“We tell a lot of stories from diverse perspectives, and it’s just artistically more fun that I’ve ever experienced,” Kayla Stanley ’27 said after last week’s theatre production.
A spotlight shone in the center of the stage in the dimly lit Cole Hall last week as student actors impressed the audience with a humorous, yet impactful performance.
Theatre at Bridgewater College presented Oh, The Humanity (and other good intentions) by Will Eno, a collection of five short plays about life. The audience was seated in a circle around the center of the stage, allowing proximity between the actors and viewers.
The first play depicted a worn-down-by-life high school coach reflecting on this year’s season of repeated losses. When seeing his reflection in the fridge door at the grocery store, he says, “You’re not having a bad day, this is what you look like now.”
The coach was played by Malachi Benjamin, a junior theatre major who shared how he embodies his character before a performance to impact the audience.
“Whether my character is good or bad, I hope that my character will influence you to make better decisions in life. And so to emotionally move someone into feeling that way, I try to let that be my goal every time I’m on stage.”
Each play presented a different dilemma, whether a coach with an awkward confession, a spokeswoman who doesn’t know what to say or a couple who wants to fall in love. The audience took a journey as the actors embraced the complexity of the play, showing both realistic emotional turmoil and comedy.
Dr. Scott Cole, Associate Professor of Theatre, said he chose the play because of the subtlety. He described it as impactful without being flashy.
His students brought this to life in another of the five plays showing two young characters entering the dating pool. The young woman, played by Stanley, fidgets and rambles, while the man struggles to find what he wants to say.
“I like watching someone clap for something they really love,” the woman shared, wearing a blue dress and kicking off her shoes in the middle of the scene.
The two were staged an awkward distance apart, and the audience sat close enough to see the worry in the actors’ faces as they embodied the anxieties of their characters. Stanley elaborated on the inner work she had to do to play her role successfully.
“It was definitely a very introspective experience. A lot of the work I had to do for it, I had to really look inside myself and read between the lines,” she said. “There was a lot of thought and hard work that went into the experience.”
Another duo entered the stage acting out a retake of a historical photograph. They involved the audience as one assistant passed out hats and instructed some audience members to sit down on crates or on the floor.
Laine Anthony ’27 played a comical character of a dramatic woman in harem pants. She squatted on the floor as she did an interpretive dance to “help people get into the right place to be photographed.” The two bicker as they take an excessive amount of time setting up the camera and preparing the subjects.
Stanley said she took a break from theatre at the beginning of college. However, she said, “when I saw how open-minded BC’s theatre department was, it really brought me back in.”
The play had an open-ended conclusion, leaving the audience to reflect on the various topics of life presented to them. Stanley reflected on how her participation in theatre will continue affecting her life after graduation.
“One thing I love about theatre is the public speaking skills and the storytelling skills that it sets me up with… I know that the skills that I’ve gotten from the theatre department will be with me whatever I do.”
Benjamin has been involved in acting since high school and hopes to make a career out of it after graduation, acting in musicals, plays and, hopefully, TV and film as well. He shared his passion for theatre by saying, “Love is just on the stage, and I adore every time I get to be up there.”
– Rosie Clark ’26
02/25/2026
