Tartuffe, written by the 17th century comedic playwright, Jean Baptiste Molière, is about an impostor who claims to be a zealous, pious man while boarding at the wealthy Orgon’s home. Instead, he’s a deceiver who tries to swindle Orgon out of the deed of his house by winning the respect of his wife and attempting to marry his daughter. Evening performances, all in Troutt Theater, are at 7:30 p.m . Oct. 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9; matinees are at  3 p.m. on Oct. 2, and at 2 p.m. Oct. 3 and Oct. 10.

Troutt Theater will host an entirely different production Oct. 30 when the Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe offers the extravagant Japanese puppet theater known as “ningyo joruri” or bunraku. The troupe trained in Japan with artists who are part of the puppetry troupes that date back to 1684. The Asian Studies Program sponsors this event. Performance time and ticket information will be announced..

The week before Thanksgiving break will be the performance of 33 Variations in the Black Box Theater. 33 Variations is about two different stories that occur 200 years apart in two far off places: America and Austria. It is a dramatic American play written by Moisès Kaufman about what motivates someone to create. Performances are scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12, 13, 18, 19, 20 and 21; matinees are at 3 p.m. Nov. 13, and at 2 p.m. Nov. 14 and 20.

The Nashville Ballet will grace the Troutt Theater’s stage with their new ballet based on Anne Frank’s life story. Dr. Mark Volker, a Belmont music faculty member, composed the music. Performances will be Nov. 19-21; times and ticket information will be announced.

The Actor’s Bridge Ensemble and perform Eurydice, playwright Sarah Ruhl’s re-telling of the classic myth. The play presents the story of Orpheus, a popular Greek musician, through the eyes of his wife. The golden ticket of this play? Eurydice “will have an amazing raining elevator and water pool on the set,” said Paul Gatrell, department chair of the theatre and dance department. Evening performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18, 24, 25 and 26; matinees will be at 2 p.m. Feb. 20, 26 and 27.

The Government Inspector will be on stage in the Black Box Theater in April. The Government Inspector is a satirical play written by Russian and Ukrainian playwright Nikolai Gogol about corrupt officials in a Russian town. They get into a tizzy when they hear an undercover inspector will visit to investigate them. They scramble to make their work seem decent and punishments necessary. Their attempts are interrupted when a mysterious visitor has already checked into the inn.The visitor is not an inspector but a civil servant, Khlestakov, who has a wild imagination. It should be a high-spirited and witty play, the perfect way to end the theatre season. Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. April 8, 9, 14 and 15; matinees are at 2 p.m. April 9, 10, 16 and 17.

The dance department will round out the theater and dance department’s season with their annual Dance Production where students will showcase their talent and new techniques. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. April 29 and 30 and May 1.

Music flows from the Neely Dining Hall. The glass doors are wide open and a handful of students are congregated inside Some stand and sing, following the words on the projector screen. Others sway with the guitar and vocals. The lights are dimmed; Neely has the feel of an indie coffee shop, but without the coffee and the plush furniture. Instead, chairs are lined up in neat rows from the stage to the back of the room, as if the planners expected them to be filled. As the vocal/guitar duo sings, you take one of the empty seats but remain standing, respectfully.

Chapel has returned to Belmont.

“It’s a chance for faculty, staff, students in the middle of the morning to worship, to fellowship, to feel that sense of unity and connectedness under Christ,” said Guy Chmieleski, Belmont university minister. He oversees the chapel services.

It’s not required for students to attend. It is a voluntary worship service held Friday mornings at 10, one of the slots always open for convocations.
Belmont did away with required chapel and replaced it with the current convocation program in 1994. According to Chmieleski, the students had become very resentful of the idea of being forced to go to chapel. He also said most speakers thought of Belmont’s chapel services as the worst speaking gig in Nashville and requested that Belmont not ask them to return due to typically disrespectful audiences.

“It is a bad idea in itself—forced worship,” Chmieleski added.

Belmont, long affiliated with the Baptist church, was accepting students from different religious backgrounds. The board realized that because of the growing diversity, they couldn’t “force” students to go to chapel, a Christian event. That was when the board decided to get rid of chapel, which had been required with the aim of putting students in a setting that could lead to spiritual and personal growth.

“The program’s history dates back to the former chapel program, in which students were required to attend weekly services,” according to Belmont’s Web site.

When Belmont eliminated chapel, the new convocation program was established. It was built so that the students, while still having to learn outside of the classroom, were not confined to participate in Christian denominational services.

