Displaced performs Dry Land this Saturday at 8pm in Sarner Underground.
By Ella Grim
Annabel Everett ’25 (left) and Loane Bouguennec ’25 play Reba and Amy in Dry Land, Displaced Theatre Company’s newest production. Photo Credit: Bernardo De Nardi ‘23
“‘Shakespeare is dead’ is our tagline,” quips Eva Hymes ’25, one of the four founders of Displaced Theatre Company, a rapidly growing student theater group started last year. On Saturday evening, Displaced will perform Ruby Rae Spiegel’s Dry Land in Sarner Underground. The play’s main topics are “abortion, friendship, and swimming,” according to Eva, assistant director for the show. It captures Displaced’s mission: tackling social issues, especially understudied ones, with theater. On Thursday, I sat down with several members of Displaced to talk about this upcoming performance and their vision for the company.
Displaced Theatre Company was restarted during Winter 2022 by Eva, Annabel Everett ’25, Kamila Boga ’25, and Gwendolyn Roland ’25. Iterations of the group existed in the past, but student-driven contemporary theater had fizzled out by the time these ’25s started their first year. The company, which is entirely student-led, focuses on producing plays written in the past ten years and fills a distinctive niche in Dartmouth’s theater scene. When asked about founding the group, Kamila stated, “We decided this new Displaced Theatre Company would focus on contemporary work that centers around and highlights the voices and identities of women and people of color and those who aren’t normally represented in the Theater Department and in society at large.” Although Dry Land is only Displaced’s second production since their revival, the company is rapidly growing their presence on campus and has started tackling gaps in diversity and access in the campus theater scene.
Directors Kamila Boga ’25 (left) and Maggie MacDonald ’23 (right), along with assistant director Eva Hymes ’25, lead final rehearsals for Dry Land. Photo Credit: Bernardo De Nardi ‘23
One way Displaced is helping to change the face of theater at Dartmouth is with nontraditional casting: Dry Land has five characters, but ten actors have been cast for the show. Two of the characters are played by multiple actors, which according to stage manager Arly Sosa ’25 is “one of the examples of how inclusive [Displaced] can be.” The show has two directors—Kamila, and Maggie MacDonald ’23—and makes a point of expanding opportunities for students to perform and produce theater by duplicating roles and making sure those who want to participate are involved.
Dry Land is the story of two high school girls—best friends and swim-team athletes—one of whom is navigating teen pregnancy and seeking an abortion. It is “a story that would never be told in the Theater Department,” says founder Gwen Roland, yet one that needs to be shared and has never been so relevant.“In our current day and age,” shared Eva, “people often neglect the perspective of the people who need the abortion. This show hones in on the pain felt by those people and is a really visceral and disturbing play…This is what’s happening to girls who are not able to get abortions.”
The promotional poster for Dry Land, designed by Kalyn Dawes ’25.
The producers of Dry Land have poured their time and energy into bringing this critical story to life with sensitivity and passion. When asked about her thoughts on the show, Arly quickly commented, “I love it.” Maggie reiterated this enthusiasm when discussing the show’s evolution: “The process has been a pretty quick turnaround but we have such an incredible group of artists working on the project—it’s been a blast.”
If you are curious about Displaced or passionate about theater for social change, Dry Land is a must-see. The show is at 8pm on Saturday the 22nd in Sarner Underground. Admission is free, and Displaced will be collecting donations at the door to support the group’s future works.
The production team does want to share content warnings for the show. Abortion, homophobia, graphic depictions of blood, eating disorders, and mentions of suicide are all present, and Displaced wants to reiterate that this play might be distressing.
If you can’t make Saturday’s performance, don’t fret. Displaced plans to expand their opportunities for contemporary student theater in coming terms, including workshops open to campus and student-written One-Act plays planned for the Winter. Regardless of how you choose to engage, Displaced is a vital group on campus working to build a culture of inclusivity within the theater community.
Comments