Big statements were made in the tiny studio theater of California State University, Stanislaus last Thursday at the Theatre Department’s opening night of “The Shape of Things” by Neil Labute.
Eric Broadwater, director of the show, promised that the performance would open some eyes, or close some eyes, and it definitely lived up to his statement.
“Hopefully at the end they [the audience] will leave asking themselves the questions: How far can an artist go, what should an artist do, [and] was the play I just saw art or was that too much?,” Broadwater said.
As the lights came up on the opening scene, or it may be fit to call it a display, the audience was shocked into a focused silence that would keep their attention on the stage until the final bows.
“I was definitely not expecting what I saw,” Alejandro Rodriguez, a college student from Merced, said. “But I am glad that I came to see it, I thought it was great.”
A lot of banter, profanity and sexual references that were made, although all part of the script, somewhat distracted from the theme of the play itself. Even the director emphasized how the play is about art and relationships, but those huge ideas were put on the back burner behind everything else. 
The concept and end result of the set was amazing. It looked like an art gallery; even the stage crew bringing items on and offstage between scenes were dressed in uniforms of gallery employees. The walls were covered in drapery, the room spread with different pillars, statues and canvas. Because the play was set in ten different locations, it was very innovative to stick with one place, forcing the actors to use the text to paint a picture instead of props. 
Aside from the shocking opening or the harsh dialogue, there is maturity to the play that can be difficult to emit through such young actors, even though the play is about college students. One actor in the group, Cullen Vance, really stole the stage.
Cullen played the character Phillip, who actually had a less prominent role than some of the other actors. Whenever he came on stage the mood of the room would instantly change. He brought a lot of life to his performance, and it was obvious that the other actors doing scenes with him would in turn feed off his energy and become stronger actors as well. His performance was amazing. 
To revisit the questions the director wanted the audience to ask themselves, I am not indifferent to what I saw on the stage, but there were really good aspects to the play and some parts that were lacking. The important part is that I left the building and talked about the play the rest of the night.