2008 Woodie Awards
Plays in Process: "Nona's Tree"
Michelle Ovalle
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: Arts and Leisure
Shaun Fletcher's ('08) play, "Nona's Tree," was performed Wednesday night in the Directing Lab of the Dorothy Young Center for the Arts. It is a play that spans the lifetime of the relationships between the characters.
The action is centered around a crab apple tree in which sits the ghost of Sonya, one of the main characters, while various others, such as the younger forms of Sonya and her husband, live their lives around her.
This work is touching without being sappy. In the end, the audience realizes that Sonya has been in mourning for her husband who was killed in war.
Lola Tyson ('10) as Sonya, Paul Webster ('11) as Timmy, Suzanne Sheptock ('11) as Nona, Basil Utter ('08) as Dan, Lili Ashman ('10) as Tanya and Rachel Kenner ('09) as Aunt Tess brought the play to life on stage. Fletcher made it clear that he was impressed by all those who worked on his play.
"The director, [Caitlin McWethy] and the cast are really great. Better than I expected," Fletcher said. "So, I should really only get a small amount of credit because I was one person out of so many more who actually made it a play and not just a bunch of scribblings on paper."
The Acorn: As a Biology major what prompted you to write this play?
Fletcher: I love writing and all kinds of writing. I hadn't tried playwriting and I figured I'd give it a shot.
A: How did you come up with the concept?
F: I wish I knew. A lot of the details come from things in real life. I had a crab apple tree from around ages 6 to 8. The rest is raw emotion and a bit of social commentary thrown in.
A: Did you anything influence you in writing this play?
F: Honestly, there was one: The idea of talk radio, which sounds weird because it has little to do with the play. I had this idea of an entire play being on-stage and one person not moving and everything happening around him.
A: Are any of the characters based on people you know?
F: Yeah, a little bit. Dan is based on a friend I had when I was little. Tess is loosely based on my aunt Tanya, which is where I got the name "Tanya" for the other character. Tess is meaner in the play than my actual aunt is.
The action is centered around a crab apple tree in which sits the ghost of Sonya, one of the main characters, while various others, such as the younger forms of Sonya and her husband, live their lives around her.
This work is touching without being sappy. In the end, the audience realizes that Sonya has been in mourning for her husband who was killed in war.
Lola Tyson ('10) as Sonya, Paul Webster ('11) as Timmy, Suzanne Sheptock ('11) as Nona, Basil Utter ('08) as Dan, Lili Ashman ('10) as Tanya and Rachel Kenner ('09) as Aunt Tess brought the play to life on stage. Fletcher made it clear that he was impressed by all those who worked on his play.
"The director, [Caitlin McWethy] and the cast are really great. Better than I expected," Fletcher said. "So, I should really only get a small amount of credit because I was one person out of so many more who actually made it a play and not just a bunch of scribblings on paper."
The Acorn: As a Biology major what prompted you to write this play?
Fletcher: I love writing and all kinds of writing. I hadn't tried playwriting and I figured I'd give it a shot.
A: How did you come up with the concept?
F: I wish I knew. A lot of the details come from things in real life. I had a crab apple tree from around ages 6 to 8. The rest is raw emotion and a bit of social commentary thrown in.
A: Did you anything influence you in writing this play?
F: Honestly, there was one: The idea of talk radio, which sounds weird because it has little to do with the play. I had this idea of an entire play being on-stage and one person not moving and everything happening around him.
A: Are any of the characters based on people you know?
F: Yeah, a little bit. Dan is based on a friend I had when I was little. Tess is loosely based on my aunt Tanya, which is where I got the name "Tanya" for the other character. Tess is meaner in the play than my actual aunt is.
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