Play | The Hanslick Girls

July 9, 2017

Auto Motives: Lipstick Theatre’s “Be Aggressive”

—Originally published November 14, 2016—

Meet the Hanslick Girls: Gwen, Eleanor and Dania. Created by writer Zach Barr, they are a trio of Northwestern students who always go to see plays together. They may not have the same opinions, but their conversations tend to make for an entertaining read. Recently, the Girls saw “Be Agressive,” Lipstick Theatre’s cheerleader opus. Let’s hear what they had to say a few days after the production…

*SPOILERS*

“Oh, and I realized I forgot to ask you what you thought of ‘Be Aggressive’ last week.”

Gwen and Dania were sitting together in their apartment – Gwen balancing a laptop on her lap in the bungee chair, and Dania nestled into the corner of their couch taking notes from a textbook. Gwen looked up at the question.

“What?”

“‘Be Aggressive?’” Dania repeated. She put her notebook down and leaned back into the couch. “The show Lipstick did last week. With the cheerleaders?”

July 9, 2017

Dreaming Through Smoke: The Wirtz Center’s “The Great Gatsby”

—Originally published October 31, 2016—

Meet the Hanslick Girls: Gwen, Eleanor, and Dania. Created by writer Zach Barr, they are a trio of Northwestern students who always go to see plays together. They may not have the same opinions, but their conversations tend to make for an entertaining read. Recently, the Girls saw “The Great Gatsby,” the opening production of the Wirtz Center’s 2016/2017 season. Let’s hear what they had to say on their way back from the theater…

“‘The Great Gatsby’ is really weird.”

This was the first thing Gwen had said since leaving the theatre. Eleanor and Dania had made some comfortable small talk with a friend in the lobby, but they hadn’t discussed the production right away. Now, having walked approximately the requisite 100 feet from the theatre, Gwen’s voice rang out.

“I mean the book, not this stage version.”

“Well,” said Eleanor, trying to gauge where Gwen was headed, “I also thought this version was pretty weird.”

July 9, 2017

Under The Sun: Lovers & Madmen’s “Cardenio”

—Originally published October 10, 2016—

Meet the Hanslick Girls: Gwen, Eleanor and Dania. Created by writer Zach Barr, they are a trio of Northwestern students who always go to see plays together. They may not have the same opinions, but their conversations tend to make for an entertaining read. Recently, the Girls saw “Cardenio,” Lovers & Madmen’s sort-of Shakespeare play. Let’s hear what Eleanor had to say about the performance a few days later…

The mid-October air had drifted lazily into that perfect sweet spot where the light breeze through the campus would keep you cool, while the bright rays of the sun reflected off the grey buildings populating Northwestern’s campus and kept you warm. This was the air that Eleanor walked through as she traversed the campus, from south up to north. Looking at apartments, she had justified her decision to live south of campus with the knowledge that walking to classes would provide her with some of the exercise she had promised to start doing during the year. But walking to the Wirtz Center was one problem. Trekking to Francis Searle was another matter.

July 9, 2017

Erasing Your Pain: The School of Communication MFA Program’s “O GURU GURU GURU or why i don’t want to go to yoga class with you”

—Originally published May 16, 2016—

Meet the Hanslick Girls: Gwen, Eleanor and Dania. Created by writer Zach Barr, they are a trio of Northwestern students who always go to see plays together. They may not have the same opinions, but their conversations tend to make for an entertaining read. Recently, the Girls saw “O GURU GURU GURU or why i don’t want to go to yoga class with you,” one of the lab projects directed by first-year MFA directors.

On the walk back to their apartment after the show, no one talked.

In the days that followed, the following responses were posted from all three girls. They did not co-ordinate with each other on the content or message.

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REVIEW: “O GURU GURU GURU…,” MFA Project, May 14th, 2016

Category / Play