SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Jeremy Gourd is 5 and three-quarters and, unless absolutely occupied, is always bored. Students in Wofford College’s Theatre for Youth are going to let you go on Jeremy’s search to end his boredom as they present an original play Thursday, May 8, through Saturday, May 10.
The five Wofford students in lecturer Kerry Ferguson’s Theatre for Youth class have spent this semester working on the play, which finds the dutiful Jeremy at home, with his busy parents, in the wake of a morning filled with chores and tasks and errands. Unless absolutely occupied, Jeremy is always bored. We soon discover that this Saturday is no ordinary Saturday, and that a super-cure for his super-boredom is right around the corner… in his own imagination.
Finding inspiration in her son who is – coincidentally – nearly 6, Ferguson suggested the theme of beating boredom for the play. While brainstorming for the script, the class revisited their childhood days when their imaginations were all they needed to develop the perfect remedy for boredom. The class also examined close studies of popular contemporary and classic children’s entertainment, and theme-based writing prompts in attempt to get into the mind of the modern day kid. The research and brainstorming along with theme-based writing prompts were just some of the information that came together to help Ferguson create the class-specific script in the latter half of the semester. Currently, the five-member cast (the students in the class) is busy rehearsing and creating the set, costumes, and props for this entertaining and funny Wofford Theatre show.
“I love this class,” Ferguson says. “Every version and every play is always a huge heap of work, but the class always manages to balance the fun and intensity that are both necessary for a great piece of Theatre for Youth. This year’s production will be full of comedy, color, and creativity – I can’t wait to open the Tony White Theater doors to the kids of Spartanburg once again.”
The Theatre for Youth class is being taught for the fourth year since 2006, and each class has produced original plays that premiered at Wofford. The first version of the class featured “Go to Bed Amelia Red!,” which was followed up two years later with the wildly successful “Abby the Alien and her Animal Adventures” and then again in 2010 with “Rutabaga’s Royal Academy.”
Bring the whole family and join Jeremy Gourd, his amazing cat, Mr. Pockets, and three of his imaginative imaginary friends as they build incredible objects, explore the great wide open, and throw a really big, totally not-boring party. Will these and other super-human efforts put an end to Jeremy’s boredom? Or will his cry of “I’m bored! Bored! Bored!” continue to plague the Gourd family day in and day out?
“Jeremy Gourd is Bored, Bored, Bored” is a show that can be enjoyed by all kids and kids at heart. This year, tickets are free, but seating is very limited, so call the box office at 864-597-4080 or visit www.wofford.edu/boxoffice to ensure you get a seat to this original play.
In the event that there are still tickets left on the performance days, tickets will be available at the Tony White Theater box office one half-hour before each show begins. The show runs about one hour and will be performed at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 8; 6 p.m., Friday, May 9; and 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 10.
The Tony White Theater is located in the Campus Life Building on Wofford’s campus.