To Spin the Bottle Sideways
Student-produced musical presents a montage of games
By: Christine DiGangi
Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: Features
A joke, a gamble, a break, a sport - a game. Recreation is seen as an escape from reality, and a line is drawn between a game and real life. To question the existence of this line, Duzer Du, the DePauw chapter of the theater honor society Alpha Psi Omega, produced To Spin the Bottle Sideways: A musical montage of people playing games.
Dustin Funk, a senior actor and co-writer for the show said the idea came from an interest in musicals and a desire to deviate from stage productions already in existence.
After several months without a proposal for an entirely student-written production, To Spin the Bottle Sideways was thrown together in December. Although it was a multiple-person effort, senior Kelly Gagnon took charge by directing her first full-length show and writing the majority of the script.
However, the production is not just the audience watching some actors play musical chairs; it's observing the actors live the games.
"I think games mirror human interaction," Gagnon said when asked about the inspiration for the show. The line between game and reality is eliminated as the cast of roughly 20 students embarks on a journey through 10 games, ranging from those of toddlers to antics that can be found at a college party.
"I think all of us pulled a little out of our own lives," Funk said about writing the script.
However, Gagnon used the term "script" lightly.
"The script was just the framework. The cast had a lot of creative leeway," she said. While the writing was attributed to a few individuals, Gagnon described the play as collaborative. "The actors had to harness their own creative instincts," which resulted in pressure on the actors to create the show themselves, she said.
The evolution of the games demonstrates this creative effort. Actors participating in a game of "follow the leader" go from elementary school Girl Scouts, to rioting college students in a matter of a few moments. The actors portray some familiar situations, including poking fun at last year's Sodexho boycott.
Dustin Funk, a senior actor and co-writer for the show said the idea came from an interest in musicals and a desire to deviate from stage productions already in existence.
After several months without a proposal for an entirely student-written production, To Spin the Bottle Sideways was thrown together in December. Although it was a multiple-person effort, senior Kelly Gagnon took charge by directing her first full-length show and writing the majority of the script.
However, the production is not just the audience watching some actors play musical chairs; it's observing the actors live the games.
"I think games mirror human interaction," Gagnon said when asked about the inspiration for the show. The line between game and reality is eliminated as the cast of roughly 20 students embarks on a journey through 10 games, ranging from those of toddlers to antics that can be found at a college party.
"I think all of us pulled a little out of our own lives," Funk said about writing the script.
However, Gagnon used the term "script" lightly.
"The script was just the framework. The cast had a lot of creative leeway," she said. While the writing was attributed to a few individuals, Gagnon described the play as collaborative. "The actors had to harness their own creative instincts," which resulted in pressure on the actors to create the show themselves, she said.
The evolution of the games demonstrates this creative effort. Actors participating in a game of "follow the leader" go from elementary school Girl Scouts, to rioting college students in a matter of a few moments. The actors portray some familiar situations, including poking fun at last year's Sodexho boycott.
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