to Theatre Reviews

Earlier this evening, I made my way down to the Dudley experimental theater for the world premiere of Joshua Hinke's Buried Lights. The four-person, minimally-propped performance follows a few weeks in the life of an apparently disturbed and socially anxious man named Colin moving to a new house, haunted by the recent death of his mother. His overbearing sister tries desperately to help, and doesn't understand his eccentricities, believing him to be disturbed and sick. He starts talking to his new neighbor, Taylor, who is in a bad marriage and finds some solace in him. Their relationship never becomes romantic, but they soon understand each other as though they are soul mates.

For the most part, the play grabbed and held my attention. It is a psychological drama for the most part, though some spots of comedy are entwined for comic relief, and also to show that even in the most confusing times there can still be laughter. The way the play was set up was, in my admittedly inexperienced viewpoint, unique and quite affective at keeping the audience's attention. The main piece of information the audience is denied is why Colin refuses to talk about his mother’s death. Throughout the course of the play, hints and clues are dropped as to why, and near the end of the performance, most of the audience should figure it out. It will not be a question as to why he will not talk about it, it will be what happens when he finally does.

However, the production did have some weaker points, and I think the main one was that it seemed too long. This is not to say that an hour and a half is too long for a play, because it definitely is not. However, for what happened during the production, an hour and a half's worth of acting made it feel like the story was dragged out, with some scenes seeming repetitive. Additionally, I found myself knowing exactly what certain characters were going to say or do from time to time. (The very end, however, certainly came as a shock.) Some people might view predicting lines and actions as a bad thing, because it means the storyline is trite and has been done before. Others might see it as a good thing because it means the viewer can relate to the characters and their situations, or that the actors are portraying their characters so well the viewers know what they’re thinking and are going to say. For me, it is a mixture of both. Several lines, which I won’t ruin for you, I know I’ve heard before. The absolute last action made by Colin at the end, however, I only predicted because by then I knew his character.

All in all, if you're looking for something to do this weekend, a night spent watching this play will not go to waste.

I thought that Buried Lights was a terrific show. The Dudley was the perfect place for a show like this one because it was small and it wouldn't be able to keep the attention of a large audience in the large UMD theatre. I loved the characters ( as well as the well done character develpoment) and the set was amazing.

I think that it would be a huge challange to do a scene change in the Dudley theatre because there are no wings to store the set pieces. Since the play only required three settings, the set was divided into three parts. Oh sure, you could SEE the other scenes set up while another scene was going on, but the characters were so wonderul, you would forget that they were even there until the scene changed.

The characters were well played. Every character was strong and knew their parts to the fullest. THese were extremely challanging characters to play because they could have easily been over done. Colin esecially is a difficult role because he is so mysterious. Chistopher Olsen did a great job keeping his character strong without over playing it.

One thing I found about this play that really makes me laugh is that Josh Hinke did not have an ending to the show when he submitted it to the Stage 2 committee. Yet, the play was chosen anyway and a great ending was eventually written.

I really enjoyed all the symbolism in the show. The broken windows on one set and the non broken ones on the other set. THe photgraphs and the sculpture. Great stuff.

I sort of agree with Kara by saying that the shwo was a little long, but it didn't bother me much because the characters were so interesting. I did distract myself throuout the whole second act by wondering about the mystery of Colin and why he shared the his secrets with Taylor and not his own sister, Meredith. However, it did keep me interested and my thoughts were not dissapointed in the end.

I thought the arguements between the characters was also well done. It is challanging as an actor to have to say their lines while the other character is saying thier lines at the same time. As a result, you get a bunch of dialouge that you can't understand and it gets louder and louder and louder until one charater shouts something really loud and both charaters fall silent. That silence is a great effect in theatre and Buried Lights had good use of it.

I did think some of the movement was a bit odd. A character would start walking around for no apparent reason while saying a line. In a show like Buried Lights, there has to be movement but I thought there was a little too much. I also wish that Kathy and Brandon would have cheated out a little more so I could see their faces better in some scenes.

I was impressed by this student written and directed production. It was well worth seeing. No, it's probably not something you'll see showing at the Guthrie Theatre someday, but if you and your friends want to get together and get lost in a good story, then Buried Lights is where you want to be.

Last night I attended the play Buried Lights by Joshua A.B. Hinke at the Dudley Experimental Theatre. This play was immensely interesting and certainly contained unique subject matter that is usually not represented in theatre productions. The fact that the play touched on so many unusual and odd subjects made it severely interesting and I found myself as an audience member questioning certain ethics and aspects of what it means to be human with the instances that occurred in the play.

This play was a definite examination of the psychological aspects of the human being. The play demonstrated how many people hide things in their life from everyone else, and even when you think you know someone completely, you don't know the real truth unless you are able to peal away all of that person's layers that are being presented to the world.

The play also demonstrated that even when a person claims that they are "fine," their true psyche is the only thing that can tell you otherwise, and that's only if their true pysche can be revealed. I think this play brought up a lot of social issues that most people don't ever want to talk about, one of them being the issue of truth. In our society, truth is valued, yet if truth contains something we don't want to hear or face, we tend to turn our back to it and pretend that it didn't happen. It's hard for most people to accept true reality when something they wanted doesn't go according to plan. We find ourselves trying to outrun truth when, unfortunately, it's always a leg ahead of us.

This play addressed all of these issues, and hopefully awoke audience members to realize the harsh reality we all eventually have to face. Hopefully no one will ever be greeted by such extreme situations as those presented in this play, but hopefully the play will make people understand that there is usually a lot more to a person then you give them credit for, whether it be something good or bad.

For those who want to test their beliefs and question the true human pysche, Buried Lights is a play that will have your mind swirling between things you know, things you think you know, and things you wish you knew.

I attended the world premiere of Buried Lights, by Joshua A.B. Hinke on Friday night. They play was done in the Dudley Experimental Theater, a theater on the UMD campus. This theater is very small, it seats about one hundred and there isn’t a ton of stage space. The play consisted of four characters by the names of Colin, Meredith, Taylor, and Rob. As the writer and director stated in our class on Wednesday, it was a physiological thriller. You had ideas of what was going to happen, and then something completely different did. As for the end of this play, it catches you totally off guard; I didn’t see it coming at all.

As for the characters, I believe that the people chosen for these characters worked out great. The people selected for these parts did a great job of bringing out there character and getting you sucked into the story. Colin is very quiet and doesn’t like talking to people, mainly because of the death of his mom. Meredith is Colin’s sister and tries to take care of her brother but doesn’t do a very good job, mainly because she doesn’t understand Colin’s situation. Then there is Taylor, Colin’s neighbor, who ends up being the one person who does understand Colin. She is the one person that Colin is able to talk to and tell her what he is thinking. Then there is Rob, Taylor’s husband, who is having trouble with his marriage, but doesn’t know it because he has a routine, but never wants to break that routine. Overall, I think the actors and actresses did a very good job with their characters.

I believe that the both the playwright and director did a nice job with this play. It was a very nicely written play in that it’s something that has never really been done before. It is very out there and I think that the playwright did a nice job with this play. Also, the director, Matthew R. Olsen did an awesome job. Once he gets the script, it’s kind of all up to him after that to make it work. I think he did a very nice job in the setup of the stage in that you have two different houses on each side with the outside area where Colin is doing his work in the middle of the stage. It must have been difficult to think of that because you need characters in one house at one time, and then in the other house ten seconds later. So with what he had to work with I think the director did a very good job of making this script come to life in a good way.

So for this play, if you would ask if the attempt of it was worth making, I would have to say yes. Overall, I think it was a good play and I believe that it was a success. This play is definitely worth attending if you’re up to a physiological thriller.

On Friday night, I was at the world premier of the show Buried Lights. For the production of the show, the Dudley Experimental Theater was perfect. When a production has a smaller cast, I believe that there is a better chance for the audience to connect with the actors if there are less people around and the theater is more cozy.

The production was a solid show for it being writer Joshua Hinke's first ever full length play. The show starts out with a troubled, quiet artist, Colin, played by Christopher Olsen, who is moving into a new house. Olsen does a phenomenal job not making the part too dramatic or too subtle. His older sister, Meredith, is there to move in Colin after the troubling loss of their mother. Colin is very attached to their mother and took care of her while she was sick.

