Students collaborate for charity in The Bureaucracy

“I am the most pleasant mother pheasant plucker ever to pluck a mother pheasant.” Say that 10 times fast.

Where a slip of the tongue could lead to a shameful gaffe, the drama students of Theater for Charity have mastered the art of speedy banter, as they demonstrated in their pre-rehearsal exercises.

The same cannot be said, however, of the characters they play in The Bureaucracy, the company’s latest production. In this comic caricature of the business world, akin to the TV show The Office, much of the humor lies in the boss’ blunders.

“It’s a fast-moving farce about scandal and misplaced money,” said sophomore Mike Stoumbos, the play’s author.

In addition to writing the script, Stoumbos will play the part of Mr. Covington, a corrupt accountant. This is a new experience for him, as he originally starred as the neurotic boss Mr. Cracey.

This isn’t the first time Stoumbos has seen his play performed.

“This is the third time it’s been produced,” he said. “It’s interesting to see the different interpretations.”

That goes for both the direction and the performance. He said there have been stylized and realistic versions of the play, and though it took a while for him to get used to Josh Ryder’s interpretation of Mr. Cracey, he did a great job adapting to the role.

Stoumbos’ creative genius materialized in the most unlikely of places.

“The play was inspired by a very long afternoon in the DMV,” he said. After observing a finicky ticketing lady, he came up with the idea for the fussy receptionist, Miss Wendell.

Miss Wendell is played by sophomore Dana Reinertson. The actress said she enjoyed the theatricality of her role.

“I’m the sexy, sassy secretary,” she said. “And my friends will make fun of me for the stage kiss.”

Reinertson found out about Theater for Charity in her Drama 253 class from Samantha Cole, the group’s founder.

Cole originally established Theater for Charity at UC Berkeley and applied the concept at the UW once she moved here for graduate school.

“The goal of Theater for Charity is to put on student-written, student-acted, student-directed and student-produced plays where the proceeds go to charity,” Cole said.

Like Cole, director Ann-Mari Bryant is a UW alumna with a degree in drama.

Bryant said that it’s great being able to work with self-motivated students.

“We’re collaborative artists, and you have a say in your creativity,” he said. “I tell my cast to use artistic freedom. I think of a director as setting loose parameters but allowing people to have artistic liberty.”

The Theater for Charity cast channels that artistic liberty to good effect in The Bureaucracy, making for a play that is fun and highly entertaining.