All the world's a stage for King's theatre society

King's Theatrical Society includes shows' audience as society members

Members of the King’s Theatrical Society perform Sophocles’ Antigone on the steps of the university’s library. (Photo: Sydnee Bryant)

Something peculiar happened in front of the University of King’s College library this fall.

A group of energetic students took over the steps in preparation for the King’s Theatrical Society’s rendition of Sophocles’ Antigone. The play was staged Oct. 4 as part of an annual tradition called Classics in the Quad. About 80 people sprawled out on blankets and coats in front of the library to watch the spirited performance.

Emily Quail, a second-year King’s student, played Queen Eurydice.

“The play is about the struggle between the familial life and the life of the state, represented in the two characters Creon and Antigone,” she says.

The 77-year-old society usually chooses the play for Classics in the Quad based on what is being taught in Foundation Year Programme, a first-year program in which students study classical literature.
   
At the beginning of every academic year potential directors submit play proposals to the society’s executive. The executive, which consists of seven students, then chooses which plays will be performed that year.

The society stages a show approximately every two weeks, says Christina Turner, the communications officer for the society. This year’s upcoming shows include Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, God by Woody Allen and Camino Real by Tennessee Williams. The society will also host a Fringe Festival Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, featuring student-written plays.
   
With the exception of Classics in the Quad, the plays are usually done in the pit, located below the university chapel. This small theatre normally holds about 60 to 70 people, depending on how large the set is. Shows are sometimes held in the King’s Theatrical Society room, also known as the Red Room, located on the second floor of the New Academic Building.
   
The society’s audience is mostly made up of students, but the shows also attract attention from King’s alumni and other Haligonians. The size of the audience is usually around 60 people, Turner says.
   
The audience may be considered small by theatre standards, but at King’s the audience plays a bigger role than they may realize. For years, the society has included their audience as members of the society.
   
“Technically anyone who comes to a KTS show is a member of the society. So it’s pretty much impossible to be a King’s student and not at some point be a member of the KTS,” Turner says.
   
King’s has a total of about 1,100 students. Each year the number of students who become members of the society ranges from about 600 to 700 people, says Turner.
   
The president of the society, Joanna Caplan, says it’s only natural to include the audience in its membership. “Theatre is an art form that requires an audience to succeed.”
   
“I believe that it’s the core of theatre, that interaction between audience and theatre artist and its engagement that actually gets the whole process actually happening.”

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