Shortly into the play, Colin and Meredith meet the neighbor couple, Taylor and Rob. Taylor is left all alone often while Rob will go on long weekends for work or while he's out working. Since Colin is an artist, he is able to stay home and make a connection with Taylor. They both open up to each other, and the word soul-mates is brought up several times throughout the production.

I felt that the show was very entertaining. There were a few key words listed in the second half of the show that gave the ending away I felt. I would definitely recommend seeing this, if it is ever produced again, for anyone who is looking for a dark look into the lives around you. There is a lot of work involved in creating an atmosphere and setting quite like this with such a low budget, for what Stage 2 had to work with, they did an incredible job.

Walking into the Dudley Experimental Theatre last night, I was nervous but excited for the play that I was about to see. I am not the most creative person in the world, and definitely not an avid theatre-goer but I do like to broaden my horizon. A couple days previous to the viewing, our class sat down with the playwright and director and heard what the play had to offer including what happened behind the scenes in the months and weeks leading up to the opening. I felt that the playwright’s description of “psychological thriller” fit to a tee. The story was very deep with hints of desperation and fear. At times, it could be a bit dull, but that dull detail was needed to complete the story.

The character of Colin was amazing in both a literary and physical sense.
Christopher Olsen did a tremendous job of portraying the morbid and lonely soul. I felt that he brought the character to life. If I was reading the script, that would be the type of character that I would have imagined in my mind. I thought the other actors and actresses did a very good job as well, but there were a few things that I felt could have had a bit of a change or emphasis. I thought that the character of Meredith repeated the name “Colin” a bit too much. It did show proof of Meredith trying to take the motherly role, but it was a bit too repetitive. Also, I felt that Taylor did not quite fit the role she ended up playing in the end. Yes, it was a shock that she ended up pushing Colin to complete the “plan”, but it was of two extremes. First, she was this loving and quiet character, and all of a sudden she was just as morbid as Colin was. I felt that there could have been a bit more of a lead up to that as there was with everything else.

The design crew did a great job on designing the set. The lighting was also very good. It was perfectly on time and focused leaving no confusion for the audience. There was one thing about the audience seating though. I purposely sat in the far back corner to see if there were areas of “blackness”, meaning areas where we could not see the play. One part I could not see was when Meredith dropped the box of Polaroid pictures on the ground in the middle of the set. Other than that, I thought that the set covered almost all the areas of viewing. Costumes were definitely suitable for the characters. I noticed that the only costume change was on Taylor going from a blue shirt to a pink shirt. I think that if possible, a costume change at least at intermission would have been a bit better.

Lastly, I believe the play could have been a bit shorter. There was some detail that was drawn on for too long. I could predict what characters were going to do or say at some points. For example, Meredith always got up and changed positions going back and forth between two tables which finally got to the point of annoyance.

All in all, I thought the play was a success minus those couple things. It was definitely “out of the box” and interesting to take in. Congratulations Joshua and Matthew on your great teamwork and output.

On Friday night I saw “Buried Lights”. I think it was really well done, especially considering the amount of time they had to put the whole thing together. Regardless, it was very entertaining and thought provoking. It was Joshua A.B. Hinke’s first time writing a play and I believe he did a great job. Much of the credit also goes to the cast, and production crew. The set was set up well, and even though I was in the back corner, I could see everything that was going on.
It was really good acting by the whole cast. I think that Brandon Roberts did a great job as Rob. He brought a sense of comedy to the role and to the play as a whole. Initially I thought that the play would be dark, and not have many of the audience laughing. However, there were a few scenes where the audience laughed out loud. It was really cool how Roberts played a role where people probably generally were not supposed to like him, but he made us, as the audience see him as a typical man in a marriage that was obviously bland and boring.
Christopher Ryan Olsen also did a fantastic job as Colin, the edgy, dark artist. He did a great job at making his role believable. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to play a character as weird and complex as Colin. Kayla Cooper plays Meredith, Colin’s sister. She gives a great performance as a sister who is over-protective, with a rocky past and an ex-husband. Kathy Tingum plays Taylor, Rob’s wife. She is a typical housewife, who grows bored with her everyday role and wants to find change and experience something different. It is through this feeling of being In a rut, where the plot grows and takes the audience through the story of love, hate, and insecurity. The play is definitely not you’re typical, but it has a great quality to it where I think I could recommend it to anyone.

I had the chance to see the play "Burried Lights" last night (Saturday). This was the first production I had had the chance to see in nearly six months. Putting that aside, I was thrilled and amazed with the production. After the play, however I must say I felt terrible, but that was deffinitly nothing to do with the production itself as much as how well the actors in the play were able to make it come to life. Given the time they were given to put this piece together also bettered my appreciation for the production as well. I feel honored to have been given the chance to see this "World Premiere" and would surely recommend it to anyone. I think one thing that really sets this play apart from so many that I have seen in the past, is how the character, Colin, and his mysterious personality begins to grow on you. This allows you to begin thinking in a way that I am not use to thinking and that is trying to see the world from a different perspective. His character was absolutely intriguing in the sense that you always just wanted him to say a little more, and just waited for a line to come out that was not going to come. Amazing job!!!

I had the opportunity to see Buried Lights on Saturday evening. Walking into Dudley Experimental Theatre was a one time chance to see a world premier of a new play. That fact alone I was very excited to see Buried Lights, along with the great interviews with both the playwright and director made it even more attractive to me.

I would like to comment on is the cast/characters. The size of the cast being four people was a good number in playing out the focus of the play. The chosen character’s (brother, sister, neighbor/friend/wife, neighbor/friend/husband) were well picked because it gave the main focus of the play many different perceptions which is very realistic in the real world. Christopher Olsen did a fantastic job portraying the role of Colin. His characteristics, personality (within the role), tone of voice, etc. matched perfectly to my idea of a lonely yet complex person. Brandon Roberts I also felt did a great job with the character of Rob. His ability to project both facially and vocally the concern and lack there of was perfect. The intensity of emotion when he and Taylor were in their fight was very realistic and drew you into their life. Kayla Cooper played the role of Meredith, Colin’s sister. I personally think that that character could have been written up differently. I felt as though she was in need of knowing what Colin was thinking/feeling for her personal well being. Whether or not this is what was intended of her character, I don’t feel as though Meredith was portrayed correctly. Lastly, Kathy Tingum played the role of Taylor. Her character role as Rob’s wife was very believable and you could recognize her sadness and frustration with her personal situation. Overall I felt as though the characters were well acted, although I would have changed one or two characteristics of the characters themselves.

There were a few smaller aspect of the play that I would comment on. The first being, the lack of costume change throughout the play. This, I know, is not a key issue in any play, but for me personally makes it slightly difficult in reading the amount of time the play is acted in. Another would be the build up of the sculpture. I drew from our interviews with Josh and Matthew that the sculpture was going to be a larger and much more complex object. Also, it was hard to get an emotional feeling from Colin when you looked at the sculpture. Lastly, the trees were not built realistically. I felt as though that the color, size, shape, etc. of them could have been slightly changed to give a better portrayal of trees.

All in all it was an honor to see the world premier of Buried Lights. It was impressive that a peer of mine wrote, directed, and acted out this play. I enjoyed seeing this play!

I went to the Dudley experimental theater for opening night of Buried Lights, written by Joshua Hinke. I thought that overall the show was very enjoyable. I found the story line very well written and the performance very well prepared.
The story kept me at the edge of my seat, wanting to know what was going to happen next. It went through the time right after Colin's mom died and he moved into a new house. He meets a girl that lives down the street from him and develops a relationship with her. Colin also has to deal with his over protective sister and his new friend's over protective husband while being haunted by his dead mother. The dialoge connected the characters very well. I could tell how each character felt about the others.
One of my favorite parts of the play was watching Colin. I thought the acting was terrific. He played the character of Colin perfectly. He always had the perfect facial expressions and tone in his voice.
I am very glad that I got the chance to see this play. It had a great story, characters, and surprising twist at the end.

Last Thursday i was at the premire of Buried Lights. I didnt know what to expect considering i have never been to a play before. I thought it was a good experience but it was basically what I expected. Because I have no prior knowledge in interpreting plays I don't know what a good play is like. I keep wanting ot compare it to film but there is really no comparison that i can see. The acting and actoins are different then they are in film.

