La caja misteriosa

This show is Rhodes's take on the traditional Mexican pastorela, a play which tells the story of the shepherds making their way to visit the baby Jesus. Ours was entirely in Spanish, which was difficult in that many of the actors hadn't studied Spanish. They had to remember their lines not as language but as sounds, which is more difficult.

The story tells how Satan confuses the shepherds by changing the directional signposts to Bethlehem and extinguishing all light sources. The shepherds figure it all out, overcoming obstacles and finding their way to Jesus.

The challenge for lighting is that much of the play takes place in sheer darkness. The characters aren't supposed to be able to see one another. The audience, however, still needs to see all the performers. The answer? Blue light. It tells everyone that it's nighttime and it's dark, while still making the stage completely visible.

The show was well received by the students and community members who came to see it. One particularly excited student even stayed for two back-to-back performances (at 7:00 and 8:00).