WARTBURG PLAYERS TO PRESENT ‘MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION’

KATIE HIRV, TRUMPET CREATIVE DIRECTOR & KNIGHT WIRE MANAGER

The Wartburg Players, the student-run theater organization, has found creative solutions to continue their activities despite the pandemic. This spring they will perform “Mutually Assured Destruction” in March.   

“We’ve been doing workshops and have had other professionals in the area speak. Our last meeting, we had someone from the Cedar Rapids area who is in charge of a theater company there speak. They talked about how they’ve been doing theater and how we can continue the performing arts during COVID-19 ,” Allison Kuehn, president of the Wartburg Players, said.  

The Wartburg Player meetings have been taking place using Zoom, which allows the students to connect and participate whether they are living on campus or learning remotely from their hometowns.  

According to the Playscripts website, “Mutually Assured Destruction” is described as “a century’s worth of sibling squabbles boiled down into ten vignettes in this era-hopping tribute to family.” The website said each short play will look at relationships between brothers and sisters, and their relationships with the parents.  

“The reason we chose this show is because we’re performing eight small mini-plays that are about 10 minutes long and are just with duos of two people on stage, which allows us to socially distance. The cast can also rehearse at the times that are most convenient for them,” Kuehn said.  

The Wartburg Players executive team is still trying to figure out what this production is going to look like in terms of audience members.  

“The plan at the moment is to try and do a recorded livestream. Having a live audience and what that would look like is still up in the air,” Alexis Green, Wartburg Players events and promotions manager, said. 

As the group prepares for first rehearsals, safety is at the forefront.  

“We’re toying with the thought of different masks. We are thinking about doing a livestream on our Facebook of the performance, but we’re going to wait until March comes around so we can see what’s going on,” Kuehn said.  

“There are certain masks we’ve seen other theaters using that are like face shields, but for the bottom half of your face, so the audience can still see your facial expressions. If we aren’t able to do that, we’re going to try and have it so the masks match the character’s costume,” Green said.  

Despite challenges, the Wartburg Players executive team is determined to present a safe, entertaining performance for the campus community.  

“Our main goal is getting people up on stage this semester. We’re really hoping people come out and participate and audition. A lot of us are yearning to have these in-person experiences,” Kuehn said.  

For more information about the play, contact Kuehn at allison.kuehn@wartburg.edu.