Students showcase their theatre work in their emotive coffee shop performances

There was a buzz in the air as friends, family members, Liberty students and theatre connoisseurs chatted over drinks at Mission House, a coffeehouse. Members of the audience had coffee, tea and even soft green matcha in their hands as they awaited the show.

On Saturday, Oct. 21, the Coffee Shop Octet was put on by Lauren Gabler and Jonathan Brennan, who aimed to give the audience the illusion of overhearing conversations in a coffee shop within vignettes. Vignettes are short pieces of acting, writing or similar art forms that express the characteristics of a person or thing. 

The producers and directors offered digital programs available that read out the different vignettes, including “My Cafe,” “It’s Been Years,” “Michelin Star,” “The Campfire Interlude,” “An Infestation of Love,” “Lost for Words,” “Grandma’s Coffee” and “Loose Ends.” 

The descriptions read out short and simple to make the audience wonder about what story will unfold. 

“Two best friends catch up on what they’ve missed,” and “An old flame offers some advice,” were two of the descriptions.

As the show began to unfold, it gave the illusion of a busy coffee shop. The conversations at times may have felt intimate, or even invasive, with some being more serious and including heart-wrenching topics. 

The show balanced light-hearted topics with darker ones, jumping from more solemn conversations to ones that made the audience burst into laughter.

Brooke Mucci, a Liberty University senior, worked on three different vignettes. She wrote “It’s Been Years” which detailed a conversation between old friends reconnecting. She directed “Lost for Words” which depicted a right-person-wrong-time relationship and acted in “Loose Ends,” which was about a man moving on.

“The piece that I wrote about is based on losing a friend when you didn’t expect it and just having those not-so-close relationships anymore, where one person is wanting to hold on to the relationship as much as they are and the other person is not wanting that anymore, they’re totally happy, moving on. And I just kind of wanted to convey that feeling because I don’t think there’s a lot of pieces out there that kind of show that friendship relationship,” Mucci said.

Built into the setting of the coffee shop, the show immersed the audience members in the story, leaving many emotionally affected by some of the vignettes. 

Ashley Manley, a Liberty University sophomore was an actor in “Lost for Words.” She commented on how the Coffee Shop Octet was about giving those behind-the-scenes artists recognition just as much as the actors and actresses. 

“I just felt very honored to be able to take part of something that is showcasing writers because many times we focus solely on the actors and the actresses and then no attention goes to the writers,” Manley said. “It was just fun to be able to be a part of something that was more than just acting and more than just putting on a show. It was really just about uplifting people that are working so hard behind the scenes that you never actually get to see.”

The show was built for people watchers and eavesdroppers. Judging from the faces of people in the audience, they were heavily touched by the content of the story. The Coffee Shop Octet created many emotions in one little space, leaving the audience with sniffles and tears gathering in their eyes.

Hernandez is a feature reporter for the Liberty Champion