By Gabriella DeCampo
In the small Ruth Marder Studio Theater in the Center for the Arts building located on Towson University, a small group of students are standing under the spotlight performing the play they had been rehearsing for months.
The 100 seats in the theater are filled with crew members as they begin to watch one of the final run throughs of the play before it opens on Wednesday.
The person with the notebook taking notes and laughing the loudest is the play’s director, Brandon Boyd.
He has put his heart and soul into this production, but he isn’t a professional director. He is a student in his last year at Towson – and this is the first play that has ever been put in his charge.
“I have never been busy like this in my life,” Boyd said. “I am straddling the line between wanting to enjoy every second of this and I cannot wait till March.”
Last year, Boyd started the process of becoming a director of a play at Towson.
“You have to write a proposal, then you have to pick your own production,” Boyd said. “Then you interview, then they choose however many they choose. It’s an honor.”
He was picked by a group of Towson theater professors.
The piece Boyd has decided to direct is “The Colored Museum” by George C. Wolfe. It is a play that depicts stereotypes of African Americans and their culture. The play is made up of 11 different vignettes filled with satire.
“Ten years ago I did this production and I fell in love with it,” Boyd said.
“This show is important because it bridges a gap,” Boyd said. “It helps people understand what they aren’t communicating about.”
The satire of the play does press serious issues. Some include the issues of hair, changing of identity and wanting to forget your past.
Not only does Boyd believe the message of the play is powerful, the actors do too.
“I love the message that the play has,” said Shannon Graham, a senior at Towson who has four parts in the play, including Aunt Ethel, Janine, lady in plaid and Ms. Topsy.
While she is more interested in acting, Graham believes that Boyd is doing a great job.
“I feel like he creates an environment for all of us to understand one another and I appreciate the way he has been working with us,” Graham said.
“He is the man,” said Matt Acquard, a sophomore at Towson.
Acquard, who has acted in three plays at Towson, said that one reason he became involved in the play is because Boyd is the director.
“What he has that a lot of directors do not have is he is aware of the sensitivity of his cast and understanding there are certain things that might bother someone else in the group,” said Acquard, who has had Boyd as a teacher’s assistant for a few of his classes.
Acquard is in the process of picking a play to direct in the future. He plays Symbiosis Man, the waiter, the narrator, and Flo’rance in “The Colored Museum.”
Boyd has always enjoyed acting. He started at a young age and his passion grew from there.
“When I was 10, I used to do this one-man act on the life of Booker T. Washington and I played all the characters…and people liked it,” Boyd said. “It [the stage] was always where I found myself.”
Not only is this play an important part of his life right now, there is also his classes he needs to balance.
“I am here four hours a night, then go home and do homework for three hours, then get up and to go to class,” Boyd said.
He said there are times at home when he sits with the script and take notes and continues to think about the play.
“You try to remember it is a good kind of tired,” Boyd said.
“The Colored Museum” premiers Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Ruth Marder Studio Theater. There will be a performance every day until Feb. 22. Tickets are on sale now for $5.