The students are hard at work on “The Thanksgiving Play,” running from Oct. 27-30, and “Everybody,” running from Nov. 17-20. 

The first play of the semester, “The Thanksgiving Play,” is directed by Prof. Natka Bainchini and includes a cast of four students.

“‘The Thanksgiving Play’ tells the American Thanksgiving story through the perspective of a group of white students trying to put on a politically correct and politically aware Thanksgiving play,” Olivia McKenzie ‘24 said. “In the story, their teacher helps them make sure they represent history accurately and sensitively.”

Larissa FastHorse, an Indigenous playwright, wrote the play. Though FastHorse had written other plays including Indigenous characters, few companies would produce them due to the lack of local Indigenous actors. In response to those rejections, she wrote “The Thanksgiving Play,” which comments on Indigenous issues without the casting obstacle for producers. 

“She wrote this play featuring four white people and it’s a huge satire and everything. She’s like, ‘Here’s a play you can perform!’ I think that is very interesting about it,” McKenzie said. 

The second play, “Everybody,” is directed by Jessica Kingsley ‘23. She auditioned for a play on a whim her freshman year and fell in love with theater and the people involved. Since her surprising start, she’s participated in the Evergreen Players as an actress, set builder, costume designer, hair and makeup artist, and now director. 

“Everybody” is a quirky play that asks and attempts to answer the questions: What happens when a person dies? What does that process look like? What happens after death? Is God real?

“It’s not your average play. This is no ‘Les Mis,’ ‘Hamilton,’ none of that. This is a whole other ball game, and you need to experience it once in your life,” Kingsley said. “Every day I am blown away by how hard the cast is working and how great their spirits are.”

The play features 10 student actors and a staff of students behind the scenes. They range from theater majors to theater-enthusiasts to students who are there for the fun and community. McKenzie will perform in “Everybody” as well. 

“As actors, we’re getting a lot of leeway, which is really nice because the show is so abstract that it gives us a lot of freedom. Because of that, there’s something for everybody in ‘Everybody,’” McKenzie said. 

Kingsley also noted how appropriate it is for Loyola to perform “Everybody,” due to its relevance to liberal arts studies. 

“All of the ideals that you learn in your theology and philosophy classes at Loyola are in this play in some form; you get to watch a play on how these characters are wrestling with questions that we are wrestling with in our classrooms, or even just by ourselves,” Kingsley said. 

“The Thanksgiving Play” runs from Oct. 27-30 in Loyola University Maryland’s Blackbox Theater, and “Everybody” runs from Nov. 17-20 in Loyola’s McManus Theater. Tickets will be on sale Oct. 20 and Nov. 10, respectively. Tickets are $5 for students when purchased at the box office, and $10 for non-students and when purchased through TicketMaster.

Featured Image courtesy of Claire Marino.