To extremes
‘Extremities’ labeled controversial by some for portraying sexual assault

By Carrie Woodall
Staff Reporter

“Extremities” is the most controversial piece the theater department has ever performed, said Be Boyd, play director and associate professor of theater.

“The show is controversial because it is about a woman who is sexually assaulted,” Boyd said. “It will be a life-changing experience for the audience, forcing them to invest their own energy and emotions into the set.”

The play opens at 8 p.m. Thursday in the University Theatre.

Tim Cox/SKIFF STAFF LaVar Veale, a senior theater/film major, Melissa Odom, a sophomore theater major, and Eileen Trilli, a senior theater major, practice for the TCU theater department’s production of “Extremities.” The play opens at 8 p.m. Thursday at the University Theatre.

Boyd said the play is visually stimulating and engaging. She said the performers have looked deeply into what can actually happen to a person in an assault situation.

Kirsten Upchurch, a junior theater arts performance major, who plays the lead character, Marjorie, said the piece has many emotional effects.

“It’s about rape, and that is not what people want to hear,” she said. “Rape is a very real part of life, and the audience will be shocked.”

LaVar Veale, a senior theater/film major, plays Raul. He said the role requires him to do things he would never do.

“It is a really violent performance at times,” Veale said. “I don’t want people to see me like that in real life, but I just have to remember that what’s on stage is not real.”

Upchurch said the personal impacts of the piece are enormous, and she has learned lessons that she will always remember.

“(The play) has taken an emotional toll on me,” she said. “But I have learned how to handle conflict and know that it is OK to get mad about some things.”

She said she is more aware of her surroundings when she goes out now because she knows what a woman can go through even after the rape occurs.

Robin Devoe, a senior theater and radio-TV-film major and the production’s fight captain, said the performance is more like a movie than a play.

“It is totally different from any other production on stage,” she said. “The audience will feel like they are watching a movie because of the lights and technicalities of the show.”

Boyd said that although it is a powerful piece, the play is definitely adult material, so parents should not bring their children.

Because the content of the show is of a mature nature, the TCU Counseling Center and Rape Crisis Center are providing Sexual Assault Awareness Sessions Thursday, Sunday and March 10 after the show.

Upchurch said she thinks it is a good idea to host these workshops because people need to be informed.

“After being educated for the show and playing Marjorie, I now have a better idea of how to deal with situations like rape, including how to help other people who are victims of rape,” she said.

She said people need to know places they can go and other people they can see about sexual assaults.

Carrie Woodall
c.d.woodall@student.tcu.edu