2008 Woodie Awards
Life lessons learned
Lindsay Stuart
Issue date: 10/9/07 Section: A&E
Issues of murder, race, death and pride take center stage Wednesday as "A Lesson Before Dying," an SIUE production, opens up on the Dunham Hall stage.
The play, an adaptation from the book by Ernest J. Gaines, is about a young black man named Jefferson in small-town Louisiana in 1948. Jefferson is wrongly sentenced to death for the murder of a storeowner and in his trial, his lawyer says he is "nothing better a hog."
Jefferson takes that to heart and begins acting like an animal, insisting that is the way he will be treated.
"It's a story about a young man and his journey from thinking that he's no better than an animal to actually being able to die with dignity," Director Kathy Bentley said.
The cast of "A Lesson Before Dying" has been rehearsing since the beginning of September.
"I'm really pleased with the way it's going, overall," Bentley said. "I'm proud of the students and the cast. They are just wonderful. Sometimes we move so quickly that I don't get to tell them how proud I am of them. I really am quite proud of where we are right now."
Sophomore Greg Fenner plays the role of Grant Wiggins, Jefferson's former teacher and mentor.
"It's really, really good because it's unlike anything I have ever done before," Fenner said. "I've done a lot of comedies in the past and this is the complete opposite of a comedy. It's really intense and deals with serious issues like death and race, so being able to do something different is really great. It's been a really great experience."
This is the sixth show for Fenner, an SIUE theater performance major.
"I like the idea of being able to get in someone else's shoes and see something the way they would see it, even becoming a different person, almost," Fenner said. "I also just love to perform and get up in front of a bunch of people, while doing what I love to do."
The part of Jefferson is played by freshman Curtis Lewis.
Although this is Lewis's first production with SIUE, he is no stranger to the stage. Lewis got his start acting in plays at his church. For him, the hardest part of being in this show is adjusting to the more adult language.
The play, an adaptation from the book by Ernest J. Gaines, is about a young black man named Jefferson in small-town Louisiana in 1948. Jefferson is wrongly sentenced to death for the murder of a storeowner and in his trial, his lawyer says he is "nothing better a hog."
Jefferson takes that to heart and begins acting like an animal, insisting that is the way he will be treated.
"It's a story about a young man and his journey from thinking that he's no better than an animal to actually being able to die with dignity," Director Kathy Bentley said.
The cast of "A Lesson Before Dying" has been rehearsing since the beginning of September.
"I'm really pleased with the way it's going, overall," Bentley said. "I'm proud of the students and the cast. They are just wonderful. Sometimes we move so quickly that I don't get to tell them how proud I am of them. I really am quite proud of where we are right now."
Sophomore Greg Fenner plays the role of Grant Wiggins, Jefferson's former teacher and mentor.
"It's really, really good because it's unlike anything I have ever done before," Fenner said. "I've done a lot of comedies in the past and this is the complete opposite of a comedy. It's really intense and deals with serious issues like death and race, so being able to do something different is really great. It's been a really great experience."
This is the sixth show for Fenner, an SIUE theater performance major.
"I like the idea of being able to get in someone else's shoes and see something the way they would see it, even becoming a different person, almost," Fenner said. "I also just love to perform and get up in front of a bunch of people, while doing what I love to do."
The part of Jefferson is played by freshman Curtis Lewis.
Although this is Lewis's first production with SIUE, he is no stranger to the stage. Lewis got his start acting in plays at his church. For him, the hardest part of being in this show is adjusting to the more adult language.
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