The Catawba College Theatre Arts Department’s production of "Island” was recognized as the 2003-2004 Outstanding College Production during the Metrolina Theatre Awards presentation held Sunday, September 19.
“Island” was written by Catawba’s 2003-2004 Peterson Emerging Playwright Competition winner Kevin Brewer. It is a unique comedy that blends Shakespearean and modern day language together. It centers around a 16th century king and his family who are exiled on a remote, tropical island and their interaction with two girls from the present who are shipwrecked there. Masquerades, sword fights, and multiple references to a wide range of classical theatre literature all clash in side-splitting, edge-of- your-seat action.
According to Brewer, the idea behind “Island” was not to copy Shakespeare, but rather “to be inspired by him.” “People will find things familiar to them from Shakespeare’s plays, such as the names of several characters, or lines they recall, but they won’t know exactly why. The play’s theme centers around truth and appearance, and what isolation from the outside world can do to the characters.”
Brewer’s play was chosen from approximately 300 entries in that year’s Peterson Playwriting Competition, which is open to all unproduced, full- length plays written by emerging playwrights. Brewer earned his B.F.A. in English from Michigan State University in 1995 and his M.F.A. in Acting from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio in 2002.
