The Druid City Arts Festival kicked off this week with a Guerrilla Theatre performance by the University’s Alpha Psi Omega theater fraternity. The performance took place on the River Walk at Manderson Landing.
The event was put on entirely by students under the leadership of Cooper Kennard, a junior majoring in musical theater and political science. He has been a part of APO since his freshman year and is always a part of the Guerrilla performances. Kennard’s connections with Creative Campus made it possible to include Guerilla Theatre as a part of the week leading up to DCAF.
“I was surprised, but we had a great turnout,” Kennard said. “The crowd was good, and we had great feedback.” Katherine Kosich, a sophomore majoring in English, has attended Guerrilla Theatre events since her freshman year. “It was a lot of fun, it’s really interesting to see all the local talent and to know that we were going to classes amongst all these really talented people,” said Kosich, who is a member of the DCAF volunteer team. “I’m really excited for the poetry walk on Thursday and to see the Revitalists on Saturday.”
Although different from the usual Allen Bales Theater, the actors, singers and poets seemed to adapt well to the outdoors. “Guerrilla Theatre is a big hit at Alabama,” said Rachel Ahrnses, a sophomore majoring in journalism and Creative Campus intern. “It is so nice outside and I’m really glad they got to perform in a real ‘guerrilla’ location.” She is excited for the rest of the DCAF week and said, “it is going to be an explosion of fun.”
Aaron Shaw, a junior majoring in psychology and biology, and Nicky Bolus, a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering, are both members of the a cappella group, Subject to Change.
They ended the night with, “Dreaming with a Broken Heart,” originally sung by John Mayer and Taylor Swift. After their performance, the crowd demanded an encore, with which they did not disappoint.
“I loved Subject to Change. They were really, really cute and very talented.” said Katherine Koehler, a sophomore majoring in history. “I was surprised. They could be famous.”
Bolus noted the change from the typical Saturday night performance.
“It’s very different for me because I have a lot of homework to do tonight, but I’m very glad to be here,” he said. Samuel Hardy, a freshman majoring in theater, performed a monologue from C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters.”
“It was a nice, open, relaxed venue,” he said. “Usually guerrillas are high energy and vaguely raunchy, but this was a little more clean and refreshing.”
Even though there was little publicity for the event, the crowd was ample and the acts energetic. From freestyle percussionists to solo show tunes, DCAF has officially begun with Alabama’s first outdoor guerrilla performance.
