On Nov. 29, American River College theatre department will present the romantic comedy, “In Love and Warcraft.”
The play is set to run for three weeks at ARC, until Dec. 9. “In Love and Warcraft” will take a different approach to the popular video game “World of Warcraft.”
A socially awkward gaming girl who plays “World of Warcraft,” Evie Malone is in charge of a top-ranked command in the game, along with her online boyfriend, Ryan.
A supposed expert in love advice, Evie claims she has never been on an actual date before. She meets a handsome man named Raul and discovers what it’s like to be in a relationship in real life, realizing she now lives in two worlds that are polar opposites.
“In Love and Warcraft” was written by Madhur Shakur, an up-and-coming Indian-American playwright from Los Angeles. Shakur’s play “House of Joy” was featured at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival this year.
Directed by Theatre arts professor Pamela Downs, the play focuses a great amount towards communications, which is what Shekar masters in.
“[Shekar] is young and she’s interested in dialogue. This particular play deals a lot with communication,” said Downs. “It is a romantic comedy, it’s a love story but the conflict in the play is when a person’s online life becomes more real than their real life,” Downs said.
Downs said that the play is unlike anything ARC has ever seen before in terms of costumes, set building and so much more. Downs said that there are no stage and costume design classes being taught this semester, but the play set will be built at ARC.
She also said that some of the main set locations in the play will be based on places at ARC.
“The main locations will be over at the students union by the Starbucks. So we’ll try to reproduce that on stage,” Downs said. “We’ll probably do some projections and things like that, as well as having the tables and the baristas. The people coming to see the play will feel like they’re here.”
Cecilia Castillo Juarez, a journalism major, has a small role in “In Love and Warcraft.” She plays a character named “Soledad,” who works at a hair salon and is constantly bothered by her co-workers. In her scene she says some pretty vulgar language in Spanish that she says she is looking forward to.
Juarez expects a big turnout opening night and hopes the audience has fun watching the play.
“It’s a comedy play so I’m hoping the people laugh,” Juarez said. “A lot of the scenes are very hilarious and very inappropriate. It is not the type of play you take your grandma to.”
Children will not be allowed inside the theatre as the play is rated R for language and adult content.
The premiere will be at 6:30 p.m. in the American River College Theatre. See the ARC Events Calendar on the ARC website or the theatre’s website for additional dates, times and ticket prices.
