Protestors have tried for years to put a stop to war, but the Ohio University School of Theater’s new production will showcase conflict’s more “awesome” side.
The School of Theater, along with Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company, an Off-Broadway Theater Award-winning “geek theater” company, will present War is F**king Awesome Wednesday.
Vampire Cowboys produces new works of theater based on action, adventure and dark comedy with a comic book aesthetic, according to the group’s website.
Robert Ross Parker and Qui Nguyen, Vampire Cowboys’ co-artistic directors, created the company in 2000 while attending graduate school at OU. They bonded over their love for comic books and produced their first show together in the Spring 2000. They then moved to New York City, where the company is based.
Nguyen and Parker returned to OU after professors Shelley Delaney and David Haugen asked them to be a part of an alumni showcase. Nguyen wrote the show specifically with OU in mind, and Parker is directing it using actors from the school.
“It’s been great being back,” Parker said. “I was almost 30 when I graduated and now I’m turning 40 being here and it’s just a cool thing for me personally.”
War is F**king Awesome follows a heroine, Unity Spencer, who becomes a government weapon to save the United States during its time of need. She fights through America’s wars with the guidance of Chief Killsalot, a “magic Injun” trapped in her brain.
The different war eras portrayed in the film required the prop crew to create different-styled guns for each battle scene.
“She is a superhero, she’s got different guns and swords that have to look like the time period,” said Tom Fiocchi, head of the school’s props department. In addition to guns and swords, the show boasts robot Nazis, human organs and furry demons.
“I think that our shows are different from other plays because they are more like movies,” Parker said. “Entertainment isn’t something very important to us, there’s a great deal of theatricality involved.”
ks574510@ohiou.edu
