{"id":21426,"date":"2017-09-19T15:08:27","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T19:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=21426"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:36:53","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:36:53","slug":"unc-alumni-reunite-playmakers-cake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=21426","title":{"rendered":"UNC alumni reunite for PlayMakers\u2019 \u2018The Cake\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n

\"Julia
Julia Gibson as Della in PlayMakers Repertory Company\u2019s production of \u201cThe Cake\u201d by Bekah Brunstetter. The play, directed by Jeffrey Meanza, runs Sept. 13\u2013Oct. 1. Photo by HuthPhoto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For her work as a writer on the NBC dramedy \u201cThis is us,\u201d Carolina alumna Bekah Brunstetter mixes heartfelt moments with hilarious ones. That\u2019s the way she prefers to write, the style that comes natural to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just so satisfying to have your own ideas and your own dialogue kind of fit right into what this thing is about and already trying to be,\u201d said Brunstetter, who graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2004 with a bachelor\u2019s in theater.<\/p>\n

Brunstetter brings that same mixture of tragic moments with comical ones, poignant moments with jovial ones in her latest work, \u201cThe Cake<\/a>,\u201d which debuted last week at\u00a0PlayMakers Repertory Company<\/a>and will run through Oct. 1. The play is about a North Carolina baker who tries to figure out how her faith and her love for family can coexist after she is asked to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about something incredibly serious,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I wanted to talk about it in a way that was really human, warm, hopeful and friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Christine
Christine Mirzayan as Macy, Julia Gibson as Della and Jenny Latimer as Jen in Playmakers Repertory Company\u2019s production of \u201cThe Cake.\u201d Photo by HuthPhoto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brunstetter discovered and developed her craft for combining reality with flights of fancy on the stage as a theater major and creative writing minor at Carolina. She wrote weekly in her poetry and fiction writing classes, and professors challenged her to be more truthful and authentic in her writing.<\/p>\n

She also started writing plays that were produced by student groups on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo see your play staged and watch it with an audience \u2014 to see what was indulgent or what was funny or what was confusing \u2014\u00a0and learn from that experience definitely helped me figure out how to use my voice as a playwright,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cake\u201d brings together Brustetter and her good friend and former classmate Jeffrey Meanza, who signed on to direct the play at PlayMakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I finished reading it, I thought, \u2018I have to do this.\u2019 It was incredibly moving when it was just words on a page. Imagine how it will be with actors bringing it to life,\u201d said Meanza, who graduated from Carolina in 2004 with a master\u2019s in fine arts.<\/p>\n

The play is the first project they have worked on together.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the perfect match for this play,\u201d Brunstetter said. \u201cAs soon as PlayMakers recommended him, I was like, \u2018Oh, of course!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Christine
Christine Mirzayan as Macy and Julia Gibson as Della in PlayMakers Repertory Company\u2019s production of \u201cThe Cake\u201d by Bekah Brunstetter. Photo by HuthPhoto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Working with a close friend comes with its own unique challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a director, you always feel a professional and even an emotional responsibility to honor and elevate the work,\u201d Meanza said, \u201cbut when it\u2019s your friend\u2019s words, you feel it even more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both are thrilled PlayMakers chose to present \u201cThe Cake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAny opportunity to come back is an incredible pleasure,\u201d said Meanza, who credits PlayMakers as the place he grew up at as an artist. \u201cI love it here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been wanting to have a play there since I graduated,\u201d Brunstetter said. \u201cBut you have to wait for the timing to be right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story by Will Rimer, University Communications. Photos courtesy of PlayMakers Repertory Company.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former classmates Bekah Brunstetter and Jeffrey Meanza reunite to bring Brunstetter’s newest work, “The Cake,” to life through the PlayMakers Repertory Company. Brunstetter graduated from UNC in 2004 with a degree in theater, and Meanza returns to direct the play.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":21432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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