Chapel as a voluntary event was in discussion in 2007, according to Chmieleski. There wasn’t any opposition to the return of chapel for Belmont, considering it’s solely a student’s decision to skip or attend.

“[Chapel] is for members of the campus community as a whole – faculty, staff and students – to come together in the midst of the academic day to pause, to worship, to fellowship [and] be together,” Chmieleski said.

The weekly speakers are teachers, staff and students who believe they have something compelling to share that will benefit not only them and those who hear it, but, through action, those who hear it can benefit others and cultivate a better college community.

Students find the chapel services to be very convenient. Kathleen Wells, senior, loves that the chapel hour is the same as convo hour because she doesn’t have class during that time or work after class.

“It’s a good place to hang out with people that I know,” Wells said. “I get to start the day off fresh with worship, and it starts my weekend off really well.”
The fellowship and worship is what brings Alyson McHargue to chapel services.

“It’s awesome worship and a great way to meet with God,” McHargue said. “I love being with fellow Christ-followers and learning more about his word.”

Chapel started Sept. 4 and is slowly growing in numbers. However, that’s not so important to Chmieleski. Eastern University, a Christian college in St. Davids, Penn., got rid of mandatory chapel and replaced it as voluntary. The numbers started out small, but then it grew to about 1,000 students weekly, according to Chmieleski.

His hope is that Belmont’s chapel services will bring students not because they have to but because they want to.

“[I hope] because God is doing something, it just draws students to it,” Chmieleski said. “It will become a very real significant time for our campus community.”

To cater to the vegetarian and vegan lifestyle, Belmont’s dining service, Sodexo, has formed a section to their catering called “Balance Body, Mind and Soul.” The catering is well-balanced, carbohydrate friendly and provides vegetarian and vegan options. Soy milk and some vegetarian-friendly dishes are prepared in the cafeteria.

“The nutrition criteria are based on the recommendations of many of the largest health organizations in North America,” according to the Belmont Sodexo dining Web site.

“Guidelines put out by the American Heart Association, American Institute for Cancer Research, National Research Council, National Cancer Institute, Canadian Scientific Review Committee, American Dietetic Association and Dietary Guidelines Consortium [were] reviewed.”

There is a difference between vegetarians and vegans. Vegetarians are more lenient in what they eat. They don’t eat shellfish or meat but they may drink milk and eat eggs.

Ovo-lacto-vegetarians make up the majority of the vegetarian population. Vegans take a harder look at what they eat. They don’t eat meat, shellfish, milk or eggs. Honey and yeast may also be on the avoidance list of some vegans. Clothing made from animals isn’t worn, and other products made from animals are avoided.
Imania Freeman, a sophomore at Belmont, has been a vegetarian since October 2006, when she was a sophomore in high school. After doing research on fast food, she thought meat was really bad for her. Also, she didn’t like the idea of animals being mistreated.

“It is possible that the lack of meat eaten can make a difference in an animal’s life. There might be one less animal slaughtered today,” Freeman said.
Despite her reasons, she says being a vegetarian is difficult, especially when she goes out to restaurants.

“Although many restaurants have things like veggie burgers or black bean burgers, there are still restaurants that still do not have veggie alternatives, Freeman said. “So basically all I can eat is salad, which stinks because I do not like salad.”

Julie Kenny, a senior, was a vegetarian for five years of her high school and early college career. She “relapsed” during Thanksgiving one year and began eating meat again for a few years. It was after she watched the movie “Food, Inc.” a documentary by Robert Kenner examining food production in America, that she returned to the lifestyle.

“I saw how horribly the animals are treated that I walked out of there swearing to not eat meat ever again,” Kenny said. “I’ve always had a vague idea about the cruelty animals endure before they become dinner, but seeing actual video of how they are treated and the inhumane conditions they live in broke my heart.”

Aside from vegetarians’ beliefs on cruelty to animals, there are some health benefits with going on a vegetarian diet. Heart disease and blood pressure can be reduced with a vegetarian diet. Because vegans don’t drink milk, soy is a healthy alternative as well as eating dark green vegetables like spinach and broccoli.

“Research has also shown that a plant-based diet can improve the health of people with type 2 diabetes,” said webmd.com, a medical Web site that answers everyday questions about health and reports new medical research.

With benefits come concerns. Kenny worries about getting enough protein because she’s not eating meat. Also, the thought of weight gain is a concern for her.
“I think I have gained weight since vowing off of meat again and wonder if it’s because I substitute things like pasta that will fill me up rather than some lean protein like chicken,” Kenny said.

