As the UNK Theatre Department prepares to close its curtains in May, the last standing production “boom” is set to hit the stage Wednesday. The production follows characters Jo and Jules as they navigate their relationship through the impending end of the world.
Caleb Rother, a junior who is portraying Jules in his first and only theater production, said there’s no opportunity like theater.
“There’s a couple lines throughout that reference this being the end, and obviously within the play that just means this is the end of the world, (and) this is the end of everything as we know it,” Rother said. “But for UNK, this means this is the end of our world as we know it. It’s going to change, and that’s fine, we can’t change that, but we like to pay tribute to it.”
While there is one more production set to hit the stage in May, “Boom” is the last theater production at UNK that follows a play script that can be seen on Broadway. “boom” was originally written by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, and premiered in 2008.
Students involved in the production of “boom” have gone through five weeks of rehearsals after auditions were held in early February.
Ava Lindstrom, a sophomore who is portraying Jo, has worked backstage in every theater production during her time at UNK and is now acting for the first time.
“I think my character is very similar to me in a lot of ways,” Lindstrom said. “I kind of think of it as how would I kind of react in this situation, but obviously I try to put it in the scope of ‘Okay but this isn’t me, so how would someone else who is similar to me in react in this situation?’”
Rothman channeled traits from Sheldon in “The Big Bang Theory” along with modeling people from his personal life.
“For me, it’s pretty easy,” Rothman said. “I’m a molecular biology major, so I already fall into the nerdy category. I actually model a lot of my character around a professor that I work closely with, Dr. Wuellner. She works with fish, so I try to channel a lot of that.”
“boom” only has a three-person cast but includes a supporting crew of 15 people who work behind the scenes to make the production possible.
Darin Himmerich, Theatre Program Director and director of “boom,” said his favorite part is putting everything together.
“I like the creative process of deciding what it is we’re trying to say with the play and how we present it,” Himmerich said. “If I’m watching it and it’s not funny, it’s my responsibility to make it funny, to help the actors deliver the lines correctly, to decide if this is a physical comedy or an intelligent comedy.”
While the UNK Theatre Program will no longer be offered after this year, Lindstrom said she is going to find an outlet to continue participating in theater.
“I have done crew and theatre throughout all of high school, and I don’t know if I could continue normal life without theater,” Lindstrom said.
Performances of “boom” will be shown in the Studio Theatre of the Fine Arts Building March 5-8 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 9 at 2 p.m. The production is free for all UNK students with a valid UNK ID.
Photos by Jenju Peters / Antelope Staff
