Greg Morgan
Features Editor

The Mesa State Experimental Theater is a venue where theater students take more risks to explore the art of acting.
Jessica Whelan, a junior acting and directing major, has taken on that task by directing “The House of Corrections,” a play written by Norman Lock. As it’s name suggests the MET, also known as the Black Box, is designated for students to do works that may not be suitable for the Robinson stage. Primarily the season line up for Robinson, the main stage, are productions that are crowd pleasers and also tend to be more family friendly.
“The black box is an opportunity to do works that the (student) director specifically wants to do,” said Whelan. The content of “The House of Corrections” is not family friendly; it contains adult situations and humor.
“It is completely different from a Roger and Hammerstein production,” Whelan said.
The production has a small cast of three characters. Carl, played by senior acting directing major Peter Marullo, Marian, played by senior acting direction major Emily Adams, and Steve, played my sophomore music theater major Joey Cote.
Carl and Marian are a run of the mill mundane married couple.
“The couple is very complacent In their relationship and very ignorant to everything around them,” Whelan said “so they are a ticking time bomb, basically.”
Steve works his way into the couple’s house and begins to unveil his plan.
“Steve has systematic revenge on the husband,” Whelan said.
Because of a surprise twist of incidences that aren’t revealed until the last moments of the play Steve holds a grudge against Carl, and as revenge he plans to tear apart Marian and Carl’s marriage.
“It’s kind of like six degrees of separation only it’s six degrees of death,” said Whelan.
The couple is un-expecting as Steve begins to drive them apart.
“It’s easy to imagine yourself in that situation and it’s super spooky,” Adams said “it’s funny and it’s spooky at the same time.”
“We’ve all been in the situation you don’t know how to handle so you just don’t anything about it,” Murallo said.
The play was challenge for the actors not only because of its controversial content but because of the roles they were cast in.
“If we were doing the standard of what we usually play Joey and I would be switched,” Marullo said.
In past performances Marullo is usually casted as a sleazy villain like his character Aldolfo in the college’s recent production of “The Drowsy Chaperone.”
During his acting career at Mesa State almost all of Cote’s roles were Music Theater or comedic based.
“It’s the most serious role I’ve done here (at Mesa State),” Cote said. “The play is comedic but I (Steve) am not at all comedic.”
“The House of Corrections” opens this Thursday in the MET at 7:30 p.m. and runs through Saturday. Tickets can purchased at the Box Office in the Moss Performing Arts center or online on Mesa State’s website. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for staff and seniors, and $6 for students.