You can’t escape The Glades. They come for everyone in the end.
On an isolated island deep in the heart of the Everglades, five young people struggle to survive in a land where the adults are as dangerous as the gators. When they devise a plan to escape, they are forced to grapple with the fear that what they are running to may be worse than what they’re running from. This brilliant new play by Laura Schellhardt begs the question: what is the current generation’s responsibility to the next, and what happens if we fail them?
Wake Forest's students have been building this production at every level, and they can't wait for you to see their work in action.
"Ever In The Glades" is a play about the dynamic between children and adults, especially when the adults have had life beat them down and are pretty cynical.
-Mellie Mesfin ('20), actor (business major, sociology minor)
There's this beautiful stage direction before the play even begins: "All of the adults in this play behave like Gators. They gnash their teeth, circle their prey, whip their tails." And then it says, this can be literal or metaphorical—do as you wish. That stage direction terrified me and made me so excited!
-Brittni Shambaugh Addison ('10), director
These kids are just trying to find a way out—to find a better life for themselves. The play is about a generational cycle of being stuck in a place of poverty and how difficult it can be to try to break out of that.
-Mellie Mesfin ('20), actor (business major, sociology minor)
Students not only star in the production of "Ever In The Glades," they also express their creativity behind the scenes. Lainey Drake ('22) is shown here adjusting her lighting design.
Designing sound for "Ever In The Glades" has been such a wonderful experience. I do not think I could have gotten this with any other type of theater institution.
-Michael Littrell ('20), sound designer (theater major)
For Wake Forest students thinking about a career in theater, what I say is: Be bold! Go after the things that you want. Nobody is going to give it to you. Believe that you're capable. You can do it.
-Brittni Shambaugh Addison ('10), director
Directed by Brittni Shambaugh Addison ('10), "Ever In The Glades" runs through February 16.
February 7-8 & 13-15 at 7:30 PM, February 9 & 16 at 2:00 PM
Tedford Stage, Scales Fine Arts Center
Credits:
©WFU/Riley Herriman ('22)