Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit

SU Drama’s New Play Development Program presents ‘The Meaning of Life and Other Useless Pieces of Information’ Nov. 9-11 and 16-18

Tuesday, November 6, 2007, By News Staff
Share

SU Drama’s New Play Development Program presents ‘The Meaning of Life and Other Useless Pieces of Information’ Nov. 9-11 and 16-18November 06, 2007Erica Blustesblust@syr.edu

The Syracuse University Department of Drama’s New Play Development Program will present a workshop production of “The Meaning of Life and Other Useless Pieces of Information” by drama alumnus Matte O’Brien ’04 Nov. 9-11 and 16-18 in the Black Box Theatre at the SU Drama/Syracuse Stage theater complex, 820 E. Genesee St. Friday performances will be held at 8 p.m., Saturday performances at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday performances at 2 p.m. The production is free and open to the public; patrons should call 443-2102 or e-mail meaningoflifesu@hotmail.com for seating availability. Afternoon performances will be followed by talk-back sessions with the cast and director Alan Souza ’89, also a drama alumnus.

“The Meaning of Life and Other Useless Pieces of Information” is the story of six young people who go from day to day trying to figure out their adult lives. In the play, O’Brien asks the profound question, “If life does have meaning beyond the immediate and discernible — does it even matter, or is the meaning of life actually just a useless piece of information?”

“I think ‘Meaning of Life’ is about what happens when you hit the real world,” says O’Brien, an accomplished actor and singer who lives in New York City. “It is one of the most stressful times in your life. All these things just come crashing down on you. You have no insurance, no job. I mean, these are things that are right out of my life.”

Souza and O’Brien have collaborated on workshopping the play, a crucial yet seldom-seen-by-the-public part of the playwriting process. In order to truly understand how a moment or character or scene will work, playwrights often need to see the play on stage. Souza and a group of student actors will actually stage “The Meaning of Life,” and O’Brien will attend rehearsals and performances, reworking and rewriting parts based on what he sees and hears.

“Matte is finding his voice while the students find theirs,” says Souza. “They’re premiering and realizing a new work. They’re creating these people. They haven’t been spoken yet.”

The performances will have only a minimal set, with no lighting or costumes. Actors will use only rough props. Audiences will have the rare and fascinating opportunity to watch not just a cast of characters grow and change, but a new work of drama as well.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Syracuse University Press Participating in Path to Open Program
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Cristina Hatem
  • A&S Chemistry Professor Receives Award From the American Chemical Society
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By News Staff
  • ‘Guys and Dolls’ opens Syracuse University Department of Drama 2023/24 Season
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Joanna Penalva
  • Libraries Add MindSpa Wellness Rooms
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Cristina Hatem
  • Syracuse University Announces the Opening of the Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy and Astrophysics
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Kerrie Marshall

More In Uncategorized

School of Education Awarded $3.7M Department of Education Grant to Recruit Special Education Leaders

Syracuse University’s School of Education (SOE) has been awarded a $3.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to prepare—along with two partner institutions—a new generation of leaders in special education, early…

Law professor available to discuss ruling that Trump committed fraud for business properties

Reporters looking for a legal expert to help explain the issues facing the Trump businesses after a judge ruled  that former President Donald Trump committed fraud by inflating the value of his assets, please see comments below from legal professor…

Syracuse Views Fall 2023

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience using #SyracuseU on social media, fill out a submission…

Phillips Appointed Interim Director at Lender Center for Social Justice; Director Search Committee Named

The Lender Center for Social Justice has familiar leadership for the 2023-24 academic year while a renewed search for a permanent director is conducted. Kendall Phillips, founding co-director of the Lender Center and professor in the Department of Communication and…

Syracuse Views Spring 2023

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience using #SyracuseU on social media, fill out a submission…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.