The experience is the thing for students chosen to perform in WordTheatre

When your theatre professor calls and asks if you want to be part of a literary reading alongside actors Fred Melamed from Curb Your Enthusiasm and Assaf Cohen of Weeds, the best bet is to say yes – and ask questions later.

“I thought that sounds great, but I didn’t really know what I was getting into,” says screenacting major Francesca Artalejo ’17.

What she soon discovered was that she would be a participant in WordTheatre, a reading series presented from Los Angeles to London. But at Chapman there is the added component of student readers performing alongside the professionals. And it was a blast, Artalejo says.

“I felt like I was on the same level with these professional actors, and I felt very comfortable asking them questions and inquiring about their careers and any advice they could give us,” the Dallas native says.

Next up, Tim O’Brien on Oct. 17

That special brand of theatre-meets-literary-reading returns to the Fish Interfaith Center on Monday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m.
when WordTheatre will feature actor Jon Huertas from Castle and several Chapman students reading author Tim O’Brien’s short story The Things They Carried. The author will also attend the reading.

Students will again play major roles. Brandon James Somerville, Aurelio De Anda and Danraj “Danny” Rajasansi will join Huertas in reading the award-winning story about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War.

Those who’ve performed in previous events say the opportunity is matchless. Screenacting major James Neal ’17 loves a big stage – he performed in the Musco Center’s first theatre production, The Merchant of Venice – but he adored the simplicity of the WordTheatre experience. The readings are done in a simple setting with only a podium and microphone.

“I’ve always wanted to just tell a story and not worry about the set, or blocking or interacting with another character, but just to be able to internalize this character’s world,” says Neal, who performed in last month’s WordTheatre alongside Vanessa Lengies (Glee) and Jackson Rathbone (Twilight Saga).

Unique to Chapman

As much as the students delight in the opportunity, WordTheatre directors say it’s a unique opportunity for them, too. Chapman is the only university the organization works with, thanks to a partnership forged with short story writer and novelist Richard Bausch, who teaches in Chapman’s creative writing program. Young actors are often the best choice for many stories, says Darrell Larson, director of the Oct. 17 performance.

“In this case especially, the actors must be young and somewhat inexperienced in terms of the real darkness in the world,” Larson says. “They’re the only ones who could read this piece.”