The Department of Theatre and Dance at App State had its opening performance of Sam Holocroft’s “Rules for Living” on Oct. 4. A play about the strained relationships of a family, “Rules for Living” depicts a Christmas lunch where all emotions come blazing out.
The show is a comedic spin on one of the most stressful holidays for all families: Christmas. The story follows a family with underlying issues that they have yet to face as their every move is dictated by the rules they must follow.
Directed by associate professor of Theatre Derek Gagnier, his director’s note in the playbill states, “The play depicts a fairly standard family gathering (Christmas lunch), but the play is laid out like a board game and rigged with forfeits, highlighting the secret behaviors that make the family ick — and risk tearing them apart.”
The performance received the exact reactions necessary to make the play work. Audiences gasped and laughed when supposed to, which was more like every couple of seconds.
“It was really awesome to hear those reactions because it was a sure thing that our hard work is paying off,” said senior theatre performance major Destiney Wolfe, a senior theatre performance major, who played Carrie.
However, it wasn’t an easy production to pull off, explained Main stage vet Mack DeBernardo, a senior who plays Matthew.
“This show is so beyond anything that I’ve ever done,” said DeBernardo. “With other theater shows, I’ve done theater for about 10 years now, this is probably about three to four times more work than I’ve ever done for any other shows.”
The audience could sense the hard work put in and they absolutely adored the characters. At some points, audience members were laughing so hard, they had to excuse themselves. Wolfe said this reaction was exactly what they needed.
“It fueled us in a way where we really went the hardest we’ve ever gone for a show,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe said she enjoyed the mostly college-aged audience of opening night.
Opening night was filled with electric chemistry and outstanding performances from Mac Boone, Spencer Moore, M.J. Livesay, Josh Hurd, Sophie Tucker, DeBernardo and Wolfe. The audience laughed more than they were silent throughout the show, with the animated performances from all actors earning their crowd favorite moments.
DeBernardo gushed about his amazing cast.
“We make a show that is more than the sum of its parts. Which is incredible because the parts are flawless,” DeBernardo said.
“Rules for Living” wrapped up its final performance Sunday Oct. 8. In the director’s note of the playbill, Gagnier invited audiences to find humor in the shared experiences of handling our relationship with our loved ones.