Her main drive for staying vegetarian is the thought of preventing another animal slaughtered. “I feel better just knowing that I didn’t hurt any animals or contribute to their pain in any way,” Kenny said.

Sophomore Colin Bodayle was raised vegan by his parents. After drinking milk when he was 14 years old, he became vegetarian. He didn’t have any problems with being a vegan, as far as having cravings and such, because he was used to the lifestyle.

“It has moral benefits to someone who has a problem with the killing of animals; it also has dietary benefits, even if one doesn’t particularly try to be a ‘healthy’ vegan or vegetarian,” Bodayle said.

He had some suggestions for the cafeteria. While the caf has soy milk and some vegetarian dishes, the cafeteria workers make the sandwiches using the same gloves they handle meat products with. In order to be a vegetarian, there shouldn’t be any contact of meat with what sandwich they want to eat.

“There are options for vegetarians, but there seems to be very little effort to accommodate it. The possibility of making one’s own sandwiches in the caf would be ideal,” Bodayle said.

With the rise of vegetarians in America, Belmont may begin to see an increase in the population of student vegetarians increase. With Belmont’s Balance Body, Mind and Soul program, the university tries to accommodate all students.

“[The program’s] messages and offerings were developed with college students in mind,” Belmont’s Sodexo Web site says.

The story circles around a man named Prospero, a former duke of Milan, exiled with his daughter, Miranda, by order from his brother, Antonio. Prospero, a magician who derives his power from his books, survives 12 years on an island with Miranda, a spirit named Ariel, and an enslaved monster, Caliban. Prospero divines that Antonio and the other conspirators in the plot to depose him—King Alonso, his son Ferdinand, along with a few others—are traveling in a ship near the island. Prospero commands a great storm to engulf the boat and the men find themselves shipwrecked and father and son separated.

Ferdinand happens upon Prospero and falls madly in love with Miranda. Her father is apprehensive about the boy, thinking he’s just like his father, but, with hard labor, Ferdinand shows Prospero he is humble and pure, nothing like his father and a very good match for Miranda.

Alonso thinks his son is dead which makes him humble and he begs for forgiveness for his actions toward Prospero. Meanwhile, Caliban makes friends with Stephano the cook/butler and the jester, Trinculo. Together, they decide they will kill Prospero and steal Miranda, his magic and powers. Ariel finds out about this and uses their drunkenness to spoil their plans.

The audience finds Prospero make amends and forgives Antonio and Alonso for their treason. Ferdinand and Miranda are then married and the future of Milan is brighter. Prospero ends the play with a vow to drown his magical books.

To say the Nashville Shakespeare Festival did a good job would not suffice. From the very exquisite costumes to the actors’ smooth transitions through their performances. The audience laughed with Trinculo, Stephano and Caliban’s antics as they stumbled about in their drunken stupor. During Ferdinand and Miranda’s wedding, an air of happiness filled the theater.

A few Belmont students acted in the play as well.

Cory Carter, freshman Caitlin Owen Kelly, and senior Christine Lamborn, played the three spirits who assisted Ariel in her duties to Prospero. Their movements were graceful and ethereal as they reeled about the stage. Miranda was played by Christiana White, a Belmont theatre performance major. Her performance was flawless, roping the audience in with her high energy.

Brian Webb Russell, Prospero, portrayed the old magician very well. His rich, deep voice is perfect for Shakespearean plays! His whole being was thrown into his character, making it quite difficult for the audience not to think of him as anything but Prospero.

The comedian of the group was Dustin Napier, Trinculo. Because he played the jester doesn’t necessarily mean he had to be funny. He could have been a very flat jester. However, with Napier, he dedicated himself to every line, every movement. He floundered on the stage and made facial expressions that had the audience howling.

If you plan on going to “The Tempest” get ready for a very creative, talent-filled show. Get ready to be swept up in the colors, humor and beautiful story.

Using these statistics as justification, Belmont University ended bottled water sales on campus on May 16, 2009.

“Just in dining services, 4,500 bottles of water we sold last September, we didn’t sell this September,” said Kyle Grover, the general manager for Sodexo food services at Belmont.

Approximately 92,000 bottles were sold in the 2008-2009 school year, including bottled Pepsi products as well as Naked juice and Lipton green tea to name a few. By eliminating the purchase of bottled water, plastic was reduced by 1/3, approximately 31,000 bottles overall.

