Studio Theater production shows a dark side

Studio Theater production shows a dark side

On April 17 and 18 at 7:30pm, PLU senior Cameron Waters brings to life playwright Tracy Letts’ Bug, a tale of paranoia and conspiracy that is riveting, exciting, and thoroughly entertaining. Bug follows Agnes, a lonely waitress, who isolates herself in the hopes of avoiding her abusive ex-husband. When she’s introduced to Peter, she can’t help connecting.

“I instantly fell in love with the insane world of the play and it was something I knew I wanted to see and hear on a stage,” Waters, Bug director, says. “Tracy Letts is a brilliant author and has constructed the world so perfectly in the play that I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to stage it.”

Bug’s darker themes stretch the audience to examine the nature of truth and manipulation. It also explores issues of drug abuse, mental health, and intimate partner violence, because of this it is intended only for mature audiences.

“The themes of distrust, manipulation, and isolation ring true for a lot of people in today’s world, where we suspect that the information we’ve relied on and believed for so much of our lives may not be the whole story,” Waters says.

While the production may touch on darker subject matter, Waters wants the audience to use the experience as a tool for self-examination, and become better for seeing it.

“I would like for the audience to walk away thinking about how they treat others,” Waters says. “[The play] encourages people to empathize with fellow human beings who may have different life experiences. I want people to see parts of themselves in the characters onstage, even though they may have very little in common with them on a surface level.”

The spring Vpstart production will run for one weekend only in the Studio Theater of the Karen Hille Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets can be purchased for $5 at the Campus Box Office in the Anderson University Center or at 253-535-7411. Tickets are limited.