Toy Boat Theatre and UWT Put on Anon(ymous)

Theater, sadly something that has been lacking in many universities such as UWT, will make another appearance at UWT beginning next month. Al­though UWT doesn’t have a theatre major yet, STAG (Student Theater Act­ing Guild) is collaborating with local Tacoma theatre company Toy Boat The­atre to put on a performance of Naomi Iizuka’s play Anon(ymous) for students and the general public to enjoy on May 7-9 and 14-16.

I personally have directed and acted before—although nothing on a large scale—and would like to give some back­ground and insight into this play that I hope you will all consider seeing. Anon(ymous) is an hour-and-a-half long show written by playwright Naomi Iizuka that is based off Homer’s The Od­yssey. The story follows a young un­named refugee named “Anon” who journeys through the United States, meeting a diverse and interesting cast of characters along the way. This is a more “modern,” in a light sense of the word, re-telling of the story of The Odyssey that takes on contemporary issues such as immigration.

I will try to spoil as little as possible in the next part as I talk about the basic plot and movement of the story. The protagonist Anon is separated from his mother during a war due to a terrible storm. After being put in a refugee camp and eventually adopted by an American family, he sets out in search of his moth­er and goes through a chaotic series of adventures that even includes a confron­tation with a sinister one-eyed butcher in a sweatshop.

I personally am very excited to see this play, and I can testify to the enthu­siasm of the people that are involved in the production, such as Marae Slyter, who is the head of STAG. A lot of talent has gone into this production. UWT Writing Studies professor Michael Kula is one of the driving forces of STAG and has been heavily involved in the overall push to bring theatre to campus. Expe­rienced theatre director and professor Marilyn Bennett is directing the play, as part of her theatre company Toy Boat Theatre. The cast and production crew is a combination of UWT students and individuals from around the area. They have done a tremendous job and so has everybody else involved with this project.

I really hope you will all consider joining myself and all of the wonderful and hardworking people that are putting on this production for a great show when it opens in a few weeks.

Anon(ymous) will play in the UWT Broadcast Theatre in Cherry Parkes 007 on May 7 (free preview), 8, 9, 14 (pay-what-you-can), 15, and 16 at 7:30pm. UWT students are eligible for free tick­ets, while students from other colleges will pay $5 and general admission is $10. Tickets are reserved at Brown Paper Tickets; UWT students can claim free tickets by inputting the password “toy­boatanon,” and ID will be checked at the door.