Senior Nick Pleiss recently performed his senior theatre capstone in which he exhibited his one-man adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters” which was accomplished before a packed theater. At the end of the play, Pleiss said, “I expected only 30 people so this is pretty cool.”

When asked about how he was feeling about doing a one-man show, Pleiss said, “I am very excited for it. The most scary part about this project is memorizing everything because it is a 30-minute one-man show, but I pulled a couple of 12-hour days in the theatre and I am confident that we are show ready.” After watching the play, it is clear that Pleiss did an amazing job memorizing and encapsulating the character of Screwtape.

Pleiss discussed the inspiration behind his decision, saying, “I am primarily an actor and I have some experience with directing. I felt confident whatever I was going to do I wanted to do in as many different areas as possible. Doing a one-man show is exactly how you do that. I have been responsible for essentially everything. I’ve been getting help from a lot of people but creatively I have done everything.”

Pleiss added, “I choose Screwtape because it is a genius piece of writing. The book has so much genius Christian philosophy and a lot of thought-provoking questions. It is a very deep and rich piece. My hope is cutting down the book into a very small time frame, I can get those ideas across. I want people to be as affected by the capstone as I was by the book through a different medium. I hope I give it justice.”

The performance itself truly showed the brilliance of Pleiss as both a director and an actor. The mix of drama, comedy and anger shown by Pleiss to keep the audience more intrigued with the play was a delightful touch. While only being able to see one side of the story with the letters written from Uncle Screwtape, the audience had the full picture of what was going on between the experiment with the patient and how Screwtape’s nephew Wormwood was struggling to deal with it.

The show had some surprise events mostly with the rage of Screwtape dramatically exhibited by Pleiss. During this event, lights flashed and Screwtape turned into a giant centipede from the anger. Then, the only other actor, Daryan Rosenthal, who played the secretary, came onstage to help Screwtape finish his letter to Wormwood.

Throughout the play, everyone in attendance got to witness the hard work and effort Pleiss put into the project and the impressive directing work from him. From the costuming to the movements, Pleiss’ focus on details was abundantly noticeable.

At the end, Pleiss was greeted with a large audience applauding the actor and director. When asked about what is next for Pleiss after his capstone, the senior said, “I am in the spring show (Shakespeare). But after college, I want to write a book. So whatever it is, I want to continue doing creative work even if it is not acting.” Through the talent, work and passion for creativity that was shown by Pleiss in his capstone, it is clear that his creativity will make a major impact in the world.