For what I have learned in my intro to theater class so far i thought this was a good play. It did seem long and carried things on to far but I believe I had some connections with the actors. They played their roles very well. You could really tell they worked hard on this play to make things perfect. Also, being Joshua Hinke's first playwright I thought he did very well. He did a great job in finding the right people for the part. The actors were great and it seemed they really enjoyed the play. The thing i thought was not very good was the object that was being built during the play. When we went in and talked to joshua he made it sound more exciting then a few sticks tied together.

The relationship that started between colin and taylor was obvious that it was going to happen throughout the play. The first time they talked there was some kind of bond between them. I think the play would have been better if it wasnt so obvious that they were going to form a relationship at the beggining of the play.

The best part of the play was the twist at the end. I didn't see it coming. First we find out colin killed his mom then he kills his sister after she finds out he killed their mother. Overall the play in my perspective was written well and the actors played there characters great.

On saturday night I was lucky enough to attend the show Burried Lights, which was writen by a student here at UMD. This show was also directed by a UMD student. I thought that this show had an incredible amount of thought. I was so impressed by the Characters and how developed they were, as well as the overall experience of the Dudley theatre.
I couldnt believe how good the play was for how inexperienced the writer was. For his first play, he should be extremely proud. I was most impressed with the way that he developed these characters. I felt like I knew exactly who each of them were, and where they had come from to make them who they were. I found it odd that i walked away feeling simpathy for every single one of them. With most plays there is a villin, and a hero and a clear difference between them. Whereas here, they were all villins and heros, and in such a tragic way.
I think the fact that the show was done in such a small theatre was to its benefit. It really made the show more intimate, and more intriguing to watch. I was engaged the whole time and i think that it would be impossible not to be considering the small space and the big play.
Overall, I think that the writer, directer, and the actors should be very happy with the performance. It was done well for their first time.

I had the chance to attend the world premere of Joshua Hinke's play Buried Lights. I was amazed when I left this show because I thought that for being his first play, it was an amazing show. The opening scene got you right into the show wondering what was wrong with this poor man named Colin and why his sister was nagging him so much. The characters were played extremely well. I thought that Colin and Meredith were exceptional. Colin, played by Christopher Ryan Olsen really had his part down. I don't think that they could have found a better actor to play this part. He really fit his character and made him come to life. And Meredith, who was played by Kayla Cooper had the perfect voice of the nagging sister who "only wants to help". And together these two made a perfect team. Their arguments and conversations were done very well.
For being in such a little theatre I had doubts about how they were going to make it work but they did and it was done very well. I thought they did awesome job moving back and forth from house to house and even though the props were minimal they made it work! As the play got near the end I thought I knew what was going to happen but to my suprise, and I mean SUPRISE, it didn't.
I did think though that the play was a little long and there were some parts that could have been cut out. I found myself losing a little interest in the middle, but as the end drew near, I was drawn back in. If you are interested in a good Drama, this is the play to see! Great Job to the actors and the people behind the scenes!!

I felt that Buried Lights was a rather moving performance. It was definitely a successful first attempt for writer Joshua Hinke. I felt as though the brother sister relationship was played almost perfect. Having a younger sister myself, although not quite the same, I could relate to the struggling relationship that Colin and Meredith had. One person always trying to budge into the others business, while the other person persistently gets more secretive is a very real observation and action. I haven't been around a struggling relationship quite like that before, but it played out very believable and realistic to me. As we discussed in class, a struggling couple would be able to pick out the appropriate dialogue. When I had the chance to sit in on an interview with my class and listen to the men behind the scenes, they said that the play was geared towards college aged kids anyways.

I felt as though the actors did a good job for what they were given. I was definitely disappointed with the sculpture when I finally did see it though, it was so hyped up in the interview, and turned out to be a few sticks loosely thrown together. I think this could've been better if there had been room, or time for another scene where they show the party that Colin went to and showed how he couldn't interact well with everyone.

Overall, I felt that this was a great first performance of the show and a great first full length feature for Mr. Hinke. This show is somewhat predictable, but, if it is ever put into production again, and you'd like spend a few bucks seeing a live show, give Buried Lights a try.

The characters in my mind were perfectly characterized. I think that the relationships built among each one of them served a great purpose and became very realistic. The sister taking care of Colin and being worried about him, and through her love a great amount of frustration was created. I believe that this is a great portrayal of real life events. I also think that the husband not knowing how to react to Taylor's activites was well scripted.

I am not quite sure on this but I believe that when Colin leaned in to tell Taylor what had happened, it was a little too obvious on what had happened. And with that note I am a little confused on how a mentally stable girl such as Taylor reacted to controlled. Not only did she act controlled but at the end of the play she was encouraging Colin to kill his sister and though I am aware that she wanted to "run away" I am not convinced that she had the mentality of murder. Honestly when Colin killed his sister, I was waiting for the part where he is declared scytzophranic and we find out that Taylor never existed. I just found her to be too normal and mentally stable to be able to commit such a crime, by encouraging the situation.

The last part is on behalf of the blocking. I was sitting in the house off stage right. Whenever there was a seen on the other side of the stage the "statue" blocked my vision slightly. It was no big deal but became a little distracting at points. I think the statue should have been moved a little further upstage to avoid this.

Buried Lights is a psychological drama written by Joahua Hinke and performed by an ensemble of actors from UMD. Stage II was packed like a concert at Carnegie Hall. Like the minimalism of a Mondrian painting, the set is little more than a few props. The director Matt Olsen gives us some questions to think about during his play: The first of these is How deep can you dig before you inevitably strip away all the layers and hit truth? Secondly, How well do you want to know the people that are closest to you? Christopher Olson plays a convincing lead as he struggles with everyday relationships and has unusual perception of his surroundings.
His sister Meredith, played by Kayla Cooper, is constantly badgering him. She apparently represents a replacement mother. She even goes as far as claiming that she is not a replacement for his mother. She fights for a closer relationship with her brother but is left wanting. The only thing Collin wants from his sister is to be left alone to cope with the recent death of their mother. It is implied that even though he loved his mother very much, she repressed and controlled him.
Collins neighbor Talor, played by Kathy Tingum is an emotional junkie always in need of a dose of Collin. Like tearing apart an onion she startst to strip away layers of her neighbor's facade. She is very unsatisfied by her accountant like husban, Rob, played by Brandon Roberts. He routinely talks about the mundane when she is actually starved for soul-bearing, estrogen-soaked heart to hearts. She finds her emotional baggage goldmine in Collin and inevitably begins an affair.
Collin builds an homage to his dead mother, who he claims is haunting him. He feels that it will be ritualistically cleansing. Taylor helps him and during this process, their relationship of mutual tears blossoms. The writer claimed that the ending contained a twist. At the completion of the art piece, he proclaims his mother gone and then in the end kills his sister who tries to stop Collin and Taylor from stating a new life. The writer Brilliantly shows what can happen when you attempt to tear away the layers of someone's life. Truth can come out in some unexpecting ways.
Overall the play was very well done. The acting was solid. The timing and the set were perfect for the production. Joshua Hinke and Matt Olsen keep the audience anchored in their story of a troubled artist, and leave us questioning whether we should want to delve into the inner layers of our loved one's lives.

The other night I attended the play Buried Lights and it was a dark, yet moving play. It involved feelings of characters and the impact they had on eachother.

The play opened with the character Collin, who was quiet and to himself. Him and his sister Meredith recently lost their mother. Meredith was just going through a divorce and she was determined to be of help to Collin. Collin justmoved into a new home in the woods. His neighbors consisted of a couple who had a distant marriage.

I thought this play was very interesting and it showed the different struggles each individual character went through. It showed four individuals living an intertwined life, each with their own personal issue. Although their issues were different, they all had a similarity too. Each character showed some sign of loneliness and struggle.

As the play went on, the problems became more bold and visible. Then by the end, everything fell apart. Taylor and Rob split up, and it comes out that Collin killed his mother, and then the play closes with Collin killing Meredith.

The end of the play was a reminder of the darkness of the play along with its rather deep emotions. Over all, I found this play to be a success and I would recommend others to see Buried Lights in the future.

I agree with the comment about feeling sympathy for each character at the end of the play. After seeing a play I do not usually feel this way. Each character had something happen to them that made me feel sympathy for them.
I would also have to agree that they did a great job with the stage. I felt that they used the minimal space they had very well. The actors were able to move around easily and transitions went smothly. I also like how they set up each house. I could tell even before the play started what kind of person lived in each. Nice furniture and bright colors in Taylor's house, a broken window and dark colors in Colin's house.
I disagree that the play was too long. I don't think that there is anything they could have left out of the play. Each scene was very important to the story.

