The Aliens Play Analysis

I would like to formally submit Annie Baker’s 2010 play The Aliens for the 2016- 2017 season. The Aliens follows two men, KJ and Jasper, who booth seem to live their lives in an alley behind a coffee shop in the fictional town of Shirley, Vermont. KJ, a college dropout, supports Jasper as he is working on writing a novel, while he spends his time writing new songs. When they met a seventeen year-old boy Evan, who works at the coffee shop, the three men form an unlikely friendship. After Jasper dies from an apparent drug overdose, KJ and Evan are forced to find a way to move forward, both for themselves and the people close to them.

One of most striking aspects of this play is its use of silence. As the script states, at least a third- if

Unfortunately mental health on college campuses has become an increasingly important issue. In 2014 the American College Health Association reported that 30 percent of students have experienced sever depression or anxiety, while a study done by the National Alliance on Mental Illness showed that nearly three fourths of students admitted to having had at least one mental health crisis during their time in college. Many students do not seek help for their illness, whether because of the negative stigma placed on mental illness or because their university does not offer help to their students. I am sure that I am not alone when I say that these statistics are far too high. With these numbers on the rise every year it is clear to see why this play would have significant meaning if performed today. I also believe that the theater has the power to be a catalyst for change. Though the characters in The Aliens are all negatively affected by their mental illness, they are not without humor or humanity. Perhaps this play will act as a message to our students that those who are suffering with a mental illness are not alone and that there is help available to them. This would also provide an opportunity for either the theater department or the university to reach out to students and inform them of the mental health resources available to them, as I know many

This play would best be suited for the intimacy of the Black Box theater, as the set is just a brick wall with a dumpster, couple of trashcans and maybe a few dead plants. I think that this production could be easily done as an all student designed show. Both the set and costumes, though relatively simple and straightforward, still offer a lot of leeway for an individual’s creativity. This is the perfect size show for a student designer to tackle. The cast is small, only three males. Having this small of cast will allow more time to be spent in rehearsals developing each character carefully and making sure the rhythm of the play is consistent. I also believe that this production would be a great way to bridge together the music and theater department. With six songs in the play, it is important that the music that is carefully designed to fit the need of the production. Having students from the music department to collaborate on the production with theater students will not only bind the college closer together as a whole, but will also provide an opportunity for students to experiment with a new art form. It would be particularly interesting to see how potential cast members and students from the music department would collaborate. By bringing so many different views to the table, there would be countless ways to pair music with the lyrics already written. Perhaps