By Morgan Lloyd, news correspondent
It was only five days before Silver Masque’s first Fortnight performance, an event that fourth-year theatre major Liam Hofmeister had only been preparing for a little over a week. But he wasn’t worried.
“It’s really rewarding just to be like, ‘Okay, here’s our rehearsals, we’ll figure it out, and hopefully we’ll be ready for it,’” Hofmeister said. “It almost feels like we’re taking a risk, but everything’s been coming together really well.”
Silver Masque is the oldest student organization on campus, putting on shows at Northeastern for more than 80 years. The club is dedicated to putting on performances at events called Fortnights every other Thursday night. Hofmeister is directing a play at the first of these events, scheduled for Sept. 21 in the Ryder Theatre Lab.
“A Fortnight is where a bunch of students across all majors and interests come together and basically perform a cabaret,” said Claire Moorer, a third-year theatre major and the president of Silver Masque. “So, they can perform anything they want, from song to dance to monologue.”
Fourth-year theatre major Sam Mulcahy said that the sense of excitement and intensity is what makes Silver Masque distinct.
“NU Stage and NU Shakespeare and Acting Out all have those similar opportunities to design and direct, but Silver Masque is a really great space for people who are trying to get little, intense bursts of theatre experience,” Mulcahy said.
This year, though, marked the start of a brand-new program for the club. For the first time, student playwrights are partnering with professional Boston playwrights to bring their visions to the stage. Moorer started this initiative by reaching out to playwrights in the department and outside the school.
“At the end of it [the Fortnight], we have a student original 10-minute play that is student-directed, designed, all that,” Moorer said.
The students were ultimately responsible for getting the show ready for Thursday night. For Hofmeister, that meant working with his team of actors and designers to bring student playwright Georgeanne Oliver’s vision, titled “Erica Speaks,” to light.
“[The play is] a riff on a murder-mystery podcast. It’s basically this guy who’s obsessively trying to solve this young woman’s murder however many years ago,” Hofmeister said. “ It’s an interesting look at who has the right to tell who’s story, and what are the motivations behind the stories.”
Megan Warshofsky, a second-year theatre and business administration double major, spoke about the intensity of the show.
“I personally liked it when I first read it, so I’m excited to see it up on its feet,” Warshofsky said. “I’m excited for everyone else to watch it and react to it because they haven’t read it before, so I guess just seeing how people feel about the first one is going to be exciting.”