Play offers two sides to same story
By Lauren Hanvey
Staff Reporter

There is something very unique about the theater department’s two spring plays this year. One is performed by all men, and the other by all women.

T.J. Walsh, director of “Twelve Angry Men” and “Twelve Angry Women,” said the theater department has grown a lot, and that these plays would be a great way to get more people on stage. He said he has enjoyed working with the men and women separately.

“(I like) seeing the different dynamics that the women bring to the text as opposed to the men,” Walsh said.

The plays will run beginning tonight through Saturday and then April 9 through April 13. The women will perform the first night and the men the next night. The two will trade off each night for the duration of the shows’ performances.

On Sunday, each ensemble will perform half of the play. One will do the first half, and the other will take over in the middle, Jaclyn Napier, a senior theater/TV major, said.

“Twelve Angry Men” was written by Reginald Rose, said Taylor Mills, a junior theater major. The same playwright adapted it for women, he said.

Walsh said Rose wrote the play in 1957 but TCU has revamped the play to make it more contemporary.

The men and women chose not to watch each other’s version of the play until opening night, said Mills, who is in the male production. He said they did not want to be influenced by the person playing the same character as them.

The play opens with a 12-person jury walking onto the stage to deliberate over a controversial murder trial, Mills said. It lasts for an hour and 20 minutes without an intermission because it is intended to imitate real time for a jury deliberation, he said.

The women said their version will be somewhat different than the men’s.

“I would imagine we’re going to have a different emotional dynamic,” Napier said.

Some said they have really enjoyed the experience of working with all women.

“It’s really a safe environment; everyone is really supportive,” said Jessica McClendon, a sophomore theater major.

There is no shortage of good times at rehearsal either, Napier said.

“We have so much fun it’s hard to focus,” she said.

The men said they also have really enjoyed having a same-sex ensemble. It is called an ensemble instead of a cast because it is such a close-knit group, Mills said.

“It’s been a fantastic experience; I wouldn’t change it for anything,” Mills said. “It’s kind of like being in a club.”

Walsh said he agrees that the ensembles have bonded well.

“It is very cohesive,” he said. “It’s like going to camp.”

Lauren Hanvey