The production is in the last days of rehearsal awaiting for the Autumn debut this Friday at the Stop Gap Theatre
By April Davidson
The first BCC drama production of the season opens at the Stop Gap Theater this Friday. It is entitled “7 Minutes to Midnight” and is written and directed by faculty member Dennis Schebetta. The story centers on the development of the first Atomic bomb. The storyline of the play is based from 1947 when the Atomic bomb was built, until present day. It’s a collage of a variety of influences, from the myth of the Greek titan Chronos, to scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, to the young people who watched the first tests of Atomic weapons on the cliffs above Area 51. During the play there will also be live music, played by the actors on guitar and harmonica, from artists Hank Williams and Bob Dylan, among others. But this play is not your typical theater production, “It’s not a musical, it’s not a traditional play” said Schebetta. He made clear that it is supposed to be a little different, and “a play like you haven’t seen here in awhile, it will be a good show for those who have never seen theater as well as those who have.” The actors and director worked together to create these characters. The actors were busy rushing into rehearsal, and could not be asked to comment on their roles in creating this play. Schebetta said, “We have been working with scraps of nothings to create something”. Each actor has been creating characters from scratch, because it’s the first time this play has come to life. The actors have contributed much to the completion of the play. The title of the play is taken from one of the plays main components, the Doomsday clock. The clock is real and was invented by scientists to measure just how close humanity is to catastrophic destruction. Midnight represents the end of the world brought about by nuclear war or other disasters. The clock is maintained by the board of directors of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, and the most recent update of the clock in on the 14 of January 2007 determined we are now at five minutes to midnight “Nobody really thinks about how there are 27,000 nuclear bombs ready to go off”, said Schebetta, who went to school at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, and when driving to school, he frequently passed Area 51, an area where they tested nuclear arms. It inspired him and he feels that the invention of the atomic bomb still has relevance to our country. The United States is the only country to have ever dropped the bomb and it’s a “legacy America has to live with,” said Schebetta. The crew and actors have been working with people from BCC’s science department to enhance accuracy to the story. On November 20, there will be a discussion panel with scientists and those involved with creating the story at 7pm before the performance that evening. The show starts at 8pm on Friday November 14 and continues next and costs $10 for students and $12 for the general public. Tickets are available from http://www.brownpapertickets.com.