Roughly 40 students joined the Arts and Literature Society and the cast of Lysistrata for a behind-the-scenes conversation about this classic Greek comedy performance with a 1950s beachfront twist on March 5 at 5:30 p.m. in the Fain Fine Arts Center lobby. 

Karen Dabney, assistant professor of directing in the theater department, said, “I was most excited about having people interact with the cast, and just getting excited about seeing the show, and getting students to realize that theater can be a good night out.”

Cast members agreed to the opportunity to talk to the student audience. 

Ellanor Collins, theater sophomore and leader of the old women’s chorus, said, “I love being more accessible to the audience, and sharing my love of theater and this show.”

Cast members of Lysistrata and the Arts and Literature Society planned the activities for the evening. 

Dabney said, “The turn out was really great. I had no idea if we were going to have five or 50 people. It was a really good turn out, and I’m excited because that means we have 30-40 people who are coming to see the show, and one big cluster of people who had this experience going in, that they can hopefully translate into a more enjoyable entertaining night.”

Attendees enjoyed the food catered from Gyros & Kebobs.

Joey McGinn, theater freshman and Harold of Sparta, said, “I love Greek food and meeting new people, but I really enjoy the scene thing we did, Karen told me to just go along with it. It’s fun to do some improv and blocking, because we have the blocking we’ve gone over, and when you get into a party, the blocking changes, and changes the dynamic.”

Among food and audience-cast interaction, was a series of scenes performed by the cast members. 

Dabney said, “We thought that if people were just eating and talking among clusters, that we wouldn’t get people jazzed for the show. It’s like an appetizer. You want to get a little taste of something to get you excited; like a movie trailer. We thought, let’s do a few snippets from the show and that way people can talk among themselves afterwards about what they thought was weird or silly, so they could start to have that dialogue going into the show. So that then, they’d have bigger laughs once they saw it on stage.”

Students enjoyed free food and a chance to talk to the cast members. 

Jennifer Holt, psychology sophomore, said, “My favorite food was Humus and Pita bread. I came for the free food and a chance to talk to the cast members about their life. I’m also excited about the 50s theme, and seeing how it all works together.”

Meet and Greet

Actors and students gather greek food for themselves at the Lysistrata play meet-and-greet on March 5th in the Fain art building lobby. Photo by Kayla White.

Actors and students gather greek food for themselves at the Lysistrata play meet-and-greet on March 5th in the Fain art building lobby. Photo by Kayla White.

Actors and students gather greek food for themselves at the Lysistrata play meet-and-greet on March 5th in the Fain art building lobby. Photo by Kayla White.

Jonathan Stone and Ellanor Hattie Collins, theater preformance sophomores, acting out a small part of the Lysistrata play as a conversation starter at the meet-and-greet on March 5th in the Fain lobby. Photo by Kayla White.

Jonathan Stone and Ellanor Hattie Collins, theater preformance sophomores, acting out a small part of the Lysistrata play as a conversation starter at the meet-and-greet on March 5th in the Fain lobby. Photo by Kayla White.

Jonathan Stone and Ellanor Hattie Collins, theater preformance sophomores, acting out a small part of the Lysistrata play as a conversation starter at the meet-and-greet on March 5th in the Fain lobby. Photo by Kayla White.

Actors and students converse with eachother at the Lysistrata play meet-and-greet on March 5th in the Fain lobby. Photo by Kayla White.

Actors and students converse with eachother at the Lysistrata play meet-and-greet on March 5th in the Fain lobby. Photo by Kayla White.

Actors and students converse with eachother at the Lysistrata play meet-and-greet on March 5th in the Fain lobby. Photo by Kayla White.

Actors and Student listen to Dr. Todd Giles, head of the Arts and Literature Society, at the beginning of the Lysistrata play meet-and-greet on March 5th in the Fain lobby. Photo by Kayla White.

Actors and Student listen to Dr. Todd Giles, head of the Arts and Literature Society, at the beginning of the Lysistrata play meet-and-greet on March 5th in the Fain lobby. Photo by Kayla White.

Actors and Student listen to Dr. Todd Giles, head of the Arts and Literature Society, at the beginning of the Lysistrata play meet-and-greet on March 5th in the Fain lobby. Photo by Kayla White.