I Also thought that when Colin whispered into Taylor's ear, I knew what he had said. I'm not sure if i think that this was a bad thing, because I was surprised when he killed his sister, so that sort of made up for it. I wasn't expecting that. I think that some predictability can sometimes hold my attention more then being completely lost and having no idea where the play is going.
I was taken back by the sister, she reminded me of a pestering mom who likes to bug her teenage kids, and i think that the actress did a great job portraying that. I also liked how at the end you felt sorry for her almost more then you did for Colin, even before she died. she was really just clueless. She had no idea of what was going on around her for the longest time.
The fact that Colin killed his mother didn't really disturb me as much as it seems to disturb other people. It sounded like she wanted to die and wanted someone to put her out of her suffering,this theme sort of reminds me of the movie, million Dollar Baby. Obviously the two incidences are not the same, however, the theme is. I can't say that I would have made the same decision as Colin, but I can see where he was coming from.

My reaction to Josh Hinke's new play Buried Lights was one of shock and a bit of confusion. For one after Colin killed his sister I found myself walking out of the theater with lots of unanswered questions running threw my mind. I wanted to know why Colin's mother was following him around in his mind. I wanted to know the background behind all the little details within the plays dialog because to me some of the random details like Taylor's dead dog were in there just to make the production longer.

I did think the part of Colin was done with wonderful acting. He really portrayed a mental disturbed human being with feeling, which added to the production.

As for Taylor, she seemed much to young for the part. A friend and I were kind of shocked that her and the character Rob had been married for six years. The casting for Taylor or it even could be her costume was not believable for the age of her part. Aside from her age, I do think Kathy Tingum is a generally good actress and casted for the right part she could be great.

Lastly, what I've learned over the years from my theater experience is that it's always important for the audience to see your face when your giving a line. Some of the characters I noticed had delivered a few lines completely turned around facing upstage. I think to get the story across it is important to get every line delivered in a manner that everyone can hear.

I can not say that Buried lights is a bad play at all. I think it was very interesting and defiantly kept the audience interested and intrigued all the time. I just also think there is needed room for improvement.

I attended Josh Hinke's Buried lights last week. I thought it was well put together. I think it has to do with the characters in the play. when I saw the play the entire time i was thinking about how i could see the characters being real people.

Like Colin, being a quiet person who doesn't deal well with people and then tries to avoid people as much as possible. I know in high school that there were kids that were quiet and would keep to themselves like Colin.

Then there is Meredith who at first came off as the over concerned sister (which we found out that she maybe should have been more concerned). But she was a person I could easily see being real. she's protective of her brother, which most brothers/sisters are of their siblings.

Taylor is basically a person that just needs to have someone to talk to and to just spend time with. Taylor is a housewife that live in the country with her husband (rob) who is stuck at home everyday and has no means of transportation to get into the city to see her friends.

Then there is Rob who I saw as the stereotypical guy. The type of guy that doesn't like to talk about his feelings or about his and Taylor's relationship.

Overall I thought Buried Light was a good play and I give a lot of the credit to Josh Hinke and the actors for making the characters so believable.

After having a week to think about the play a bit more and read about what other people felt about it, I realized that one thing I did not comment on was the size of the cast. I had never previously seen a play as small as this one, and had many doubts on if it would be interesting enough. I have always seen mega musicals with large casts, and was having trouble imagining that a four person cast could be intriguing for quite a length of time. In our theatre class, we just recently finished reading a chapter describing the structures of plays. After reading the information on climatic structure, it made me appreciate the small cast and environment of Buried Lights. The play had a more personal feel and made the whole storyline more believable. In a way, it made the end a bit more shocking and intense. All the characters worked very well together. I did mention before that I didn’t quite agree with Taylor’s personality switch at the end, as it was a bit too quick and shocking, but I feel that for the majority of the play, the characters related well to each other. In other words, the storyline was written very well for the size of the cast.

Also, I’d like to comment more on Colin’s character. Everyone seems to have really enjoyed Christopher Olsen’s acting and of course I highly agree. I think that the photography aspect of it was superb. It made his character more mysterious and added the morbid aspect. I loved how Meredith found out about her mother’s death from one of the pictures.

The numerous pictures kept you guessing and when I looked closely, some of the pictures were actually what was mentioned in the play. I thought that was great work by the props crew. The thing that I had a question about though was how a picture of a dead dog in the woods was included in the Polaroid pictures. Since Taylor had lost her dog in the woods, was it just a coincidence that a picture of that substance was included?

Once again, a great play with a great cast

I attended Buried Lights on its opening night. After leaving the theater I had a lot of scattered thoughts on how I felt about it, as well as the aspects of the play which I feel like commenting on.

This first thing that I needed to talk about as I exited the theater was the scene transitions. As the writer and director discussed with my theater class, the production had many similarities to a movie, so the transitions needed to be quick and flawless. Many of the transitions were great, with characters exiting and reentering the stage at another location in a matter of seconds. One transition that was especially mind blowing was a very simple one, although it was likely a challenge for Colin (Christopher Ryan Olsen). The transition occurs in between Colin's fight scene with his sister and connects with a scene in the woods. Colin walks out the door in a huff, the lights go down and the next second Colin is in the woods pondering his masterpiece with Taylor.

On another note, throughout the whole play I could not get the close similarity between Colin and Ricky Fitts (American Beauty) out of my head. This is not at all a bad comparison, given American Beauty won multiple awards and is an amazing movie. Also, I am sure the writer was fully conscious of the two characters' similarities. These include both characters being a strange, quiet character who has a great interest in art (photography and video documentary). Both characters find beauty in the most unlikely places and in unlikely things, some being human corpses.

I think that over all, Buried Lights was a very good play given their endless limitations including budget and time. The acting was very convincing largely due to the small theater size combined with the writers style. The production was not exactly what I had expected. Nevertheless I was absorbed throughout the whole play. I think it is a great success for both the writer and director.

I have never been to a play before I went to Buried Lights so I didn't know what to expect at all. I went on opening night and I was pretty excited to experience my first play. I knew it wasn't going to be a huge production or anything but besides that I had no idea. When I picture a play I picture a big theatre with a lot of people and a lot of actors, and this play had neither. I thought that the crew did an excellent job of making that set from the little room they had, and they made it work really well.

The only thing that wasn't up to my expectations what the sculpture that Colin was creating of his mother. When we talked with Josh Hinke the night before it premeired he talk to us about this sculpture and how it was so hard to come up with a design that could be made, broken and, then remade. So I couldn't wait to see what this sculpture was. Then when I saw the sculpture I was very disappointed. I thought it was going to be something complex and creative and it was a few logs, some chicken wire, and some reeds thrown together with some wood nails. That was the biggest let down for me, but that was one of the only let downs for me.

The thing I didn't expect was the number of actors, I didn't realize that a play could have such a few amount of actors and still put on a good performance. The audience can see everything they do whether it is little or big because we are literally less than 20 feet away from them. So i would say they did a pretty good job of sticking to what they were supposed to, and if they had any mistakes they didn't make them obvious to the audience.

The plot of the play was fairly interesting, I am a fan of suspence and thrillers and that is what this one was. I did think it was a little predictable and unusual. I didn't understand why Meredith got killed, or why Taylor was telling Colin to kill her. Taylor for the whole play was a normal young woman who wanted more from her relationship with her husband all of the sudden turned into something else. There were signs that she was falling for Colin but nothing that I saw showed me that Taylor was losing her mind because of it so I thought that was random.

Over all I thought that Buried Lights was a good play for me to see first. It wasn't too big and wasn't over whelming. I saw some things that I liked and some things that I didn't like. So now when I attend a play I will have something to compare it to and I will know what to look for in a play.

Another thing I'd like to comment on about Buried Lights is the Scenic, costume, and lighting part of the production. It's amazing what they did with such a small space and low budget. When the director Matt Olsen and Josh Hinke spoke to my class Matt mentioned that they had to work around not being able to change the set around during the play. After he told us that I was wondering how they were going to make the audience feel like they were in the room or out in the yard with the characters. First, it really helped that the two separate houses were very different from each other, in the way one was very bright and warm feeling and the other was dark and cold feeling. Second, they used the lighting really well. Whether they were in one of the rooms or in the yard they had the light only on the part where the actors were and the others were in the dark so the audience would be concentrated on the actors.

