Acting Out is not just a typical student-run theatre club at Northeastern. Instead, it uses theatre as a vehicle for activism to emphasize the need for change and reform.
Acting Out produces two performances each semester: main stage productions, which are traditional theatre, and “Wednesday Night Live,” or “WNL,” a sketch comedy show. The club’s mission focuses on the work of its members. All skits, except for the main stage performance, are written by students.
“We put on two high-quality performances each semester, both with unique activism themes that we try to highlight in our shows,” said Jude McEvoy, a third-year business administration and game design combined major and the president and producer of the primary stage production.
Acting Out’s niche is using theatre to bring relevant social issues in society to life. Each production is carefully constructed around a prevalent societal theme. These can range from issues like gun violence to broader topics of social injustice toward marginalized groups.
“Activism and theatre are a potent mix, because when you see a performance and you see actors performing, it can really change your view on something; it gives life to an issue,” said Grace Ulferts, a fifth-year behavioral neuroscience and philosophy combined major.
Acting Out is committed to inclusivity and accessibility, welcoming actors, writers, tech crew and producers regardless of their background or experience levels, McEvoy said.
“A lot of the cast members for the main stage production are very new to acting, and we love that — we want new people,” Ulferts said. What matters more is your dedication and drive to help create change, whether you are on or behind the stage.
The main stage production, held in Ryder Hall, coincides more closely with traditional theatre. This semester, Ulferts will direct “The After” by Werner Trieschmann.
This semester’s primary stage production tackles a topic that is very close to the hearts of many people in America: Since 1997, there have been 1,443 school shootings. “The After” highlights the vulnerability and devastating effects gun violence has on communities. The constant threat of gun violence has fostered fear in environments that are meant to be places of peace, like schools, churches and neighborhoods.
This topic is significant to Ulferts.
“When I was searching for this show, there was a shooting in the Catholic church that had occurred a few days after I picked the play,” she said. “It happened so close to my home that the church is like half a mile from my house. It’s really driving me more to put on this production. It feels like I’m almost obligated to tell the story.”
The second performance is “WNL,” a sketch comedy show centered around an activist theme.
“WNL is like ‘Saturday Night Live’ but is called ‘Wednesday Night Live,’” Ulferts said. The show is student-written, combining activism with humor to help engage the audience on critical social issues and open the door for discussion. This semester’s “WNL” theme is education, and in the past, themes have included voting rights and xxx [is there another example we can put here]
“One of our first general meetings that I ran last week was a skit writing [general meeting]. We had a brainstorm and combined other ideas, with people working together as we brainstormed the kinds of skits and topics we wanted to talk about in the show,” McEvoy said. “We kind of allow students to share their voice and their own perspective through ‘WNL.’” McEvoy strategically timed this show to take place days before the voter registration deadline because “a big part of our show was just everyone should vote,” she said.
For many students, Acting Out is not just a theatre group but a community that provides a platform for them to discover their voice and create change in innovative ways.
“I joined Acting Out specifically because I’ve always been interested in activism, but I didn’t quite know how I wanted that to fit into my life,” said Katie Leuteritz, a third-year English major. “And I was like, when I got here and I found out about the club, I was like, that’s so cool that they found a way to combine.”
Acting Out is more than just a club — it is a blueprint for change.
“Performances or, like, any kind of art for the most part is really powerful when the audience walks away with a question they’re asking themselves or something they really got to think about,” Leuteritz said.“Especially theatre, like you, in a sense, become the vessel for the issue.”
