As Messiah’s Greek performances come to a close, there are still opportunities to stream theatre during the upcoming fall senior shows.
Theatre and public relations major Bryanna Pye and dance major Ryan Wong stare down the final stretch of their college careers, demonstrating years of work within their original show, “Words We Wish We Said.”
Their collaboration uniquely contrasts with previous years of these capstone projects, as theatre majors and dance majors usually create separate shows.
“You hardly ever see the two combine,” Wong said. “And even if you do, it’s very fragmented.”
However, being paired together by the department, Wong and Pye saw the opportunity to blend their majors together.
“We want the dance and the theatre so intertwined and integrated that they both forward the story,” Pye said. “It shouldn’t be just separate because, theatre and dance, they’re both performances, it’s just different expressions.”
In addition to the cohesion of dance and theatre, their show took form under and will perform during unprecedented national circumstances – at one point, the two were not sure the show would go on.
However, they used the chaotic spring and summer to catalyze their creative energy, letting the events drive their original messages.
“Also, it’s an encouragement piece to just be like, ‘It’s ok to not have your life together, especially in a pandemic where things are so crazy and insane,’” Pye said.
Crafting an original storyline and working together with their on and offstage team, Pye and Wong wanted to appeal to a wide variety of audiences by offering experiences and ideas that affect nearly everyone.
“We have these two strangers that have a coincidental meeting,” Pye said. “And they stumble upon each other and they realize that, instead of being strangers, they’re actually quite similar in how they’re feeling things and how they experience the world around them.”
The overarching themes center around topics such as depression, rejection, isolation and the nuances of how humans feel emotions.
“With this show, we’re hoping to bring comfort to those who are going through that,” Wong said. “And we’re hoping to bring comfort to those who may not necessarily be going through that, but just need entertainment.”
With such universal themes and ideas, Pye and Wong want viewers to glean their own meanings relevant to the baggage that each individual brings with them.
“We don’t know what people are walking in with and their experiences that they’ve had coming into this show to view it,” Pye said. “So just walking away with whatever they need to walk away with is also our goal in this.”
Support these seniors by tuning into the livestreamed performances on Nov. 13 and 14 at 8 p.m.