Theater department staff opens up this school year’s first production with a laugh

Full of mystery, espionage, action and, most importantly, humor, “The 39 Steps” is a classic murder-mystery story that comes alive on the stage. This production weaves comedy and parody into the traditional Alfred Hitchcock
thriller. The first production of the year, “39 Steps” is unique from other upcoming plays this season. Liberty faculty and staff members put on the play rather than students. Andy Geffken, an associate professor in the Theater Department, both acted and played a part in directing the production. 

“If I had been working with any other group of actors, it would have been a bad idea to attempt to act and direct,” Geffken said. “You can’t do both things 100%.”

He described how having brilliant colleagues and his experience acting this role before are what allowed him to both act and direct, even though, normally, these very conditions would have made it difficult to get into character and set boundaries. In fact, Geffken was expecting more disagreement among crew members, but due to their strong relationships, they built off each other’s ideas and had fun.

“The job of the director is to become unnecessary,” Geffken said. “Directing is always fulfilling because by the time a show opens, it doesn’t belong to you.”

As a professor, Geffken said he gets the most satisfaction from directing when his students are able to take over with their own ideas and use the skills they’ve learned. 

Part of why Geffken and the other faculty kicked off the year with comedy is to alleviate some of the back-to-school stress. They thought the “timing was right” for a light-hearted production after a challenging past two years. He and the other team members thought it would help the students relax if they could see their professors “acting
like fools.”

Adding to the humor was the fact that the show had “virtually no budget.” Part of the comedy was seeing the awkward props. Geffken said almost all of their props were “pulled from stock and rigged to be ‘just passable.’” 

The team members met for a dozen rehearsals before their preview night. All of the actors began collaborating and “making choices from the very beginning.” The production was heavily actor-driven, especially given the lack of official props and décor.

Geffken, his wife, who also acted in the play, and his other team members (Chris Nelson, Neal Brasher and Erica Geffken) did not hesitate to take the opportunity to put on the comedic and thrilling play. To them, the play represented the chance to have fun, be light-hearted and lift each other up.

“We hope our patrons, our colleagues and our students have a great time with it,” Geffken said. “And remember that once in a while, it’s good to not take things too seriously.”

“The 39 Steps” will be showing at the Black Box Theatre until Sept. 4. For more information or to see the upcoming productions, please visit https://www.liberty.edu/arts/theatre/current-season/. 

BEAR is the feature editor.