Playing Around
Zach Drummer (COM’09) and Greta Mangini (SAR’08) have spent the semester studying, hanging out with friends — and directing the premiere of the original comedy Water Cooler Talk.
The play centers on Jess, played by Mike Gomez (CAS’10), an intern entering the office world of cubicles and coffee breaks. After a computer network meltdown, the calm and cool façade of his coworkers crumbles. Will Wheeler (CAS’10) plays the neurotic boss, Roger.
Water Cooler Talk is part of the student-run Stage Troupe’s fall lineup. The group is open to all BU undergrads except College of Fine Arts acting majors. The cast auditioned and began rehearsals the second week of the semester.
Drummer wrote the script, basing it loosely on his experiences as an intern. “The show plays on my fear of leaving college and joining the workforce, which I think everyone can relate to,” he says. “I sort of worried about offending adults out there, but it’s all in good fun.”
Mangini believes students and adults will relate to the characters. “The play is about insecurities and regrets,” she says, “and ultimately being proud of your vices.”
Drummer, who wrote a psychology paper based on the character of Roger, says it can be difficult directing students his age or older. “It’s weird, because you have to be polite and try not to offend anyone,” he says. “You just have to ask really nicely.”
A freshman when she first started working behind the scenes with Stage Troupe, Mangini says the group focuses on collaboration.
“The actors were chosen because they were qualified,” she says. “They have great instincts, which are sometimes just as good as our direction.”
Water Cooler Talk will be staged Thursday and Friday, November 1 and 2, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, November 3, at noon and 8 p.m. at the Student Theater at Agganis Arena, 925 Commonwealth Ave. Tickets are $6. For more information, click here.
Kimberly Cornuelle can be reached at kcornuel@bu.edu.