For the past two weekends, University Theatre has put on performances of their latest play, “The Rainmaker.” “The Rainmaker” is about a young con artist named Starbuck coming to a small household in a state overrun by drought. He promises to bring back the rain but ends up bringing hope and love to a young girl named Lizzie Curry. This play was presented to the audience with incredible passion and performance. The cast members presented their parts with realism and confidence, making the audience feel everything from happiness to fear.
“I think The Rainmaker’s performance was my favorite, because it was realistic and the actor [for Starbuck] was very enthusiastic when performing him,” said Elizabeth Hughes, a second-year studying social work who came to see the performance.
The performance of “The Rainmaker” shows that the cast members had studied these characters very deeply and that their understanding of it was enough to make this production an emotional rollercoaster.
“I think it was the chance that we got to sit down and focus on the characters themselves,” said Austin McClure, a fourth-year studying psychology who played the character H.C. “The relationships between the characters, figuring out those small quirks about each other and figuring out how to play them on stage was the best part of everything.”
The rainmaker, Starbuck, took on many forms throughout the entire play, ranging from con artist to love interest and had the audience experiencing many emotions to the end. Carl T. Staub, a third-year studying communication who played Starbuck, spoke about his character and why it was his favorite experience when rehearsing the play.
“[My favorite experience] would have to be breaking down the character that I’m playing,” Staub said. “Not only is he a con artist but he’s also a real person. I’m an actor acting as a man who acts. It’s multi-faceted and it’s having to make the choices of just saying con-man material or does he really feel this way.”
Carson Smith, a second-year studying elementary education, played Lizzie Curry and spoke about her experience with theatre.
“I did theatre in high school,” Smith said. “It was sort of an off-and-on thing, and I didn’t do anything last year so I wanted to try it out. I knew it was a super fun show, and I loved the idea of it.”
McClure also spoke about his time with the theatre department.
“I got my start at college theatre at NC State,” McClure said. “I really just fell in love with this program, and when I read the script I realized how wholesome and enjoyable the story was. I couldn’t stay away.”
The cast members of “The Rainmaker” certainly showed their passion for theatre, and they shared that passion with the audience through their performance. “The Rainmaker,” as a play, was a great presentation of how the department works together in order to make an enjoyable experience for the entire audience. Showing such an incredible performance would inspire anyone to do theatre and show what they have on the big stage.
Staub shared their advice on how people who are interested in theatre can get involved.
“Audition … try out [for performances],” Staub said. “We offer Intro to Theatre and Intro to Acting classes that are just three credit hours apiece, so, if you want a little more experience, feel free to try it. And you miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take, so if you want to be a part of it, come try.”
“If you ever feel the need to get on stage, behind the stage, or be a part of the community, we encourage you to come out because we’re always looking for new faces and new voices,” McClure said. “We want as many people to be a part of this and to share this experience with. If that fear of rejection is holding you back I would encourage you to not let it, simply because this is one of the most accepting communities that I’ve ever been fortunate enough to meet and interact with.”
Though performances of “The Rainmaker” have concluded, keep an eye out for University Theatre’s performances during the spring semester, with their next one being “Cabaret,” which will be showing in February 2019.
