Students spilled onto the floor the Hopkins Center’s Bentley Theater to watch Saturday and Sunday’s productions of “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind,” a rapid fire production of 30 plays in 60 minutes adapted by the College’s Displaced Theater Company.
Despite technological problems and not knowing the order of the skits until the show began, co-producer Ariel Klein ’17 said that everyone involved had an amazing time.
Sadhana Puri ’18, who was involved in last year’s production and attended this year’s show , said that the Bentley Theater was completely full during both performances.
“There were even some people sitting on the floor to watch because there weren’t any seats left,” she said.
Klein estimated that over 100 students attended each show with the show on Saturday being more crowded than that on Sunday.
Klein said that one of the challenges with the show was that they did not know the length of the show until the first performance, due to the fact that the audience chose the order of the skits.
“We approximated that each of the skits were about two minutes, but it actually ran for an hour and 40 minutes,” she said.
Klein said that before the first show the company ran into an issue when a balloon that played a key role in the skit “Clown School Dropout” did not work. They came up with an alternate sketch with a deflated balloon that they ended up using even though they found the pump, she said.
Klein said that her goal in producing the show was to allow both the performers and the audience to have fun.
“I wanted to make sure people were finding humor, and I think that really did come across,” she said.
Puri said that she feels like the show allowed students to show off their creativity and have fun through acting, while also occasionally bringing up more serious issues.
“‘Too Much Light’ shows you how Dartmouth kids, when they work together and just have fun, can combine all their creative energy to make awesome comedy, drama, whatever they put their minds to,” she said. “I felt that I was basically watching Dartmouth students have fun, but in performance form. Some of the skits were completely ridiculous and hilarious and some were more serious and addressed important issues on our campus.”
She said that her favorite skit was one called “S&S the Musical,” which took the premise of the internet meme “Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf” and applied it to Dartmouth Safety and Security. Puri said that she also appreciated a skit that allowed students to speak frankly about the College’s new policy that eliminates need-blind financial aid for international students.
Klein said that she also enjoyed the “S&S the Musical” skit, calling it “pure genius.”
Priyanka Altman ’18, who attended the show, said that she thought “Too Much Light” was great and a funny show.
The production was sponsored by the theater department as part of the Your Space productions. Your Space is meant to allow non-theater majors greater access and opportunities to take part in productions. Students apply for slots in the program at the start of each term, and those who receive them get mentorship from a theater professor, advertising help and a small projection budget.
Earlier this term, Casual Thursday held an improv show in the Bentley Theater as part of the program.
Klein said that she is planning to produce the show again in the winter.
