East one-acts focus on a bullying theme

Emilee Whipker, left, rehearses a scene with Jack Burbrink for the one-act play, "A Bully There Be." Submitted photo

Short theatrical productions can be long on message and impact.

Therein lies a solid summary of “The Bully Plays,” three one-act shows focusing on bullying to be presented today through Sunday at various makeshift locations inside Columbus East High School.

The works, to be performed three times daily, will give rotating audience members a chance to see all three shows. The idea is the brainchild of director Kevin Welsh, also East’s auditorium director who has no Clarence E. Robbins Auditorium to use while it undergoes a substantial renovation.

“We knew we had to so something as far as our performance space,” Welsh said.

So, each of the plays will be presented in one of two 100-person-capacity rooms or The Commons area at the school. Welsh and his cast and crew hope the public is willing to try a different, more condensed and mobile approach to drama, especially in light of the topic they consider central especially to youth today.

“It’s a prevailing problem that is in schools everywhere, always seems to have been so, and unfortunately probably always will be,” Welsh said. “And the first key to at least try to minimize it is awareness. And that’s one thing that theater is famous for is bringing awareness to social problems.”

Actress Emilee Whipker plays a wench trying to teach a king a lesson or two about bullying in the production “A Bully There Be.” The junior mentioned that the script reminded her one of one important aspect of bullying in a world that often likes clearly defined parameters.

“There are definite severities of bullying,” Whipker said. “There really are many different types. Sometimes, there’s more of a gray area of it with different tones of it.”

Welsh already has solved the challenge of a location for the spring production, slated to be a concert presentation of “Guys and Dolls,” since it would be more than tough to do sets and more for a remote location, which will be Columbus North High School’s Judson Erne Auditorium.

“I’ve had to really think outside the box,” he said.

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Three takes on bullying” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

What: Columbus East High School Drama Department presenting what it calls "The Bully Plays," three one-act plays: 

  • "Blu" — Teenagers struggle to come to grips with the loss of a friend
  • "A Bully There Be" — A bullying prince, a serving wench, and a slightly funny jester attack the challenge of bullying — and rhyming couplets.
  • "Bully-Bully" — A girl, her dog, and her reflection — and the question: Does she see herself as a bully?

When: 7 p.m. today and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Three different locations within Columbus East High School, 230 S. Marr Road while the auditorium undergoes renovation.

Tickets: $5 available at the door. Attendees may enter through doors A/5 or S/6.

[sc:pullout-text-end]