unbearable hotness
Written by Gabriel Davis
Performed at Soundbite Studios from April 18-20, 2024
Artistic Statement
Having spent the better part of my years here at the School of Dramatic Arts and now preparing to leave, I am ready for the next chapter of life. However, some things I will always carry with me. One of them is the biggest takeaway from my time here: life is art, and often, when people are dissatisfied with current experiences in their lives, they use art as an avenue to cope, disguise, or even cover up such adversities. Unbearable Hotness explores just this through the avenue of four insecure college boys whose “desire” overcome their ethics.
Unbearable Hotness, through its comedic title and witty dialogue, touches on key aspects of what it is like to be a kid transitioning into adulthood, battling with the ubiquitous presence of youth and desire, and, most importantly, discovering your identity in the process. With realism as the form and sitcom as the style, this production plays into the comedy of male commentary that occurs behind closed doors and with an unexpected twist exposes the hypocrisy behind the misunderstanding of and assumptions surrounding queer identities. These themes make it especially relatable and impactful for college students who play for both teams…
I want to provide an opportunity for those same people who struggle with their own identity and conformity to college experiences to see life through a new lens and enable them to consider their own approach to life. Unbearable Hotness is a play that, through its honesty, can serve this purpose and create a fun and engaging experience that will leave audiences talking as soon as they leave the theater.
$10k+
Budget
5
PERFORMANCES
daily trojan feature
Written by Jefferson Hernandez Segovia
Photography by Henry Kofman
“Director Scott Brian, a junior majoring in theatre, assembled a hardworking group of students to make the production possible. From producers to sound designers, every member of the team pulled their weight, helping each other out outside of their respective jobs.
The collaborative effort behind the resulting performance of Gabriel Benjamin Davis’ 2014 comedy was clear, and the audience could see the amount of care put in by everyone onstage and behind the scenes.
‘When everybody’s working towards that same goal of trying to make everyone else look good, then the whole show just really feels special,” Brian said. “There’s a really beautiful relationship between all the people onstage and all the people behind the scenes that put it together.’
[…]
Just like the play, Brian said the cast and crew had fun during rehearsals and allowed actors room to explore their talents. Brian focused on balancing out all of the different ideas coming from the actors about how their characters should react to construct his vision of ‘Unbearable Hotness.’
‘All the actors are absolutely incredible performers, so when they came into the room, they’re trying a million ideas,’ Brian said. ‘Every little moment, we just played through in a million different ways until we found the most interesting and compelling way to tell a story.’”
Click here to read the full article.
Photos by Angel Itua and Henry Kofman / Daily Trojan