Nathan Reed and Deja Samuel rehearse “All New People.” The show will run today through Friday with additional performances
Sunday. Photo by Ashton Dawes
There are long and complex plays that keep the audience on the edge of its seat or eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but some are funny and open, telling a story with no additional fanfare. Ghostlight Repertory Theatre’s production of “All New People” fits in the latter category. The play is comedic despite its confrontation of serious topics.
“’All New People,’ at its heart, is about four strangers coming together in a beach house, connecting and butting heads along the way,” director and sophomore Zach Duane said.
“All New People” takes place on an island off the coast of New Jersey in the living room of a house that none of the characters have a claim to in terms of ownership. The story follows the process of a lonely man slowly warming up to the three other characters who force their way into his life.
This production marks Duane’s directorial debut. He said the experience of directing is very different from “being directed.”
“I’ve had to think through a lot of things that I wouldn’t have to as an actor,” Duane said. “I feel a greater level of artistic input as a director than as an actor.”
The show “All New People” is only 80 minutes long, but the audience will be faced with the importance of friendship, a scare with suicide and all sorts of sexual innuendos. At first, one might be concerned with some of the more sensitive topics of the play, but Duane assured it is all the more reason to come.
“I actually picked this play because it helped me out of a dark time,” Duane said. “It makes it easier for people to understand those who are in bad situations without being oppressive.”
Duane is not the only one making his debut. Actor Nathan Reed, freshman in the Ole Miss Theatre Department, will be performing for the first time on a university stage. Reed will play the main protagonist, a character named Charlie.
“With this being my first play, I’ve got to say I’m a bit nervous going into it,” Reed said. “I ended up just kind of falling into the cast. It’s a really great creative environment.”
After praising his fellow cast members and the crew, Reed emphasized how much he liked working on “All New People.”
“I’m really excited to show it to everybody,” Reed said.
His fellow actor, Charlie Allen, a sophomore at Ole Miss, agreed.
“It’s a very interesting show,” Allen said. “The characters really change and develop in that time. My character starts off as kind of macho, but he’s more layered than that. It’s his insecurities that make him a kind of antagonist in the show; but as he develops, he begins to see that the other character’s, even with their problems, are people too.”
Allen is playing the second male lead, a character named Myron. The two actresses on stage are Deja Samuel, playing the main female lead Emma, a British woman trying to obtain her green card, and Karen Ann Patti who will be playing Kim, an escort. A few other actors join them in videos that are interspersed throughout the show, combing both video and live action.
Scenic designer Chris Marzella was pleased with the outcome of the production.
“I think we’ve really got a show,” Marzella said.
“Come and see it,” Duane said, inviting everyone to enjoy in the cast and crew’s hard work. “It’s going to be great.”
Tickets are $8 and can be purchased at allnewpeople.brownpapertickets.com.
“All New People” will be performed today through Friday at 7:30 p.m. and again at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
