Maquella Chacon

Staff Writer

The Idaho State University Theater Department will be going on a tour of three to five high schools throughout Southeast Idaho after receiving a $10,000 grant.

The grant allows the theater department to go on tour through providing resources to purchase technical equipment, backdrops and props which will help them tour more frequently.

The tour will start on October 25 and will be showcasing a play by playwright, Arelene Hutton called “Last Train to Nibroc” which only features two actors and is set in the 1940s.

Starring in the two-person show will be Katherine Ware and Clay Nield. The production will be directed by Joel Shura, ISU’s Assistant Professor of Directing.

This comes after the announcement that the department will produce a full year composed of 4 shows from separate female playwrights. The shows were selected in terms of the Bechdel Test for female representation; the plays will have at least two lead female characters in them, that talk amongst themselves about something other than a man.

The theater department aims to make a difference in the theater community where the representation of women is already much lower and influence a change in current standards.

“The fact that we are doing some shows that people have probably never seen, I feel like that’s really something to be proud of,” said actor Clay Neild. “I do like that we are doing all-female playwrights. We are making an effort to be more inclusive here, and it is hard to be inclusive, especially when you are in a smaller town like Pocatello.”

The touring showcase provides opportunities for participating students such as learning all aspects of touring due to the fact that there will be a small- scale crew traveling with the actors, the ability to adapt and adjust to each setting and the overall familiarity of touring for their future careers.

In addition to providing the performing students with a traveling opportunity, director Joel Shura hopes that this experience will help create an educational outreach program for students in more rural communities that do not have many opportunities within theater.

“I feel like the students of Pocatello have the opportunity to see theater,” Shura said. “Some of our rural neighbors do not have that opportunity so we are taking theater directly to them.”

In the future, Shura said he has hopes to diversify the tours for different age levels of students throughout Idaho and expose them to the theater.

“This year happens to be for high schools because of the nature of the show,” Shura said.  “Moving forward in the future, the idea is that we can choose shows that allow us to go out on the road, sending out wonderful and fun youth productions.”

The lead actors are eager for the show to start and excited to meet students interested in collegiate theater.

“Seeing how different students take the show,” Ware said when discussing what she is most excited about. “Wherever we go, from person to person, they’ll all have different opinions and perspectives of the show. It will be different for everyone.”