The Student Union Theater was packed wall-to-wall last week with students who came to watch student presentations based on Yusef Komunyakaa’s work.
The presentations took place on Thursday, Oct. 24 and were part of the Common Read program, which provides students and community members the opportunity to read works by an important contemporary author and then meet the author. This year the honored author was Yusef Komunyakaa, a Bogalusa native and Pulitzer Prize winning poet. Several high schools were in attendance for the event, and the theater was overflowing with students. To keep in accordance with the fire marshall’s rules, many students had to watch the presentations from the overflow room, and a second performance of the play was later performed.
“[The student presentations] started in the Writing Center, and it was really informal, and it has kind of grown to this,” said English instructor Heather O’Connell. “But we ask students to read the Common Read, and then they’re doing it in English classes so they’re writing anyway, so we wanted to have a way to kind of celebrate the writing that they’re doing, and that’s the Common Read. So that’s how it kind of started.”
The event began with a presentation of the winners of a couple of contests sponsored by student publications “The Pick” and the “Manchac Review.” Both publications are run by the English department and the Southeastern Writing Center. The editors of the student-run publications picked the best works that were submitted to them, which will be placed in this semester’s publication.
The “Manchac Review” is a creative online publication where students can submit writings, art, videos or music. “The Pick” is a bi-annual traditional publication. The winners of the contests were Amanda Miller for her wood engraving “Magic City,” Casey Scalese for his poem “Will This Poem Be True?” and an essay by Sarah Burkart.
Afterwards, a play was put on called “Gilgamesh: A Verse Play,” which was the highlight of the student presentations. Chance Harvey, professor of American literature and freshman composition, was the director and producer of the play, and several of her students acted in it. The play was a condensed rendition of Komunyakaa’s version of “Gilgamesh.” It was comedic and integrated singing, dancing and music from modern culture. For example, when the serpent, played by Adam Milton, stole the youth-giving plant from Gilgamesh, played by Jonah Zieske, and shed his skin, he stripped off his black body suit as the song “I’m Too Sexy” played in the background. The play was entertaining to both the students attending and Komunyakaa, who was in the audience.
“My favorite part of the performance was the play, and in the play, I loved all the little moments that they took into altering it that made it unique,” said Samantha Wolfe, a freshman majoring in English education. “Especially like the dancing and some of the sillier moments. It was amazing.”
Komunyakaa himself enjoyed the play.
“I was surprised by how flexible the play is,” said Komunyakaa. “It really depends on what the actors, what the director, what we all bring to a piece. So in a way, the play sort of expanded for me momentarily.”