Student Perspective: Murder We Wrote

August 7, 2007

By Greg Elsner (Class of 2008)

This summer, along with several other students, I was granted the opportunity to work with Assistant Professor of Theater Arts and Dance David Charles to develop a long-form, improvised murder mystery to run in the Annie Russell Theater in the spring of 2008.

This entire process has been a great experience for me. It has allowed me to reach a greater understanding of the improvisational craft and has bolstered my skills as an improviser. Watching and participating in the growth and mounting of the play, ¬Murder We Wrote, has given me the chance to realize the specific writer/director necessities and how they must incorporate designers into the creative process.

After completing this project, everyone in the group has a sense of true ownership over the piece and has definitely left their mark on the final product. Each person worked, outside of the rehearsal process, on research areas that pertained to the specific details of our show – the characters, occupations and relationships. When we convened for rehearsal, we were all able to talk and improvise in a relatively honest and factual manner. This was by far the most rewarding aspect. It was such a great thrill to discover new information and watch as my peers utilized this knowledge in a run of the show.

I hope that more research opportunities such as this will exist in the future, because the collaborative effort between the students and faculty member in this project was truly astounding. This research project strengthened my confidence and abilities as a performer, improviser, researcher, collaborator and writer. I can say with perfect confidence that this summer’s initiative for Murder We Wrote – to write and design a new play – was successfully achieved, and I look forward to watching the run next spring.