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Life & Arts

Production lets You make the decisions

by STEPHANIE KING 
The Daily Cougar

The playwrights may not agree on where the idea for Choose Your Own Play was born, but UH alumnus Greg Hundemer and theater senior Timmy Wood do agree their play's main goal is to create greater audience participation in the theater experience. 

"Contrary to Timmy's story, I remember being at a party talking about the idea," Hundemer said. 

Choose Your Own Play is similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure books many people read in their youth, except with sex and violence. 

Audience members' input -- in the form of yelling -- decides where the plot goes.

"The play gives the audience the chance to be the playwright," Wood said. 

"The major theme is not letting people walk over you, to make decisions for yourself." 

Wood said the project is filled with outrageous consequences. 

"Each choice leads to a new, unpredictable outcome. You can end up on a submarine, in outer space or running with the bulls," he said. 

Besides being one of the playwrights, Wood is also the emcee who rings the bell to signal the central character -- known as You -- to make a decision. 

The audience prompts You, played by Gerard Doreck, to action. 

"This show goes one step beyond (improvisation) in that it actually allows the audience to make choices for a character on stage, which is something I had not seen before," said director Brian Nichols, a former UH student. 

Unheard Voices, a UH theater group of which Hundemer and Wood are longtime members and former officers, is putting on the play. 

"Unheard Voices tries to produce work not seen elsewhere. It strives to produce ethnically and sexually diverse work," Hundemer said. 

The play is recommended for mature audiences. 

"It is ideal for those who like to laugh," Wood said. 

With 130 possible characters, 80 possible endings and a vast assortment of props, Hundemer said the theater's thrust stage -- a stage open on three sides -- is ideal for lending ample room for audience interaction.

"Rehearsals for this show were admittedly a bit daunting. There was just such an immense amount of material that we had to digest," Nichols said. 

"My fear is that there are scenes we may have spent hours or days or weeks rehearsing that the audience may never choose to see." 

Hundemer said a rowdy audience is welcome, and if nothing else, encourages people to attend for a nice bonus: free candy that gets thrown to the audience. 

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