McMurry Senior Directs “We Declare You a Terrorist…” at McMurry Theatre

On Thursday, April 23rd at 7:30, McMurry Theatre debuts “We Declare You a Terrorist…” written by Tim J. Lord, and directed by McMurry student Roberto Rueda. The production is a fully staged full length political drama running approximately 90 minutes, with performances through the 25th of April. Rueda has touched McMurry’s stage in more productions than you can shake a stick at, sings among the McMurry Chanters, and has taken up roles within the community at the Abilene Community Theatre, most recently as John Merrick in “The Elephant Man”. Following “We Declare You a Terrorist…” on April 29th, McMurry students in the Directing course are preparing a night of 10 Minute plays for Directfest.

Freshman Clayton Juarez plays “The Writer”, a Ukrainian-Russian playwright haunted by his experiences as a hostage in his former theatre, and forced to relive those memories throughout the show. When asked to describe the show succinctly, Juarez framed it as “bringing light to tragedy.” Elaborating further on its themes, “It is a political play, and I think more than ever, we need to have those shows, even though it will make people uncomfortable, but that is the point, to make people uncomfortable and to bring awareness to the situations that are happening in our current today life that we are often choosing to ignore, thinking that we still live in peace.”

Juarez played Petruchio in “Romeo and Juliet” as well as Dave Marley in a “Suessified Christmas Carol” prior this year. He remarked on the new challenges this role brought, “For a good amount of the show, I have to stay sitting at a table, and so it’s hard, considering most of the acting roles I’ve done are very much heavily movement based.” Relating back to his previous work, “For example, Jake Marley, I was very big and over the top with my lines and movements. But this is a great challenge for me because it’s helped me make sure that I’m focusing on line delivery and proper ways of trying to convey the story without using my full body,” he states.

Behind Jaurez, in the wings is junior transfer Alexandria Welch as stage manager, props master, and co-costume designer with freshman Jaylynn Wilkins. Welch arrived from Western Texas College with a background in lighting and set design. She described her passion for the technical side of theatre, “I find a lot of enjoyment in getting to put my ideas on stage and seeing them actually come to life,” referring to her work on costumes and props. Stepping into her latest role, stage management, for the first time, she ensures that every department remains informed. “Communication is key in a good show,” Welch stated, on the responsibility of relaying information between cast, crew, and director. If you would appreciate more key communications from McMurry Theatre about great shows, follow @mcmtheatre on instagram, and check out the tickets for “We Declare You a Terrorist…” at https://cur8.com/projects/18572.