By: Jasmine Taylor
Comedic and drama are two words to sum up Missouri Western’s take on the production “Blur”. The humorous play, written by Melanie Marnich, told the story of Dot Di Prima, a girl who discovers she is gradually losing her vision due to a genetic disease she inherited from her mother. As Dot went through the harsh reality of slowly losing her sight, the audience was entertained by the simple, whimsy set design and witty humor of the cast.
The play, directed by Kansas City based actress Katie Kalahurka, took around 5-6 weeks to prepare for. Each character had their unique quirks and mannerisms that further drew the audience in. As Dot struggled to stay positive while losing her vision, her mother, played by Carol Myers, spent the first part of the play doing her best to shelter her daughter from learning the harsh truth that she had passed down the genetic disease.
Myers, who has previously directed at Western, enjoyed working with a small cast and playing a role that greatly differed from her personal life.
“I love straight, serious roles and my character has never gone crazy or acted irrationally, so that was a treat to do that,” Myers said. “I’d like to think I’m not crazy and neurotic and overbearing like she is, but I understand where she came from because she obviously didn’t have it easy and that’s not my life. My life is pretty picket fenced and peaches and cream. She just had a much harder life than I ever had.”
Freshman Cole Kurcz, who played the role of Dot’s boyfriend Joey, enjoyed playing a lead role that gave him an opportunity to show his skills and what he could do.
“What I loved most about this production would be, probably, the character that I had to play,” Kurcz said. “It was fun playing someone who’s sweet at the beginning and the one scene where I get pissed off is a complete 180 and most people don’t get to see that side of me very much which is pretty cool.”
The casual and simplistic set design allowed for the audience to focus on the charismatic characters and the memorable scenes.
“We had lots of laughs and everyone loves the confetti, party popper scene and that’s one of my favorite scenes,” Kurcz said. “Most people have never seen me act that way before and especially doing it in front of my parents was really interesting for them to see, but it always got everyone laughing.
“Blur” ended on a positive note with Dot discovering a newfound sight of happiness and adventure she had been missing. The production delivered more than a few laughs but also a good message of discovering life, hope and new experiences through love and friendship.
