by Camila Klas

The University of Southern Mississippi allowed us to sit down and enjoy seventeen minutes of pure chaos. Written by Cayson Miles, The Waves is a beautiful piece about internal struggles, mental health, and societal pressures. The story follows one character, Michael, battling with the idea of suicide: The opening scene shows our main character, and the only visible one, at the beach reading what will be his goodbye letter. I was immediately shocked by the use of a voice-over to read the stage directions, thinking that maybe it was a poor choice caused by having to produce this show online. Oh, I was so wrong. The scene has a sudden shift and we find ourselves observing Michael in his room, trying to get out of bed after taking multiple pills. At that point, I was very terrified of what the ending of this play was going to be. However, the next scene shows us, Michael, going into his bathroom while the voice “narrates” his actions. That is exactly where I realized that the voice was not narrating, but that it was telling him what to do. Cayson Miles’ play ended up being a very strong commentary about standing up against society’s expectations and fighting off our own demons.

It was very obviously recorded on a cellphone and because it was recorded at night time the image was very low quality, but as the piece progressed, I got to witness how this was beneficial and added a bigger feeling of chaos. On a technical note, I appreciated the visuals USM offered us. These moments helped highlight the emotions the character was going through. For example, the darkness at the beach looking like it was consuming him and the choice of putting him in a very bright orange shirt made him stand out. Another example would be having him wear jeans when he is in the bathtub which created this sense of stiffness and disgust. Cody Elsensohn, who played Michael, showed us his best acting skills when this character was actively battling with his inner self and questioning the narrator. He brought a lot of life to the piece by allowing us to view these moments of realization and creating great intimacy with the audience, almost like he was aware we were all watching him. In addition to all this, I need to give an immense shout-out to Bryan Peyton and his amazing voice. Bryan brought this piece to life with the stage directions and I cannot imagine this piece being as good without his voice in it.

If you are still reading and you have made it this far, I just want I say thank you and I hope that KCACTF is treating you well! Keep an eye out for more reviews from the ITJA team of the festival!

Camila Klas