A student directed one act coming soon to CNU Everyone Is Worthy In ‘Identity’

JARRETT CONNOLLY JARRETT.CONNOLLY.20@CNU.EDU

On April 24th, the play Identity will be shown in the Ferguson Studio Theatre (otherwise known as the black box). The one act play is directed, produced, written by, and acted in by Robin Bryant, a senior and theatre major, with a double concentrate in acting and directing, here at CNU.

According to Bryant, the play follows a young trans person in high school who is finding themselves and struggling with high school life and their own identity. “The point of the play is to show people that trans people are just people too and they aren’t big scary monsters and just people who exist.” Bryant emphasized that the point of the play is to show that trans people have the right to exist and that the play is a deeply human look at trans life.

Bryant has been working on the play for over a year as part of her thesis, writing it last year and then putting it together most of this year. Bryant showed resilience in balancing putting on the production and finishing up her final year at CNU, despite many roadblocks and repeated sacrifices. Bryant specifically cited the department’s Program Coordinator Laura Devlin as a major help in getting the play cast and the word out there.

Student directed plays are a rarity at CNU and Bryant hopes more will come, stressing that CNU should invest more in facilitating student playwrights and directors who have stories to tell. Bryant also hopes that her play will contribute to trans representation in the arts, where she feels there is still far too little.

“If you’re writing a play (with a trans character), you have to risk losing a good chunk of any audience…which sucks but it’s the way things are right now.” Regardless of all the potential blowback, Bryant insists on telling trans stories and showing people how trans people are people who are deserving of re- spect.

Bryant has been promoting the show via word of mouth, social media, the theatre department, and by placing posters (which you may have seen with lockers painted with the trans flag colors on the poster) around campus. While she isn’t expecting a major turnout, she hopes people will come see the play and hopes it will have an effect on them. Identity will be performed one night only on April 24th at the Studio Theatre in the Ferguson Center at 7:15 PM, with doors opening at 7:00 PM and the play’s admission is free to all.