Belmont President Bob Fisher signed the Talloires Declaration of the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future. The USLF promotes environmental responsibility on campus as well as instilling that responsibility in the students by increasing awareness about sustainability. Judy Skeen, a religion professor at Belmont, pushed for the removal of bottled water.

And there’s the economic issue for struggling students. The price for one bottled water is $1. If a student bought a bottle of water every week for a year, they would spend $52. By eliminating the plastic water bottles, Belmont wants to save student’s money and even their wellbeing.

“Why pay for something you can get for free?” said Grover.

Potential health risks relating to plastic bottles have called their safety into question. Scientific tests show that some bottles leak BPA, a building block for making plastic, into the drinking water, making them potentially unsafe.

PET bottles, the kind of plastic used to make water bottles, can possibly leak chemicals that can interfere with reproductive systems of humans and estrogen levels, according to a Discovery News article.

Belmont’s administration argues that eliminating water bottles has made the campus “greener” and potentially healthier. Filtered water stations, or hydration stations, were placed in every dining facility: the cafeteria, Curb Café, Corner Court, and What’s Bruin? Students are encouraged to buy reusable plastic water bottles. While walking to class or hanging around campus, they can fill their water bottles at the designated hydration station areas.

When asked if the students were involved in the decision-making process, Grover said he “couldn’t give a good answer.”

Students, though, are giving an answer; they are questioning why Belmont decided to take away water bottles and not other environmentally unfriendly things.

Savannah Packard, a junior journalism major, questioned why bottled water was singled out among the other ways Belmont could be environmentally friendly.

“Don’t get me wrong. Stopping the consumption of water bottles is a good thing, but in the grand scheme of things, is that the best Belmont can do?” Packard said. “Why not cut back on water used on the grounds, or force the teachers to go online for all syllabi? Why not install better light bulbs and those on a self-timer? To me, the loss of water bottles is an inconvenience.”

Just because Belmont doesn’t sell water, she said, doesn’t mean she can’t go to Kroger or Bongo to buy bottled water, instead of buying the $3 water bottles Belmont sells.

Amanda Buckner, a sophomore environmental studies major, said she was glad Belmont was doing something to be environmentally friendly, but said there are still a lot of plastic bottles. She mentioned the plastic bags used for the cafeteria’s Take 4, a meal-on-the-go for students who have classes during the scheduled dining times as an example.

“It’s a good effort, it’s a good idea, a revolutionary idea, but they didn’t get the students on board,” Buckner said. “They didn’t ask the students if this was okay. They were like, ‘We’re gonna do this and you have to deal with it.’”

Buckner said the transition from bottled water to filtered stations would have been easier had Belmont asked students what they thought. She suggested Belmont could have handed out a survey asking students what they thought about the administration getting rid of bottled water.

“Belmont could still make the executive decision, but it’s to give the students an opportunity to agree or decline,” Buckner said.

Because of the way Belmont handled the bottled water, she claims it turns students off to helping the environment. Students, she said, will now think they have to suffer.

“It directly affects [students] because I don’t see faculty or staff or visitors coming into Corner Court to buy bottled water. It’s the students who are affected,” Buckner said. “The fact that Belmont went cold turkey, it forces students to wake up and look at their plastic consumption.”

Students are complaining they weren’t informed about the decision to go ‘cold turkey’ with bottled water. Anna-Margarita Queza said she walked into one of her classes and her friend mentioned Belmont was getting rid of plastic water bottles. That was how she learned of Belmont’s decision.

“I don’t think it was communicated enough to say we had a play in the decision-making process,” Queza said.

With the removal of bottled water, Belmont is closer to its goal of being environmentally friendly. The administration is continuing to learn more about how to create a sustainable, environmentally-friendly campus. They are still investigating BPA-free water and how they can serve healthier, cleaner water to Belmont students.

“There’s just so much that can be done… [which] Belmont could do, but this was the first step in being environmentally friendly,” Buckner said.

This scene can be found almost every day on Belmont’s campus. Smokers assemble in one of the 12 designated smoking areas. However, these daily smoking habits may subside thanks to the new national smoking tax.

America’s 45 million smokers now see a higher tax on their cigarette packs. A $1 increase on a pack of smokes, including little cigars, pipe and chewing tobacco, and cigars, went into effect April 1, 2009.

An April fool’s joke? Hardly.

“The revenue from the tax increase, which will be used to expand coverage under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program to an additional four million low-income children, was signed into law in February,” according to a USAToday article.

Companies like Marlboro and Virginia Slims took it a step further and heightened the tax 9 cents more than the federal, the article continued.

