By Sofia McGinnis
TAMPA, Fla. — Alpha Psi Omega, The University of Tampa’s theatre honor society, recently premiered its new student-produced show, Cowboy Mouth.
The story was written by Sam Shepard and Patti Smith. It follows a woman named Cavale who kidnaps a young man named Slim, taking him hostage from his wife and child to make him a rock ’n’ roll prophet. For Cavale, rock ’n’ roll is her religion, but Slim, being a former rock star, has given up rock ’n’ roll until now.
There is also a strange creature called The Lobsterman, played by Taylor Skolnick, roaming throughout the show. It could be a drug-induced hallucination or a humble delivery man. With both Cavale and Slim eventually worshipping the creature, it could very well be God.
The story is also inspired by the real-life situation that happened between Sam Shepard and Patti Smith. Smith explains how the affair between them and the eventual ending of their relationship inspired this story.
According to Smith on sam-shepard.com, “It was just a play between us … We were only trying to talk about two people that were destined — two big dreamers who came together but were destined to come to a sad end. … We knew we couldn’t stay together. He was going to go back to his wife and children, and I was gonna go on my way.”
Cowboy Mouth was directed by Briana Lopez, a musical theatre major and APO member.
“The production has been pretty smooth sailing. It’s been a great experience altogether because I got to work with some of my best friends so the whole environment was super collaborative and fun,” said Lopez.
“The biggest challenge was getting the actors to understand the poetic text and crazy symbolism that is sprinkled throughout the play,” said Lopez.
APO is the theatre honor society at UTampa. The organization puts on a couple of student-led productions every semester. Getting a show accepted takes a lot of work.
“To do an APO show you have to create a pitch which is usually a presentation and you talk about your play and your plans for the play, the rehearsal schedule, [as well as] it has to be approved by both the officers and the members of APO,” said Lopez.
Madison Pulica, who played Cavale, talks about the work that went into creating these characters: “This show is very abstract and hard to fully comprehend, it took me a while to get a strong grasp on [the] meaning of the play. … [It is also] short, but very physical, there’s a lot of movement in this show.”
During the first week of rehearsals, Pulica accidentally broke her pinky toe and fractured her left foot. However, this did not stop her from working hard to produce this show, and it worked in her favor.
“Funny enough, Cavale actually has a messed up foot from birth [and] refers to it as her ‘duck foot,’” said Pulica. “[However], I am not a method actor, it’s just a funny coincidence.”
Pulica also talks about the incredible time she’s had working with the cast and crew of Cowboy Mouth: “[Lopez] put a lot of work into this show especially visually [and] I also had such a good time getting to know my co-star Emily Carrucini. [As well as] the creative people involved in this show [who] really make it stand out as something special.”
Slim, played by Emily Carrucini, has been switched to a girl in Lopez’s production. Carrucini talks about the work she put in with her castmate in creating the dynamic between Slim and Cavale.
“Challenges we faced was how to express the relationship between Cavale and Slim without being too intimate or too angry while being safe,” said Carrucini.
Carrucini also enjoyed her time working alongside Pulica in Cowboy Mouth.
“I also have enjoyed working alongside Madison as she’s a senior and is a great actress and loved working with everyone who helped us bring these characters to life,” said Carrucini.
Overall Cowboy Mouth was a wildly good time, with intriguing characters, interesting dialogue, and a message about embracing yourself and finding enjoyment in the moment, despite facing difficult times.
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Photo courtesy of @ut.apo on Instagram.