Located in the decorated halls of the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts, the student-led Script Raiders organization finds itself sharpening the theater abilities of its members in a quiet classroom.
Established to serve as a community for those interested in the world of playwriting, Script Raiders hosts meetings for students looking to polish their skills in writing, critiquing and acting. Many within the organization take their honed abilities to the test in several follow-up events, such as Frontier Fest.
A Script Raiders member has a script pulled up to read during the organization’s general meeting at the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts School of Theatre & Dance Building March 29, 2024.
Gerardo Rodriguez, a first-year theater arts major from Plainview, examined the script presented by his peers in the lone classroom. As he critiqued the piece of literature, Rodriguez said he feels it is better to take risks when preparing a play to be performed.
“It’s better to be in the arena taking punches to the face than it is to just sit on the sidelines just twiddling your thumbs,” Rodriguez said. “And for me, I think that’s the biggest takeaway – just putting yourself out there knowing it’s not gonna be perfect the first time, and I don’t think it’s ever gonna be perfect anytime. But we’re just getting out there and hearing (our) work out loud.”
It can be a unique experience, Rodriguez said with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair, seeing a play finally performed after so much practice, and review can be a very emotional moment.
“One of my plays is in Frontier Fest. And it just feels weird because it’s the first time seeing something actually performed and not read to a bunch of actors getting feedback,” Rodriguez said. “And for me, it’s the first time I’m actually going to see something I wrote up there and I’m happy, nervous, excited – everything.”
James Cross, Script Raider president and fourth-year theater arts major from Dallas, guided the group through its practice and said finding community can make the task of writing a play less intense or challenging.
“Our main focus is to encourage people to playwrite, because it is such a scary and daunting task to just sit on your own and come up with a story that is presented to everyone,” Cross said.
Fourth-year theatre arts major from Houston Anika Adames gives a critique on fellow member’s script during the Script Raiders’ general meeting at the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts School of Theatre & Dance Building March 29, 2024.
Cross said Script Raiders doesn’t just specialize in theater, but provides reviews and critiques for other creative media as well.
“There’s been a couple instances where people have come with non-plays,” Cross said. “Last semester, there was someone who was developing this very cool animated TV show idea – kind of like a Saturday morning cartoon. And they had a couple of short little scripts and stuff, and so we read them and offered feedback on that.”
Ben Smith, Script Raiders vice president and graduate student pursuing a masters in fine arts, took command of the room as he practiced his vocal acting skills. After his practice, Smith said writing and reviewing scripts is a special experience that gives theater an eccentric value.
“So, whether it’s a play or a screenplay or anything, the awesome, unique thing about plays is that it really is the only literary form that is meant to be read aloud,” the Kansas City, Missouri native said.
Learning from peers and other members, Smith said it is critical for actors and playwrights to further develop skills in theater and additional creative writing fields.
“I think to me, it’s really helpful in the sense of like, especially in creative fields and the arts and such, the best way to develop your own skill set and to sharpen your tools,” Smith said. “I always like the iron sharpens iron metaphor.”