The price hike is a government tactic to stop teenage smoking because one cigarette includes arsenic, methanol, ammonia, and carbon monoxide. Teenagers are sensitive to prices, so an increase in the tax may discourage them from purchasing cigarettes.

But what about Belmont students? Have they felt the tax or are they going with the flow?

Some freshmen have mixed feelings about the smoking tax. Some think the tax is a good thing but won’t affect the students, while others think students will reduce their usage.

Raven Bryant, freshman, thinks the latter. College students, she says, will more than likely limit their usage because they “are typically broke.” She was a smoker but, because of the tax, has limited her usage to a pack every two weeks.

“It (kind of) bites because I have to hunt for cheaper prices so I usually just buy at the first place I visit,” Bryant said.

The government is simply trying to get more income out of Tennessee, according to Melissa Pazdro, a non-smoking freshman.

“Since Tennessee does not have an income tax, the state feels it must raise the smoking tax,” Pazdro said. “If they raised the sales tax, which is already a high 9.725 (percent), I think there would be more of an outcry, on the part of the citizens, that would be heard by raising the smoking tax.”

She feels smoking is more of an addiction rather than a question of whether or not cigarettes are expensive. People won’t give up their habit simply because of a raise in the tax. Belmont students, she says, will not be quick to stop the trend of having a cigarette in their hand nor will the cravings stop.

People agree with Pazdro’s claim of students being addicted, that the new tax will not stop them from smoking. Brock Ownby, freshman, used to be a smoker but has recently quit. He realized what the tobacco was doing to his lungs and decided to stop. He doesn’t think students will feel the tax because cigarettes are addictive.

“People who smoke will continue to smoke. So I just think they will probably just try methods of making it less expensive, like … buying cheaper brands,” Ownby said. He doesn’t think Belmont students are or will be affected by the increased prices.

While the tax continues, students may continue to see peers still taking a drag on a clear, spring evening.

The unemployment rate has reached about 80 percent; 60 percent of the population lives under the poverty level. Many are addicted to and abuse drugs and alcohol. The suicide rate is twice as high as the United States as a whole; the teen rate, four times as high. Stories are told of teenagers and young adults driving extremely fast with their tires loose, hoping to kill themselves. They drink alcohol and drive. These life-threatening behaviors are a regular occurrence on the 5,000 square miles of Pine Ridge.

“There was definitely some spiritual warfare while we were there,” said sophomore Kern Ducote III, a GO! leader for the Belmont Pine Ridge, S.D., team.

“It’s interesting how here in Tennessee that spiritual warfare is taboo to talk about but there it’s so much a reality,” said sophomore Allison Hurst, the other GO! leader.

It was the first time Belmont sent students to Pine Ridge to work on a reservation. No one knew what to expect. There were some concerns about how white Americans would be treated. We didn’t know if we’d be welcomed or shunned.

“[A] thing that shocked me was how many people still won’t look white people in the eye and you can still feel that. You can feel the pain from talking to the people there,” Mete Ozkan, a senior, said.

Ozkan heard about the trip through a convo meeting. This being his last spring break, he wanted to do something different than go to the beach. He had never been to South Dakota before and thought it would be a good experience. Coming to South Dakota, Ozkan knew the history of the Oglala Lakota people.

“When reading it and expecting it and then when you actually get there and experience it, it’s totally different and it’s still shocking even though I kinda had an idea of what I thought it would be. It matched that but it was still shocking,” he said.

The Oglala Lakota Sioux, under the leadership of Red Cloud, were placed on a reservation extending from western South Dakota, some parts in North Dakota, Nebraska, and Wyoming in 1878 after the United States discovered gold in the Black Hills, which the United States government is trying to buy from the Lakota people.  They were put on smaller reservations once American white men went in search for gold. There are nine reservations in South Dakota.

Wounded Knee, where the 1890 massacre occurred, is located in Pine Ridge. The Oglala people, Led by Chief Big Foot, tried to get to Pine Ridge after hearing the news that Sitting Bull was killed on Dec. 29, 1890. The United States Army intercepted them and killed about 300 people, including women and children. Chief Big Foot was one of those who died. Nineteen Medals of Honor were given to the soldiers after the massacre; the Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration given by the U.S. government. Those who collected the frozen Lakota bodies threw them in mass graves.

When we went to Wounded Knee, there was snow on the ground and the wind whipped at our faces as the story of the massacre was told. The experience was more real with the weather as cruel as it was. We were able to imagine what the Lakota felt on the massacre day.

