The Theater Arts Department opened their newest play “Water by the Spoonful” on Friday in the Black Box Theater.
The play won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and is written by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is the second part of a trilogy, set seven years after the first installment.
The play follows Elliot Ortiz, his family and members of an online support group struggling with trauma and addiction.
“It means that we struggle with addictions of various types: drugs, food and television,” said director Anthony D’Juan, a Sacramento playwright.
While directing this play, D’Juan said his approach was focusing on human relationships, and not the issues surrounding it.
Audience member Kaleb Roberts, a 19-year-old film and media studies major, said his favorite characters were Chutes & Ladders and Fountainhead.
“I would have to say my favorite scenes were probably between Chutes & Ladders and Orangutan, and the scene where the son finds his mom’s body after an overdose,” Roberts said.
Candy Lemus, a 22-year-old digital media major, played the character of Yasmin Ortiz. Lemus said her favorite thing about her character was her patience and her understanding of her counterpart.
“My favorite part of this play would be the end, towards everyone’s acceptance, towards the situation and also the empathy they all feel towards each other at the end,” Lemus said.
The play shifts between the virtual world and real worlds of Philadelphia, Japan and Puerto Rico.
The set for the play remained the same with minor changes besides a couple of props moved during a blackout.
Faye Crook, a 19-year-old music major who played Orangutan said it was really healing to play her character.
“She just so closely resembles me and the things I’ve dealt with in my personal life. It was really easy to connect with her and the emotions that she was feeling, like how desperate she was and then how desperate she just needed human connection,” Crook said.
“Water by the Spoonful” is offered to the audiences on a pay ‘what you can’ price and can be watched in the Black Box Theater from April 25 to May 4, with performances at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, 1 p.m. on Wednesday, and 2 p.m. on Sundays.