Another thing I liked about the play Was the costumes that the actors wore. I thought the costume designer did a great job picking out the costumes, because right when each character came on stage I had an idea of what they were like. For example when Colin came on stage for the first time I assumed that he was an artist of some sort.

The one thing that I thought should have been different is the sculpture that Colin was was making. I'm not sure what they could have done different and still it do what they wanted it to, but it seem a little cheesy to me.

Altogether, my thought on the scenic, costume, and lighting portion of the play, is the production crew did a wonderful job working with the limited space and limited funds. It's amazing what they did with not a lot of money.

Though there were a couple of weaknesses in the play, I thought Buried Lights was filled with good quality acting and a truly original plot.

I didn’t mind that it wasn’t an uplifting play. Not all productions are supposed to make you feel warm and good inside. However, I did find myself stressed throughout most of the play. I don’t know if that was the feeling the audience was supposed to walk away with, but it was my personal experience. This was mostly due to the harsh character of Meredith. I give her big props for really getting into the part. I felt as though that was who she is. She wasn’t an actor; she was Meredith.

Colin’s character was creative and refreshing to see on stage. So many times it seems as though all the characters we ever see on stage are either really bold vocally, or they’re the sweet and friendly type. Colin had a personality you wanted to learn more about. However, there were so many times when I wanted to see Collin just yell back at his sister. In a way he did at the end when he was going to leave, but it wasn’t exactly how I had pictured it. Killing Meredith seemed too extreme, and it was awkward for me that Taylor could just stand back and watch. Yet on the other hand, I did understand Colin and Taylor’s connection, and if Taylor would have stepped in, it would have broken their bond. Killing his mother didn’t have too much shock value for me, but strangling his sister just made his character appear to be more weird or crazy than the interesting intellectual Colin the audience was introduced to.

I also liked the lines about Meredith being called Mary. It was the one part where she let her guard down and we were able to see it. I felt it brought across the point that even the coldest people have a part of them that’s vulnerable.So although I was stressed most of the play, I give credit to the good acting that cause the stressful feeling.

The play wasn’t stressful every second. Towards the start of it there was some comedy thrown into it. I found myself laughing at all of it. I also noticed most of the audience laughing along. Josh added some wonderfully written humor that was enjoyed by a wide variety of ages and types of people in the audience.

I want to credit the cast, director, Josh, and the rest of the crew for all the effort and the heart put into it. I know serious productions can be a bit more of a challenge than comedies or other lighthearted genres.

Well first off buried lights was the first serious play I have ever seen and it was my first play I have seen in Duluth. I just want to say from a social perspective I thought the playwrights intentions were to create a serious and mysterious play with a pretty crazy twist at the end that was meant to suck the audience in. And I'm pretty sure that this play doesn't really deal with any social issues today because its pretty twisted and unique.

But in my personal opinion I did overall enjoy the play. I thought that one of the strengths of the play was the actors they did a great job of making the moments in the play powerful or the important scenes meaningful. I was impressed in how they were able to make three different scenes in that small room. It was clear that there were two houses and woods in between them. Colin and Meredith are middle aged brother and sister and their mother just passed away. Colin who had always been a little different would take pictures of disturbing images and save them and no one really knows why and when his mother died he kept a secret which i think took a turn for the worse in the end and Meredith trying to take care of him and look out for him bought him a house out in the woods were he could live peacefully. While moving in Colin and Meredith met the neighbor couple Taylor and Rob, who seemed to be normal friendly neighbors. Rob is a business man who works long hours and follows a plane jane routine while Taylor sits at home all day board looking for something new or an adventure. Her and Colin get very close and spend lots of time together in the woods. Colin who doesn't even open up to his sister gets more and more comfortable with Taylor, Christopher Olsen who plays Colin, does a great job acting opening up to Taylor. They get so close the establish feelings for each other, Taylor wants to know everything about him and what happened in the recent past. Colin final whispers in her ear the secret that unravels in the end. Taylor is having marital problems and her and Rob decide that things just aren't going to work. Taylor gets the idea to run away with Colin. Meanwhile Meredith is unpacking at Colin's house and finds all of his disturbing pictures and one of them looks like their mother, she panics and gets into an argument with Colin. The heated argument escalates and Colin admits to killing his mother and is going to run away with Taylor. Meredith is frantic and doesn't know what to do she tries to stop him and call the cops Taylor screams stop her Colin. He grabs her by the neck and strangles her and the play ends with him taking a picture of her and leaving with Taylor.

I've been intrigued by the comments made so far about Buried Lights. I would agree that the characters Josh Hinke has brought together are interesting and capable of drawing the audience into each personal story. Since characters in realistic plays rarely say what they are actually thinking, I give Josh a lot of credit for giving each character appropriate words so as to be both revealing and compelling.

I'm also impressed with the story. The conflict of human ethics and artistic creativity is particularly intriguing when put into the context of a dramatic thriller.

A play with such strong characters and storyline is also worth consideration in terms of how it might be improved. I make the following suggestions only as a means to offer ideas I'd like Josh to consider.

One way I feel the play could improve is to tighten the relationship of the four characters. I think the play would be stronger if these people are together intentionally rather than by chance. I would suggest the relationship between Rob and Colin be stronger by developing the idea that Rob has provided Colin a studio apartment because of Colin's artistic notoriety.

I'd like to see Taylor have a career. I think the relationships in the play would be more intertwined if Taylor saw herself as a failed artist who feels fulfilled when she realizes she can be an inspiration for Colin. It would also be logical for Rob to encourage her to spend more time with Colin.

I don't believe the type of art Colin creates would be financially lucrative enough to afford such an expensive house. I think it makes more sense for Rob to set Colin up in a studio apartment in order to help Colin's career. If the apartment is owned by Taylor and Rob, the premise would give all of the characters access and familiarity to the playing space without having to ask for permission to enter, or giving the appearance of rudeness or emergency.

I think the three different locations could be combined into one - a studio apartment owned by Rob and Taylor, but provided to Colin so he can continue his art.

I think it would be more interesting to see Colin create art rather than destroy it. Give Colin a medium,such as clay, that has more of a flesh-like consistency, and allow Colin to get his hands messy. I would like to see the space filled with unusual, perhaps even threatening, art, all of it inspired by dead things. As Colin works on his latest creation, the details of his mother's death can be revealed.

A domestic argument that implies a rocky marriage would not have to be discussed in detail if it happens in Colin's apartment sometime when Taylor and Rob are alone there. Since it isn't their home, it would make sense that comments are brief and slightly coded, while still conveying the message that the relationship is troubled.

Lastly, I think Colin murders the wrong person. As Colin finishes his tribute to his mother, he needs to look to what will be his next inspiration. Killing Meredith seemed to be motivated more by fear of being discovered. My impression was that the death of Colin's mother was necessary to inspire the creativity of a sociopath. If Colin needs to kill the things he loves in order to be inspired, the audience would feel more is at stake if we were to realize Taylor is in danger.

I liked the remorse Colin felt after his sister was dead, but I'm not sure the murder has to happen on stage. Perhaps more affective would be to see Colin's remorse (and euphoria) while he's alone on stage. Perhaps Taylor's body is hidden somewhere in the apartment. After Colin's exit, we could see Rob and Meredith enter to realize something may have happened to Taylor.

I liked the use of Polaroid photos in the show. There's something detached and mechanical about the way the camera documents events. Incorporating the Polaroid camera in the final moment of the play is a good instinct to follow. The sound of a Polaroid photo being taken in the dark at the end of the play could be quite haunting.

After seeing Buried Lights I was very satisfied with the overall production, I thought that the storyline was very powerful and showed a darker side of the human psyche. But after it has sat with me for a few days I do have some critiques of the story and production.

