Winona State University’s department of theatre and dance held auditions for “Speech and Debate” last week. The play, written by Stephen Karam, will be a part of the department’s main stage season.

“Speech and Debate” is a dark comedy, dealing with adult issues from the perspective of high school students. Three misfit students are seemingly thrown together, and they create a speech and debate team.

“The script is really creative and out there. I feel like it could really have an impact on people,” Lilly Roe, a student auditioning, said.

Play Director Heather Williams, and assistant professor in the theatre and dance department, said some students may not be comfortable with the content. “People need to know that it deals with adult issues and language,” she said.

Nonetheless, Williams is excited to get the cast on stage. “Almost everyone is on stage all the time,” she said. “It will be nice for rehearsals; actors building trust and communication.”

The play is approximately 90 minutes long with no intermission.

The play will be performed in the Dorothy B. Magnus Black Box Theatre, an intimate venue which holds approximately 150 audience members.

Williams is excited to work with a smaller space. She is considering a one-set design with multiple levels; however, the designs for the set are still in the initial stages. A faculty member will be in charge of the set design and will have students help out with the construction.

Faculty typically work from a list of approximately 20-30 plays for the main season. Jim Williams, the theatre and dance chairperson, said that faculty considered current issues in choosing this play.

“We wanted something fairly recent,” Jim Williams said. “We wanted topics relevant to students today and we wanted to give diversity in the titles we produce.”

Heather Williams received the script last May, around the same time she was hired at Winona State. She’s been researching the play and the playwright, as well as reviews of past performances, to get information from all angles.

Rehearsals for the play are typically three hours long. Williams is planning for five to six nights per week for five-and-a-half to six weeks. However, cast members will meet a couple of times to go through the script before memorizing it by the middle of October.

Approximately 40 students auditioned for a total cast of four.

Results were posted Sept. 7.

Contact Karin at [email protected]