Same Page, Different Script

By Natalie Moya

“Who doesn’t want to pay $3 to hear funny stories about sex?”

This is Andrew Kramer’s rational for his upcoming show “Let’s Talk About” the first production by Busted Space Theatre Company.

Kramer serves as president, while Erin Neufer, junior acting major, serves as vice-president of the new student-run theater group Busted Space. The two wanted more freedom when it came to theater and it motivated them to take matters into their own hands.

Kramer says, “We want to be able to have a little bit more control, explore what we want to explore. We don’t want ‘The Sound of Music’ six more times.”

And they are taking control. Busted Space will perform original works that members write themselves. They will also cast and produce all of their shows.

The first show Kramer sketched out for Busted Space to perform next semester is a collection of student monologues about sex. Kramer gathers his material for “Let’s Talk About” from experiences students post on a blog site. On the site, students are encouraged to anonymously tell any stories they have about sex: good ones, bad ones or funny ones, as long as they are true.

“There’s merit in real stories,” Kramer says.

Kramer plans to keep the honesty of the contributors with minimal editing, but he won't tolerate gratuitous remarks. Kramer and Neufer strive to be both truthful and controversial.

“Since ancient Greece, theater has been a way to talk about things that people don’t talk about,” Kramer says. “Controversy attracts people.”

Neufer says she hopes that “Let’s Talk About” will allow students to walk away with a more open mind about discussing subjects like sex.

Junior Jonathan Jensen, a musical theater major and Busted Space treasurer, says that the group wants to attract viewers with a shocking topic like sex to help build a fan base of diverse students, not just theater and dance majors.

“Our goal is to reach out to the student community,” Jensen says.

Kramer says, live theater is the best way to reach out to people and get them thinking. Because of our visual culture, people are more likely to see that “spark” if they are presented with something right in front of them.

Wendy Mortimer, Busted Space adviser and an assistant theater and dance professor says that theater, unlike movies and television, creates “a real, visceral connection between the audience and performers."

“Every body in that room affects every other body,” Mortimer says.

Aside from providing inspiration to audience members, Mortimer says the members of Busted Space are making a contribution to the field of theater by creating this group.

“They are really taking steps as artists,” Mortimer says.

Neufer hopes that students come to realize that they have more options than just doing standard theatrical productions.

“There are people in theater who don’t want to be products of New York or L.A.,” Neufer says. “You don’t have to sell your soul to Disney.”

The name Busted Space comes from the urge to be unique. The group wants to “bust” through traditional methods of theater and do something different. “Space” is a reflection of the struggle of finding a place to create and rehearse.

While the university is still reviewing Busted Space’s application to become an official student organization, Kramer and Neufer have already gotten the ball rolling. Thirty-five students attended their call-out meeting, and they have formed a complete leadership board.

Kramer says, “[All of the members are] extremely passionate about the group and theater arts, [they] help balance out the board by bringing a lot of creativity to the table in all forms.”