First off I felt that the characters in the play weren't as well developed, as I would have liked. I always felt that we didn't really get to know who they really were. I think that it would work to leave Colin a mystery to the audience so that they are figuring him out as the other characters do. As for the other characters in the play I would like to see them a little more developed, it seems that they have conflicts going on that we do not truly understand because we didn't get enough on their backgrounds. For example the conflict between Rob and Taylor when they have their discussion over their failing marriage. I think that we knew enough to understand what was going on and could see it coming but I would have liked to know more about their marriage and why it was failing and why she married him in the first place. Say that in the play Rob does some things that make Taylor happy and in that we can see some of the aspects of Rob's character that Taylor loves, because for me it seemed that Taylor didn't like Rob at all as if there was never anything that connected them. I think (and given I don't know what it is really like) that when a couple's marriage is failing they are trying to find anything in that marriage to make it work, they search each other for that thing that made them fall for each other in the first place. That for me was the biggest drawback to the play; I just thought that Rob and Taylor's marriage wasn't believable enough.

This play relies heavily on Colin and his character development and because of this whomever is playing Colin needs to completely understand his character. I think in the production that Colin comes across as too distant with all his "nothings" and "I don't knows." After a while I sort of gave up on trying to understand him just because not enough of his personality was revealed to us. I think that if we were to hear a little more out of him, even if the answers are lies, it would engage us the audience more in his character.

I agree with Mark also on the fact that I don't believe that Colin, an artist, would be able to afford a house as expensive as stated in the story. I don't believe that any artist really makes a real large sum of money until after their death. I could believe well-to-do middle class but not wealthy class. I think the Studio idea would be a good idea, and then it would be a place where Colin doesn't necessarily live but works there instead. Then with the set design you could show more of Colin's works and this would also give the audience more insight into what his personality is really like without actually having to go out and tell them.

I also like the idea of having the sound of the camera after the stage has gone dark at the end of the play. But I think for added effect; instead of having Colin and Taylor leave the scene so hastily, the stage could go dark with them standing over the body of Meredith. And after the stage goes dark there could be a slight pause and then a camera flashes and we see Colin taking a picture of Meredith and that would be the end of the play.

Overall I think this script has potential. I think that the production we saw in the Dudley wasn't bad for the world premier of this play. I just think that it needs some minor modifications to the script and to how the play is presented; otherwise it was a great show. I am looking forward to seeing what happens when it is shown again sometime.

Through an artistic perspective I believe the actors provided very believeable characters. Starting with colin, I think his character was very curiouse and quiet. He didn't really talk to anyone and when he did it was very brief. I believe Christopher Olsen did a great job being his character. The only person he talked to in the play was Taylor. Kathy Tingum played the role of Taylor very well also. She did well playing the wife of Rob. He was never home so she ended up have some kind of a relationship with Collin. Rob was very good in making his character believable. He was very pursuasive how he would talk to Taylor. They didn't have the greatest relationship and they both made it believable. The last character Merideth, played by Kayla Cooper. She was very good in being the mother type for Collin. She has been looking after him ever since there mother died. The only bad thing I have to say about her character is how long the death took. It was kind of "fakey" it should have been more believable.
Overall I believe the actors and actreses did a very well job getting into their character. I could tell they had to work very hard to get everything down just right. I also belive Josh Hinke did a great job in finding the right people to play the characters he imagined them to be like. I am looking forward to seeing more plays because I have some experience now in seeing plays and interpreting them.

I agree with Jason's comment on the characters. They were all very believable and did a good job with their parts. Each one was pretty close to modern stereotypical characters though nearly slowly opened up to someone, every character's personality had some sort of twist.

Colin, being the main character, was featured in the majority of the scenes. I thought his personality was in some ways similar to the stereotypical quiet, mysterious character, though we were able to see deeper into who he is as a person. He was more artsy and accomplished than the stereotypical mystery character. I can sort of relate to this character, so I feel as though I can make an accurate judgment. I, however, would not become a murderer under any circumstances. The character reminded me of myself in how he spoke. Answers were often in one word, or shortly phrased answers. "I don't know." Was a common answer that I gave to unimportant questions, being both too indecisive, or indifferent to give a real answer. Like Colin's family and friends, mine were sometimes angered, or else intrigued by my personalty. Like myself, Colin was very slow to open up to his new friend, though he gave her a chance.

Meredith seemed very believable. She came across as a big city girl. I do not remember if she was in the play or not. She seemed to be the stereotypical busy, business type of woman that might be found in New York. Her redeeming quality was that she cared so much for her brother, though in real life this girl would likely be just the same. She seemed to be very concerned with getting things finalized, and was programed to be efficient.

Robs character was very similar, but he seemed to have even more of a dedication to his work. His character also had the element of marriage to it. This made things complicated since he neglected to show his wife any sort of love or real concern or notice. I am sure this is a very realistic character, seeing as many marriages are cut short these days, sometimes because of a demanding job.

I think that Taylors character was the farthest from a character normally seen in movies or plays. She seemed to be a regular stay at home wife who was fine with her position and just getting by. She came to doubt her marriage when she realized she was not happy. I think this makes the character very close to that of modern housewives. They may want to be content with just being comfortable at first, but finally they come to realize that they want more. This may be the cause of many divorces today. The thing about this character that seems very unlikely in real life is her willingness to go along with Colin's crazy, homicidal scheme.

All in all, the actors did a great job in being the characters we would expect, and adding on to those expectations to make "Buried Lights" a great production.

I saw Buried Lights on October 5, 2007 at the Dudley Experimental Theatre. I didn’t know what to expect from the play, but I was extremely disappointed. I thought the entire plot was predictable and cliché. The play was about a tortured artist, Colin, who is dealing with the death of his mother and his overbearing, controlling sister. He moves to a new home and he meets his neighbor, Taylor, who inevitably is having trouble in her marriage. Colin and Taylor find a connection with each other and indulge in a type of emotional affair.
The characters’ personalities were obvious right away. Colin is a depressed artist who is withdrawn and socially inept. His sister is trying to take care of him since their mother’s death, but she is controlling and exasperating. If the intent was to make her intensely annoying, than that much was accomplished. To be honest, I was relieved and understanding towards Colin when he killed her at the end. The marriage next door is falling apart because the husband is neglectful and demanding, while the wife is sad and just wants to be appreciated. The actors themselves did an acceptable job portraying their characters, but not to the point where I thought they were completely believable as real people. Brandon Roberts, who played Rob, Taylor’s husband did a great job playing his role. The one strong point in the play was a scene where Taylor and Rob are arguing about their marriage and whether or not they want to work things out. They both were emotional and Rob acted as an angry, hurt husband so well that it felt as if the audience were eavesdropping in their home. Everyone was quiet in the audience and I thought the argument was comparable to an argument of a real couple struggling.
I was surprised to read the other postings and hear that most everyone thoroughly enjoyed the play and had no negative feedback. The play seemed to drag on without any intensity or pinnacle points. At the beginning of the play, I predicted that Colin and Taylor would have an affair of some sort. And right before the second act, Colin whispers something to Taylor and I knew that he had killed his own mother. Similarly, I thought that he might get rid of his sister is some way later on. The play focused a great deal on the sculpture Colin was creating to signify his mother. I was disappointed in the sculpture because references in the play made him out to be a talented artist and the twig sculpture was not impressive. Overall, I thought the play was not very successful. There were some strong points about the characters and a few scenes that stand out to me, but I didn’t think the play was worth attending.

I just thought I would talk about the artist perspective of this play because I just got done reading and writing about theatrical design. There were only four actors in this playwrite you could distinctly tell that Rob was a business man that had a boring plain routine the costume designer did a great job of giving him this image. Meredith's costume was great she looked just like some sort of secretary. She wore a blue womens business suit she did all of Colin's financial work because that was the field she was in. You could tell that she was an uptight women with some sass lol. Taylor's costume didn't like it would be to hard to make and she looked like an everyday middle aged house wife. If I were to ever see the Character Colin walking down the street, even though I don't like to judge or label, I would think he was weird or a little different. I thought that his costume fit the character perfect it was a borderline between what you would call a nerd or creep with camera around his neck taking pictures of weird things.

I wanted to comment on the size of the theatre in which the play was held in because I recently attended a play in a larger theater, unlike the Dudley. I thought I would enjoy viewing a play in a larger theatre, but I actually found that I really enjoyed seeing this play in the smaller theatre. I felt more connected with the actors; I also felt like I was there, in the play with the actors. This gives a more dramatic feel, which follows the play because of its dramatic scenes and conversations between the different actors. Over all, I was very pleased with the theatre size and I look forward to another play in a theatre like the Dudley.

