CAKES AND CLUBS: FET student plays drawn from diverse sources

The FET Playwrights Festival will be performed Thursday-Saturday, March 26-28, at 8 PM in the Blackbox.

When Emily Brooks, FCRH ‘17 decided to enter a play in this semester’s Fordham Experimental Theater (FET) Playwrights Festival, she drew from her personal experience as a cake decorator.

The play she wrote, “Cake Club,” which is about a gang of street thugs who enter a baking competition, was to her delight chosen for the festival. It will be performed along with three other one act plays this weekend in the Blackbox.

Brooks said that seeing her writing go from page to stage was “surreal” for her.

“I’m honored to be sharing the stage with such talented people and very grateful to FET for this incredible opportunity,” Brooks said in an email.

Ricky Bordelon, FCRH ’15 also drew from personal experience when writing his play “Storm in the Attic,” which is about a New Orleans man waiting out Hurricane Katrina in his home. Bordelon, a New Orleans native, was living in the city at the time of the 2005 natural disaster.

Another short play in the festival, “Missing Parts” by Alex DeSimine, FCRH ’15 is a futuristic tale with romantic elements. The protagonists are two sisters, Avery and Reese.

The final play, “Two of Clubs,” was conceived by Jon Rooke and Tim Livingston, both FCRH ’15, when they were living together last summer. When Rooke got the title phrase stuck in his head, Livingston helped him structure a plot that was both linear and experimental, and which employed elements of the Nickelodeon cartoon The Fairly OddParents.

The compromise was frustrating but invigorating for the duo, especially as they have seen the cast bring their words to life.

“It’s a really exciting process,” Livingston said. “It’s very cool to see the actors improve on our stuff.”

Livingston said the fact that a show with such a unique genesis could find a place on the FET stage showed the value of the Playwrights Festival.

“There are very few other events that display such a breadth of student creativity, “Livingston said. “It’s incredibly important to have that outlet for students, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Disclaimer: Ricky Bordelon is this reporter’s roommate.