“A Walk in the Woods” premiered at Moorpark College on Monday, kicking off this semester’s Year of Democracy festivities.
The play was a dramatic reading with two actors and limited props. Professor Jack McGee, who plays the role of Russian negotiator Andrey Botvinnik, and theatre arts Professor John Loprieno’s American negotiator Honeyman, faced the audience while speaking to each other for most of the production.
According to Loprieno, writer Lee Blessing’s script contained one line that stood out for him.
“The line was ‘without nuclear weapons, America would just be a very rich Canada, and Russia would be a very large Poland,'” Loprieno said.
A reception preceded the play to mark the beginning of a new semester for Year of Democracy, one that will focus on a world view of democracy rather than last fall’s national focus.
Political Science Professor Lee Ballestero said the play gives students a new way to view political issues that a standard lecture from a teacher may not afford.
“The reason this is a nice event is it’s meant as entertainment theater,” said Ballestero. “It’s not a lecture by some person.”
The story of the play follows the negotiations of two diplomats from Russia and America as they try and reach an agreement on a proposal to disarm a certain number of nuclear arms during the Cold War.
Honeyman, according to McGee, represents the hopeful belief that a difference can be made with his actions, while Botvinnik is too cynical to even care about anything, let alone bringing peace to his own country.
Ray Hebel, a 21-year-old communications major, was excited to see Loprieno act after working with him in “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” and “Merrily We Go Along.”
“I thought it was awesome, it was my first time seeing John act on stage,” Hebel said.
The production was McGee’s first dramatic reading, and he was impressed with the results.
“I had the script in my hand, and I didn’t want that to be distracting,” said McGee. “But they (the audience) were responding to all the right moments.”
McGee also felt the play was a great way to start off 2009’s Year of Democracy festivities.
“I think it was the perfect choice.”
Loprieno and McGee were the stars of the show, which featured two arms negotiators having conversations in the woods. (Randy Phenning)
