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`Citamard, an organization that gets its name from spelling “dramatic” backwards, kicked off the semester with a Director’s Cut presentation of “Booby Trap.” The cast performed the show in the Spring as well. However, the previous director Phil Vonada was replaced by the fresh perspective of Devyn Heinbaugh who changed many of the basic set elements and costumes, bringing her own unique style to the play.
“The play went really well. I was really excited to see every seat full,” said Heinbaugh. “The actors did an amazing job and everything that was rehearsed worked out wonderfully.
Heinbaugh was pleased with the changes that had been made to the performance.
“I think my choices made the piece a stronger dramatic piece bringing alive the emotion and showing the relationships between the family of friends within his past and his family of soldiers,” she said.
“Booby Trap” details the last hours of a young soldier’s life. He is traveling with his platoon when he sits against a tree, accidentally triggering a land mine, which will eventually kill him when he moves.
Throughout the course of the play, he sees flashbacks of the more significant events in his life. He recalls when he first met his wife, when he decided to join the army, and has a conversation with an old Catholic Nun who taught him as a child. The soldier also sees what life will be like without him for his wife and young son. His fellow soldiers attempt to comfort him, but eventually ship out, leaving him to die alone.
The cast did a wonderful job portraying the fear and confusion that goes along with such a situation. The plot was both thought-provoking and effective.
“My character was pretty interesting to play because he is caught between two really tough realities,” said Billy Barnes, who played Captain Gruss. “For one, he’s really close friends with Sgt. Galen, the main character, and doesn’t want to leave him. But at the same time he is getting orders from high command that he has to pull out and leave Galen behind.”
Each actor had to work extremely hard to get back into character, with only two weeks to practice before the first showing.
“It was pretty fun to get into that frame of mind, especially since Bob Grube, the actor who played Sgt. Galen, is one of my best friends,” said Barnes. “So I basically just pretended what it would be like to have Bob stuck on a stump with a bomb in it. That’s acting for you.”
Both the new director and the returning cast were pleased with the show’s turnout.
“The show went exceptionally well. It gave all of our members a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow as actors, designers, technicians, and, of course, directors,” said Justin Gilmore, who played Major Harris. “The Citamard Players are always pleased to present such excellent talent to the Millersville Campus.”
The “Booby Trap” production is only the first in an excellent line up for Millersville University Theater.