To start off with, I thought that Buried Lights was an awesome production for it being Hinke’s first play which I have repeatedly. After reading some of the other blogs and their critiques, there are a few things that I saw that I agreed with. One of the things was the costumes. The costumes that were worn were good, but I think that the characters should have at least changed them once or twice. For me, the costume is the first thing that I notice because it helps me in some ways connect to the character. Maybe if this play is produced in the future they might want to add some costume changes. It wouldn’t be hard because the play is in the present time. Another thing that I agree with is the idea that the play seemed a little long. I thought that there were parts that could’ve been cut out or shortened because the audience got the point. Other than that, I thought the play was put together great!

Lately in Intro to Theatre we have been talking about stage types, costumes, lighting, sounds, and other things that makes the play work. After learning more about how a play all comes together I feel like I am a little more qualified to evaluate a play. Before I really didn't know what I was supposed to be looking for, what worked and what didn't, and now I think i realized that I missed a lot during the play. The lights are the biggest thing that helped the play in accomplishing what it wanted to. They had a small space and needed three seprate scenes. The lighting really helped that since the woods, and the two houses were right next to each other. When the lights were on one of the houses that is all you would notice and then when they moved to another house or the woods it seemed like the changed scenery completely.
After attending Urinetown I had something to compare Buried Lights to, even though there is a big difference in the plays. The acting in Buried Lights was pretty good right away but after watching Urinetown the acting wasn't anything special, it wasn't bad or anything but it didn't compare to that of Urinetown. It may have been so much different with the acting because of how close the audience compared to the Marshall Performing Art Center but the actors seemed like they were trying too hard to be there character. It didn't seem natural for them to be in character like it seemed like in Urinetown, but that could be because of the Theatre differences.
Theather sizes make a big difference in the performance, and I personally like the larger theather type, no reason it just feels more like a typical play type, and the Dudley seems like it is crammed in and it is uncomfortable.

The play "Buried Lights" was a very well put together, and thought out production. The play is very deep and can be interpreted in many, many ways and I thought that they did it very well. However, there were a few things that I did not like about the play. I totally agree with the comment about facing the audience when delivering a line. It did seem like the actors were often not facing the audience and some of the lines could have been delivered better if they had done so. I also thought that the actors could have been chosen better for that part. They were all very good actors, but I didn't feel that they fit their parts exactly. To me it seemed as though Taylor and her husband were awkward. He seemed as though he was in his late 30's and Taylor looked like she was 16. It made it weird and didn't convince me. Finally I thought that the ending could have been a little more clearing. It left my friend and me confused and not really knowing what just happened, but of course, maybe that was Joshua Hinke's main goal.

All in all i did like the play. It was creepy and suspenseful, but at the same time had comic relief and a love story intertwined. Collin's character was portrayed wonderfully. He totally convinced me that he was strange and had a dark secret throughout the play. I sometimes see the actor around campus and seeing him as himself and smiling and laughing and talking is strange after seeing him act as Collin.

Even with a few flaws this play was done very well. It would be great to see it again somewhere else to see how another director and different actors would change it and make it their own.

After reading and studying more about specific aspects of plays and theatre in Intro to Theatre Arts, I feel and though I have a better understand and more of a view point about them. We have recently been talking about scene design, lighting design, costume design, and theatre spaces. Buried Lights was the first play I have ever seen in a small venue and feel as though it was a real great experience to get a closer and more personal view on specific aspects and attributes that go into the production of any play. I have already commented on the scenic design of Buried Lights, but to reiterate my ideas I believe that the three scenes in one set was thought of and pulled off fairly well. There were certain pieces of each scene that I would have changed such as the believability of the trees lets say, but the overall idea I felt worked well. Another feature of Buried Lights was the lighting design. I thought the lighting was great and really made the scenes what they were. It gave separation of each space, help set moods that were being portrayed on stage, and also really captured the overall feel of the play. We also had a chance to talk to the director, and he sort of filled us in on his costume design idea. It was simple and very collaborative, but the way it was pulled off was great. The costumes of each character were very believable and contrasted well with one another. Finally the theatre space itself was unlike any I have ever been in before. I am used to view plays/musicals in larger venues but really enjoyed my experience in Stage 2 being a much smaller space. I think that an overall space size is important because it can give you a real sense of closeness to the characters; like you really know them and are watching their lives unlike at a larger site you are very aware that you are watching a show. I would not have had these thoughts without being more aware of the importance or specific details about each aspect of performances.

I was very excited to see the production "Buried Lights" because I had the opportunity to meet the play write as well as the director prior to viewing the play. Joshua described "Buried Lights" as a psychological thriller, but I felt that this production fell well short of this genre. Matt Olsen commented in the director's notes that "Buried Lights" was a trip through the human psyche that ultimately led to the issue of trust. "-How deep can you dig before you inevitably strip away all the layers and hit the truth?" "Buried Lights" was indeed about searching for the truth, although the content in which this idea was portrayed within was dull.

The conflicts in "Buried Lights" would have held my attention if i hadn't seen them coming from a mile away. The plot dropped loaves of bread instead of bread crumbs, and left almost no mystery to the plot, despite the fact that mystery was supposed to be a major component of this production. The play lacked a variety of conflict which made the interaction between characters predictable and boring. The spine of the production was the idea that you don't really know the truth about the people closest to you, and if you did, you probably wouldn't like it. This main idea of the production got through to me, but the methods used were bland at best. The relationships between the characters were predictable and all of the characters were cliche. The conflict between Meredith and Colin was interesting for the first five minutes, but the effect wore off as Meredith repeatedly tried to get through to Colin as he thwarted her attempts with dozens of the same lame quips that he repeated over and over again throughout the entire show. The symbolism of the production was effective. The two different houses of the main characters were in stark contrast to each other which enforced their intrinsic differences. Also, the woods scene helped establish the dark, mysterious side of Colin very well. I felt that the acting in "Buried Lights" was sub par, save for one actor. The actors and actresses were good at getting the audience to understand what was on their minds, but they lacked the depth of a very believable character. The only exception was the role of Rob played by Brandon Roberts. He was very believable and while he was onstage I lost myself in the action much more than any other point during the play. I felt like the dramatic twist at the end of "Buried Lights" was simply a way to make up for the lack of zest in the rest of the production and intended to make the audience forget about mediocre action in the rest of the play.

I think that the idea of ultimate truths is an interesting idea worth turning into a script. The truth is something that everyone can relate past experiences to, and for this reason I think that a production like this could be done that effectively gets audiences to ruminate about the inner truths of those closest to them, "Buried Lights" is just not that production.

Like Catherine above, Buried Lights was also my first time seeing a play in a small venue. I agree with her that the set and lighting was done very well for the small space that they had. The houses looked like normal houses and were very believable. They also set the mood for each character. You could tell that Taylor was a normal, somewhat well put together girl by her well furnished home. Collin, on the other hand, had few pieces of furniture and they were all kind of old and falling apart. This shows that he is a sad and sort of disturbing person.
The lighting was also very well done, i thought. It set the sort of gloomy mood with the shadows of the windows and trees. The scene where Taylor's necklace shines in the "moonlight" is a great example of how the lighting was done well with the perfect position of the light to make her necklace sparkle.
I also agree with Catherine that the trees could have been more believable. They could've had more trees, and more actual leaves and branches. The sculpture also could have been done more elaborate and put together.

I'd like elaborate a bit on Mark's comment towards the use of the Polaroid camera with in the play. The use of this camera was a very intuitive idea. I almost felt like the camera was a character in the play. As Colin moved around the stage, quiet, and was snapping pictures and the almost eerie sound of the picture being processed was a very powerful form of medium within the play. Colin's camera captured all the horrific things that he did like capturing the last life of his mother and the picture of Taylor's dead dog. Colin has a obviously close relationship with his camera. His camera in a sense knows all his secrets that Colin attempts to keep from every other character during the play. I don't believe this relationship would have been quite the same if Colin has would have taken pictures with a digital camera. It's kind of like our society today, the relationship between the artist and the art due to digital aspect and computers hasn't been as close of relationship as it once was. In conclusion, the use of the Polaroid camera was an ingenious idea that enhance the performance.

I would like to expand on Mark's comments regarding Colin's artwork. One negative aspect of this part of the show was that we only got to see one of his pieces! His photos were a driving force in the action of the play, and although the audience knew the content of the pictures, it would have been more dramatic if we could have gotten a glimpse of these macabre pictures. We all knew that his obsession of taking pictures of things in pain was disturbing, but I think if Colin would have had some of these pictures displayed in his house, it would have created a constant reminder that Colin was a disturbed individual. So much of the action centered around these photos that it seems unfair that we didn't get to actually see any of them.

