"Love's Fire" Burned Bright at Ohio Northern University

This past weekend I was privileged enough to see this year's student directed one-act play festival. The show itself was called "Love's Fire: One Act Plays Inspired By Shakespearean Sonnets," and featured four one-act plays written by Eric Bogosian, John Guare, Marsha Norman and Wendy Wasserstein. There were five chances to see it at the Freed Center's Stambaugh Studio Theatre from March 22 through March 25. One fun little piece of information about the show that you might have missed is that the Production Stage Manager, Daniel Edwards, is an English exchange student from the University of Salford.

The show's four pieces each had a different director/director team. The first piece, Guare's "The General of Hot Desire," was directed by seniors, Annie Liskow and Eli A. Underwood. The next one-act play, Bogosian's "Bitter Sauce," was directed by Underwood. Wasserstein's "Waiting for Philip Glass," was directed by junior, Christopher Hartman. The final one-act play, Norman's "140," was directed by Liskow.

The ensemble of actors who took over various roles in various pieces throughout the performance included Nic Hayman, Olivia Keserich, Raymond Cronley, Laura Jacobs, Devin Sugerik, Alexa Thrush, Kathleen Hill, Christian Hill, and Curt DeBacker, Karlina Kubulins and Haley Holtje. Beautiful scenic design was done by Brian Phillips and junior, Alexander Capeneka. I would finally like to recognize the beautiful pre-show playlist and sound design put together by Kathleen E. Devault and Brian Phillips.

The plays tackled a wide variety of topics and themes including what it means to be human, love, affairs, art, marriage, high society interaction and religion. There were many standout performances that I would like to share with you. The first actor I'd like to tell you about is Devin Sugerik. He portrayed Stephen/God in "The General of Hot Desire," Red in "Bitter Sauce," and David in "140." Each one of his characters were nuanced and extremely believable. It was incredible to see his versatility as he navigated such diverse characters. A comedic, vengeful god, a bad biker who takes what he wants and someone navigating loving/losing people are all very different parts, but he explored each with care and creativity. He always provided a laugh, whether from sniffing the President of Ohio Northern University as God or by chugging Jack Daniel's as a biker, and still was able to touch us with tender moments when the need was there. Kathleen Hill and Christian Hill were absolutely amazing as the troubled, engaged couple in "Bitter Sauce." Laura Jacobs shone as the unhappy wife, Holden, in "Waiting for Philip Glass," a wife getting cheated on in "140," and as the hilarious Eve in "The General of Hot Desire." Raymond Cronley also did extremely well in his portrayals of Daniel/Seth in "The General of Hot Desire," and the eccentric, unhappily married man/former love interest of Holden's in "Waiting for Philip Glass."

The directors, cast members, and technical team did a wonderful job of putting together a beautiful piece of theatre. I laughed, cried, reflected on humanity and felt a great deal of pride for knowing so many of the wonderful people involved in the production. Congratulations on a great run to the cast of "Love's Fire."