College senior goes it alone in 'Closets'

Imagine having an auditorium full of people sitting in your house and watching your every private move. College senior Sydney Thornbury, a theater arts major, will be acting out this very situation tonight, as the author and sole cast member of Closets, which portrays the private thoughts and actions of five women ranging in age from 11 to 44. The production consists of five separate monologues, commenting on how people overcome their fears and how they choose to survive in the world, Thornbury said yesterday. "It's a very private side of these characters," she said. Thornbury said she named the play Closets to symbolize a place where people hide their true selves from the "scary" world. "I think a lot of people are afraid to go out and face the world because the world is a very scary place," she said. "It takes an incredible amount of strength and honesty for one to do so. People are scared because there are a lot of expectations put on them and they felt pressured to conform." "Those who are different very often are extremely lonely," she added. "So people don't want to be different." Thornbury said she finds the play very challenging and fulfilling. "It has shown me a lot of strength and weaknesses in my own acting," she said. "I wanted to do something that was my own development and which I could completely shape and create for myself." Thornbury said the most difficult part was to distinguish her identities as writer and actor. "As a writer, there are some things that you are trying to put across," she said. "As an actor, it's your job to bring that character to life but not necessarily to bring out the theme of the writer. At the beginning, I was confused and played the theme." Thornbury said it is important for audience to think for themselves the meaning of the play and to take whatever they want from it. "I hope it triggers something inside of someone," she said. Although all characters are women, Thornbury said she does not think the play is an overtly feminist play. "I don't think it just speaks for women," she said. "It's a women piece because I don't have a choice. After all, I am a woman." Closets' only performance will be tonight at 8 p.m. at the Studio Theatre in the Annenberg Center. Admission is free.

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