The only piece of artwork we got to see was a random arrangement of sticks and straw stuck into a crate filled with foam. I thought that this prop contradicted the character of Colin. In "Buried Lights" he was a tortured artist that was very successful financially, and I found it hard to believe that this arrangement of sticks would fetch even a penny in an art gallery. Seeing as we never saw any of his other works, we can only assume that the piece onstage was similar to the rest of his art. Overall, I was annoyed with the unrealistic presentation of Colin's "art" in the form of the sculpture of his mother. I found it so unrealistic that it was distracting to the point that it took away from the believability of the action.

I’m surprised that nobody really thought that Collin blurting out “The house just wasn’t big enough,” was completely unnecessary and even detrimental to the production. That was like hitting someone with a hammer and then announcing, “I’ve got a hammer.” If something needed to be stated to give the audience clarity, I wish it would’ve been Collin’s motive for killing his sister. It almost seems like there are two separate themes going on here. One of them is the overbearing sister that’s just nagging him incessantly and the other seems to be this obsession with dark images being beautiful. Did he kill his sister because he was an artistic psychopath that needed a few more pictures of the macabre for his collection or did he kill her because she insisted he tuck his shirt in one too many times? The play was interesting but I thought that there was too much left for personal interpretation. His artistic appreciation for dark images is muddled by the relationship with his sister. Maybe he should’ve killed his new soul mate? I also liked Buried Lights but it left to many unanswered questions.

I watched the last showing of Buried Lights and enjoyed the show. I felt the actors all put forth a great effort, but I need to pick the show apart now. So here's a list of what I believed in the show and what I didn't:
Believable:
I believed that Collin was strangling Meredith at the end of the show.
I also believed that they were outdoors because the actors never broke the various walls on either side of the woods scene. The same can be said of the houses.
I believed that Collin cut himself when he was… wildling? I guess that's what you would call it.
Not Believable:
I never saw Collin swallow his pill
The actors walked away and thought of something, stopped, turned around and started their conversation again approximately 706 times in the play. This started to get VERY old.
Meredith “lit” her cigarette in dark, but the ember was never visible. Because she was in the dark, I would expect to see it.
For the first two acts the desk was sitting in a place that was through an imaginary wall, and it also made me nervous that the desk was going to fall because it was almost hanging off the edge of the platform. It got fixed by the third act.
Almost Believable:
When Collin was building his sculpture, he was always fidgeting with it, but it actually changed very little over the span of play.
Annoying:
I couldn't see the actors when they were in front of the middle section of the stage.
I thought that the “exit” at the front of the stage felt very awkward, and moved at least once.
Can't Really Blame Her:
You could see Meredith breathing after she was strangled. I understand you can't just stop breathing, and I don't blame her for this, but you could see shallow breaths.

Upon entering the Dudley for the first time, especially for a world premiere play, I was quite excited and it seemed the rest of the crowd was feeling the same emotions. Overall Buried Lights was a great production. The actors and actresses really seemed like they pushed their hardest to portray the characters as real as they could. The playwright, Josh Hinke created a great psychological drama enhanced with some comedic parts that helped change the pacing of the play. There were however some small details that did distract from the play.

The plays set designers found an ingenious solution having two stages in which the play jumps back and forth between the two. The lighting design really helped out this aspect of the play also by creating a dynamic environment. One distracting element that arouse during the play was the statue. Colin was always playing with the statue which placed some importance on what he was doing, but very little ever changed with the statue itself.

Upon entering the Dudley for the first time, especially for a world premiere play, I was quite excited and it seemed the rest of the crowd was feeling the same emotions. Overall Buried Lights was a great production. The actors and actresses really seemed like they pushed their hardest to portray the characters as real as they could. The playwright, Josh Hinke created a great psychological drama enhanced with some comedic parts that helped change the pacing of the play. There were however some small details that did distract from the play.

The plays set designers found an ingenious solution having two stages in which the play jumps back and forth between the two. The lighting design really helped out this aspect of the play also by creating a dynamic environment. One distracting element that arouse during the play was the statue. Colin was always playing with the statue which placed some importance on what he was doing, but very little ever changed with the statue itself.

To help sustain the believability of the play, the actors and actresses did a fantastic job filling out their characters. Colin was a great introverted, morbid, soul. Also Taylor was an amazing "big city" type girl. Her recent divorce was also a great portrayal. You feel as if you really know the characters personally at the end of the play.

I October I attended Josh Hinke’s “Buried Lights”. It was Josh’s first time writing a play, and in my opinion he did a great job. It was a very in depth production that definitely made me think. I really like how through the entire play, you keep guessing what you think will happen. However, no matter how right you think you are, something happens that you didn’t expect. The scenery was really well done also. It was cool to see the different houses, with the different feels to them both. Colins’ house was dark, and have a very morbid feel to it. It reflected Colins personality really well. Then there was Rob and Taylor’s house. It was well light, organized and modern, a relection of their relationship. I didn’t like the wooded area, in the fact that, the poles did not really resemble trees, and it over all it didn’t really have the feel of an actual forest. The production is definitely worth seeing if it ever comes around again, in any case, I am really happy that I got to see it. I would love to see Josh write another play sometime soon.

Its been quite awhile since I saw Buried Lights, but as I have seen other plays, I cant help but compare aspects of Buried Lights to them. Buried Lights was very thought provoking. After seeing plays like 'Night Mother and In the Sawtooths that both have tragic themes like Buried Lights, its easy to see that tragedy draws in an audience very well. People don't understand many aspects of tragedy in life, and plays like this help us explore these tragedies. Tragedy effects everyone differently, but every audience member can relate to some form of it because it is part of life. Buried Lights was a wonderful demonstration of tragedy's effect on one young man and his family. The death of his mother, which he helped along, took its toll on his relationship with his sister and with all others around. He was unable to connect with anyone because of his deep pain and the guilt for what he's done. This play was a very interesting look into the human psyche, and to how one action can effect an entire life. It was very had to predict what was going to happen in this show, which made it more interesting. Overall this was a very interesting show that raised many questions in the minds of the audience.

Its been quite awhile since I saw Buried Lights, but as I have seen other plays, I cant help but compare aspects of Buried Lights to them. Buried Lights was very thought provoking. After seeing plays like 'Night Mother and In the Sawtooths that both have tragic themes like Buried Lights, its easy to see that tragedy draws in an audience very well. People don't understand many aspects of tragedy in life, and plays like this help us explore these tragedies. Tragedy effects everyone differently, but every audience member can relate to some form of it because it is part of life. Buried Lights was a wonderful demonstration of tragedy's effect on one young man and his family. The death of his mother, which he helped along, took its toll on his relationship with his sister and with all others around. He was unable to connect with anyone because of his deep pain and the guilt for what he's done. This play was a very interesting look into the human psyche, and to how one action can effect an entire life. It was very had to predict what was going to happen in this show, which made it more interesting. Overall this was a very interesting show that raised many questions in the minds of the audience.

Recently in class Mark Harvey mentioned how he had discussed with Josh Hinke over the setting of Buried Lights. Mark had talked about how he suggested that the play could be set in one or two spots rather than three. I do agree with Mark about decreasing the amount of places in which the story is set, but having only one place in which the play is set may be too little. With two sets you could have two living spaces one for Colin and the other for Rob and Taylor. Colin could be renting an upstairs apartment that is in Rob and Taylor’s house. This solution could alleviate the problem with Colin’s housing situation that I had previously stated in an earlier post. I thought that Colin’s house, as the script portrays it, was too extravagant for an artist to afford and this solution of having Colin rent an apartment from Rob and Taylor would alleviate this problem and also make the relationship between the three characters stronger. The story may also be stronger if the parts in which Colin is in the forest were still a part of the story, they would just take place off stage. It seemed that those scenes challenged the continuity of the play. The forest sections weren’t really described in the play but rather left up to the set to portray the setting. Having these instances happen offstage would help in keeping the play contained making the continuity of the story easier for the audience to understand. Reducing the number of places that the play is set in could greatly improve the story as a whole. I look forward to seeing what becomes of this script in the future, for it is an interesting and moving story.