In 2022, the Albertus Magnus College Drama Club was revived after years of hardship. That year they held their first playwright contest, which was a success that debuted a student-written play—The Atomic Family From Outerspace. In the second year of their contest, they received an unprecedented number of submissions and decided to perform two plays on the same night– Getting A Head By Tessa Schober ‘24 and The Five Stages By Kristian Lozada ‘25.
Getting a Head is a twenty-minute horror play set in the 1920s which features a married couple (Bob and Sherry) as they embark on a road trip moving from Idaho to California. The couple’s relationship is tumultuous; Bob is extremely controlling and often lets his anger get the best of him, while Sherry is the polar opposite. As the couple takes their journey to California, they stumble across a cooler with the decapitated head of a woman. Sherry has empathy for the now-dead woman and begs Bob to take it to the police station so she can get justice; Bob, on the other hand, is very apathetic but eventually concedes and drives to the police station. When the couple gets to the police station, the officer says that the decapitated woman “was looking for trouble” and dismisses Sherry. This interaction between Sherry and the detective enlightens her and changes her outlook on her marriage; she decides that she no longer wants to live in Bob’s shadow. The play ends with a powerful monologue from Sherry, which explains that she wants to liberate herself from her marriage. The play’s message is consistent with Schober’s other works, focusing on feminitiy and breaking free from gender roles.
The Five Stages was the second play of the night. The playwright Kristian Lozada described this play as a murder mystery that draws influence from ‘Knives Out.’ The play’s name is an easter egg; each character represents a stage of grief. We see denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance in the five murder suspects. In every scene, a character reveals another clue that the audience can use to guess who killed Jack Lovejoy. Similar to ‘Knives Out’, the audience begins to second guess who they initially thought the murderer was as the play progresses. The Five Stages is so much more than a murder mystery; however, it explores themes of domestic violence, love, revenge and shines a light on mental health issues that are not often talked about.
These plays both showcase the talent of Albertus students and the purpose of a liberal arts education. These students are not only focused on the traditional aspects of education but also exploring the arts. In an era where the arts and humanities are often undervalued and overlooked, it is important that the Drama Club students keep it alive. This spring, the Drama Club will be performing the musical A Trail to Oregon. Stay tuned for more information and the dates for the show.
Keep Up With the Drama Club
To keep up with the Drama Club, you can follow them on Instagram. If you’d like to learn more about Albertus Magnus College’s student clubs and organizations, click here.
Be sure to stay tuned for their student contests next year. If you want to step into the spotlight (or maybe help from behind the scenes) consider joining their cast and crew.