Washburn University’s Music & Theatre Department presented “Gloria” in the Neese-Gray Theatre at the Garvey Fine Arts Center. Performances ran Feb. 27–28 and March 5–7 at 7:30 p.m.with a final show on March 8 at 2 p.m.
The event was directed by guest director Jason R. Smith, the production featured Washburn students Gage Gooding, Elijah L. Reed, Amber Schmidt, Grace Thacker and Katelyn Lang, along with community member Ben Staton. The creative team behind the scenes included Deb Bruner (set design), Wyatt Tripe (lighting design), Knox McClendon (costume design) and Julie Noonan (sound design).
Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, “Gloria” follows a group of young professionals working at a literary magazine whose lives change after a violent incident in the office. What begins as a sharp satire of workplace ambition slowly unfolds into a more serious look at trauma, media attention and the way stories about tragedy are told.
For the actors, bringing these characters to life meant thinking deeply about who they were beyond the lines in the script. After the performance, cast members reflected on how they stepped into their characters’ perspectives.
Thacker, who played Kendra, described the character as bold and unfiltered.
“Kendra is very sassy. That’s a PG way to put it. She’s not afraid to tell you what she thinks exactly how she thinks it,” Thacker said.
While the early scenes lean into humor, the play eventually pushes audiences to reflect on the people most affected by violence. Lang noted the story encourages viewers to remember the victims rather than focusing on the perpetrator.
“Those victims, they’re still victims and we shouldn’t glorify the person who did it. The victims are those who actually have to live through it, who either lost their lives or their families are dealing with the grief,” Lang said.
Behind the performances was a production crew that had been working on the show since early December. Taylor Moore, the production’s dramaturg and lobby designer, said the team spent months refining the performance so that each detail on stage supported the story.
“We originally started with making sure we had the block so the actors knew where to go. And from there, we kept refining it and refining it until we have the show today,” Moore said. “We made sure that every little detail that is on stage we put there on purpose. Everything we put on there has a message, has something that the audience can take away”.
The play’s themes continued to resonate with audience members after the performance. Dylan Bane, a senior Spanish major at Washburn, said the story highlights how tragedy can sometimes be used for personal gain.
“It was very much kind of almost psychological in the conversations that they had and kind of how each person was trying to make a profit off of the tragedy,” Bane said.
Through dark humor and emotionally charged moments, Washburn Theatre’s production of “Gloria” left audiences reflecting on how tragedy is remembered and how the stories surrounding those events are shaped.
Edited by Bidhya Sapkota and Arohi Rai
