LAB! Theatre’s ‘One Acts in the Park’ features student-written ‘Red Ochre’

A student playwright and actor, Tyler Burt welcomes the challenge of containing and channeling his imagination.

The senior dramatic art major has written a short play for LAB! Theatre’s “One Acts in the Park,” an annual Forest Theatre festival featuring six student-written plays.

Burt’s “Red Ochre” takes place in a cave in Kentucky.

“I gave them something that I knew would have a lot of different responses,” Burt said. “They’ve been going over it like you go over a really mind-bending movie.”

Director Paul Hovey said that he and the actors went over the script repeatedly and analyzed the characters’ motives.

“The sheer amount of possibilities was a little overwhelming at first,” Hovey said.

Bailey Jones, one of the play’s actors, said each cast member brought an interpretation to the first rehearsal, and they decided which elements they liked best.

Jones said they sometimes placed significance on moments that Burt had interpreted differently when writing.

But that’s part of the creative process, Jones said.

“Since it’s ambiguous, we’ve decided to run with it,” she said.

Hovey and the actors collaborated sparingly with Burt — enough to synchronize the play’s general direction without overstepping the creative distance between director and writer.

Burt said his plays, like “Red Ochre,” have dark themes and border on the supernatural.

“It’s a little bit of the absurd, but also kind of the expressionist,” Burt said.

Hovey said as the cast has spent time with the script, the subtleties of Burt’s writing have emerged to form a web of possible interpretations.

“Some of it is really going to be creepy and somewhat disturbing for the audience, which is really exciting,” Hovey said.

“Tyler has a reputation of putting on crazy shows, and this is no exception.”

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