A guest directed play was performed by the university theatre department.

Nov. 19 was the opening night for the university theatre department’s showing of “Three Sisters” by Anton Chekov. The play was directed by actor and director Clarence Gilyard.

Jacob Lavarine, a senior business management major who is also involved with the theatre department, shared that while he wasn’t in the play directly, he was still proud of his friends that performed.

“I think they did a really good job,” shared Lavarine. “It’s been a good turnout, especially for the first  night, and I think that will keep going.”

Lavarine also explained how the play is one that can mirror the lives of the audience, and why the play can draw large audiences.

“It’s a good play,” said Lavarine.”It can be kind of a bummer, but it’s got a lot of life and relationships, just kind of shows that everyone’s going through the same things and has their own daily struggles and something you can relate with.”

Tyler Meyer, a local teacher and actor, played the role of Ferapont, an older man who makes deliveries for a family in the play, who is hard of hearing. Meyer shared why he found his role to be so entertaining and what makes the part stand out from the others.

“It’s this flavor of comedy in the middle of the drama,” shared Meyer. “It’s just a very fun character because he’s on a different level from everyone else, because he can’t hear very well, so it’s a fun thing to play with. I can only respond when people are loud, so it’s something to play with constantly on stage.”

Meyer shared what he loves about performing for the audience in the Vonnie Borden Theatre.

“It’s the theatre itself,” explained Meyer. “I love performing on this stage. I love the great audience. We project in here and it flies to the back and flies back in your face. It just feels really good performing on this stage.”