The Effects of Gamma Rays on an Audience

Last weekend, the Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts (SPA) put on their LAB Theater Production of the all-female play, The Effects of Gamma Rays on the Man in the Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel. Gamma Rays, a thought provoking story about the drama within a family life, is the winner of the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. SPA’s production of Gamma Rays, directed by Michael Payne, is a prime example of the maximum potential of high school theater.

“I wanted to showcase a strong ensemble of women,” director Michael Payne says. “We have such awesome female talent here that we wanted to make sure that they were represented. We had almost forty that auditioned for five spots. My goal is always to make it not feel like a high school production. This did not feel like a high school production; they just rose above.”

The story is of a hopeful little girl named Tillie who lives in a household full of stress and uncertainty. Her critical and occasionally psychotic mother, played by Abigail Mower, is more obsessed with her own neglected life than that of her sister with epilepsy. Tillie’s mother does not support her in school. Despite this, Tillie works towards her ambitions in science, eventually winning the school science fair for her project on radioactive marigolds.

“Because the stage was small, and the cast was small,” Anna Trick, a sophomore who played the part of Tillie, says. “We were able to get to really know everyone, emphasize on the emotions,and tune in on our surroundings. It made the whole thing more intimate.”

The LAB Theater, where the show was put on, is a unique space that can only hold an audience of around forty five people. When you walk into the theater from stage left the intimacy of the show is clear.

The edge of the stage is only five or six feet away from the front row of seats. As the first scene of the play starts, the closeness of the experience draws you into the magic. At the front right of the stage is a live rabbit named Oliver that plays its own important role.

After the show, many commented on how real and dramatic the show felt. The anxiety expressed in the play transmitted to almost everyone in the audience.

“I didn’t have high expectations of the show, but once I saw it, I was just blown away,” said Bryan Johnson, the father of one of the actresses. “From lighting to acting to directing, they did a fantastic job. This is my second time seeing it.”