A Tale of Two Shows

You may recognize the names Richie Izzo and Amari Dickerson from their starring roles in Eastern’s past theater productions like ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Big Fish’. Like many college students, they found themselves bored during summer break, looking for a way to spend their time besides working and summer courses. They both turned to a creative outlet, writing their own show. The best part? And no, it’s not that they’re best friends (which they are). The best part is that you can go see it for free at Eastern, on September 28 and 29, supporting a completely student-led production. ‘Twofold’ is a production where both Richie and Amari will showcase their shows, Amari’s play in the first act and Richie’s musical in the second act. And as an added bonus: they star in each other’s show– because they’re just BFFs like that. 

Amari Dickerson’s play, ‘Life in Death’, is an exploration “of a youth who is constantly grieving and disoriented by death, until death gives his life meaning (Eastern University).” What is life without suffering to make it meaningful? The show follows Jamie, a high schooler whose parents passed away, struggling to find joy until he meets a friend, Riley, who convinces him to see the world differently. Packed with comedy and a unique perspective on the world, Dickerson shows us the contrasts of life and death. In an interview with the writer, Amari, he told us that he hit a roadblock in writing the show over the summer until his grandfather passed away. His grandfather’s death inspired him to follow through in writing and producing this show to show students that there is always light in the darkness. 

Richie’s musical, ‘The Inside Out’, is about “the daily difficulties with mental health and depression (Eastern University).” In addition, it confronts the stigmas that surround mental health that young adults face. In talking to Richie Izzo, he made an emphasis on the realness of the characters that this musical follows. There are three characters who the audience only sees in one setting, “It’s literally about the people in it. I don’t want to say it’s mundane, but it’s like very mundane (Richie Izzo).” It’s about the beautiful and chaotic parts of mundane and real life. Any person who has ever questioned what their purpose is or what they are doing with their life will feel seen in this show. 

Although these two are well-versed in the world of theater, putting on a production has been harder than both expected. Richie shared that when you’re an actor in the show, you don’t realize how many small details go into putting on a show. So in producing and directing a show there are so many small things that both men didn’t expect would need their decision making. Even just the simple act of actually writing the pieces was difficult. Somehow the writers need to whittle down all of their ideas to all of the necessary plot details to tell a story. Yet, paradoxically, Richie Izzo told us that the best part of the process was the actual writing of the show. When the plot falls into place perfectly, it’s satisfying, and feels like he’s writing something that matters. Amari Dickerson told us that the best thing about this process is the other students who have come along to support them in this process. I had the privilege of sitting in on a rehearsal of ‘Life in Death’ and I got to witness the cast react to their friend’s creation in real-time. They laughed together, cried together, and paused their acting to tell Amari, “this is beautiful”. Art is a beautiful thing that can join people together and make people feel and understand complex emotions and events more tangibly. Richie and Amari are giving us all this unique opportunity to see into a student’s creative mind and listen to the story that they find is worthy for us to see. I encourage you to take that study break and come to the show because you will walk out with a new perspective on life and death.