The Shafer Alliance Laboratory Theatre is presenting
“Red Light Winter,” a play written by New York-based
playwright Adam Rapp.
The play – directed by junior theater major Trevor
Dawkins – is being held at the Newdick Theatre at the
student-run Shafer Street Playhouse.
Dawkins equates Rapp’s story to many of our own
experiences in college.
“(‘Red Light Winter’) is about unrequited love,”
Dawkins said. “It’s a play for young people who can
relate to the behavior of endowing really small moments
– like a chance encounter or a one-night stand – with
mythical importance or immense meaning and then
seeing how that can, in turn, affect relationships.”
The play is set in Amsterdam, where two men risk
their friendship for the affection of a woman simply
doing her job.
“They meet a prostitute and a double unrequited-love
story unfolds,” Dawkins said.
As with most plays performed in the Shafer Street
Playhouse, the minimal cast aims to provide for intimate
character development. Theater majors Cooper Forsman,
Katie Dingle and Drew Vidal perform as those caught
in the tumultuous love triangle.
This bizarre plot was based on events from the
playwright’s life, Dawkins said.
“(Rapp) went to Amsterdam with a friend who was
having a little bit of a dry spell. So, Rapp got him a
prostitute, but Rapp said he had to sleep with the
prostitute before his friend did.”
Suffice to say, the play is chock-full of mature
material.
“The play most definitely contains nudity, strong
language and strong sexual content,” Dawkins said.
“Red Light Winter” runs Monday through Wednesday
at 7:30 p.m. at the Shafer Street Playhouse. Admission
is free to the public. Only those 18 and older will be
admitted.