The Belmont students worked with a mission organization called GreaterWorks, which sends interns to Pine Ridge to help the community in any way they can. The interns the Belmont team worked with were Jake and Lizzie Ladd and Alissa Browning. Some of the team members also worked with a man, Floyd, who runs his own wood ministry. Some Lakota people rely on woodstoves for their heat and cooking. Sometimes they can’t find wood and that’s where Floyd comes in.

Floyd is a tall, quiet man with white hair pulled back in a ponytail. His hands are rough and strong like tree trunks. He’s a well-respected man in White Clay, the town he works from.

One day, the guys of the Belmont team were helping him take wood to a family who lived on top of a muddy hill. The guys said Floyd was praying the whole time he was trying to drive his truck through the mud.

“It was cool how he said that he relies 100 percent on God to get him up that muddy hill. I feel the Christians there; that’s how they live their lives on a day-to-day basis,” Hurst said. “It’s so hard to be in the Christian community and I don’t know if there’s a way to be there without being fully reliant on God.”

Besides the wood ministry, the Belmont team worked alongside Jake, Lizzie and Alissa, in a store called 555 White Clay, a thrift and craft store, feeding program and garden. The team also visited a nursing home and went to Young Life, a youth outreach program for the kids in the area.

Wednesday morning was a silent retreat. It was a time of reflection, relaxation and rejuvenation.

“Just push the pause button and go somewhere where nobody else is there. You can’t hear a car or a plane… you can just go and sit,” said Ducote about the silent retreat. He said that was one of his favorite memories. During the trip he was trying to find the simple life and in South Dakota he found it.

The mission trip wasn’t all about work. Much of the time was spent with each other, playing games and talking. There was time to absorb the vast beauty of the mountains and the breathtaking sunsets. We were able to interact with the locals and learn about the history and didn’t feel so exhausted by working or doing something every minute of every day.

There was a fair amount of personal and spiritual growth that happened because of the time we were able to spend by ourselves.

The worst thing about the trip was having only a week to serve. Everyone wanted to stay longer and help as much as they could.

“Short term missions suck sometimes because we have to leave,” Hurst said. “I hated the fact that we were tourists in an aquarium looking through the glass for four days.

“One day we’re gonna serve shoulder to shoulder with these people, these beautiful people created by the same God we put our faith in.”

The mission trip overall was a success. Students from different backgrounds and lifestyles came together to help one another and the Oglala people. Strangers became friends very quickly and the friendships made have remained since the team returned to Belmont.

“I’m excited about what God’s gonna do in our hearts now that we’re back. I just have full faith that the trip wasn’t just that seven days,” Hurst said. “I know the things that happened in each of our hearts and I’m excited to see how it’s going to unfold.”

“It’s a classic in theater repertoire and it’s a very important play every student needs to be exposed to,” said Paul Gatrell, department chair for theatre and dance.

Chekhov’s original play took place in rural Russia. It focuses on Ivan Voynitsky, “Uncle Vanya,” who talks about how he believes he wasted his life. The other characters in the play also express their dissatisfaction with how their lives panned out.

“It’s one big ‘Dr. Phil,’” said Daniel Easterly, director of “Uncle Vanya.”

Easterly modernized the 1899 play whish has been in the planning stages since August. The version being presented at Belmont is set in 2006 Maine because it is culturally, geographically, and economically like rural Russia. It is the same family Chekhov created set 120 years later. Easterly worked with the actors in order for them to understand this concept by creating a back-story for them, explaining how their families got to Maine. The American characters parallel the Russians from the original.

Historically, Chekhov has been a harder sell to the college crowd than Shakespeare. The humor in Chekhov’s works isn’t as obvious as it is in Shakespeare. Chekhov’s aim was to create an ensemble cast and have them have something in common. He wanted the audience not to like one particular character but to understand society and the situation everyone is facing.

“Everyone is dissatisfied,” said Easterly. “The humor comes from the absurdity of the situation. It’s not [a] Neil Simon comedy. You look at the whole picture and the whole picture is absurd.”

In adapting the work, it was important to keep in mind that the majority of the audience for this production of will be made up of college students rather than the typical adult audience. Easterly had to make the play relate to the students as much as possible; most of the characters are 20 years old and older.

Still, adults and 20-somethings can take away some of the same themes from Chekhov’s work.

“There’s a connection between wasting your life and sitting back later looking back at your life thinking that you wasted your life. If you spend your time doing what you think you’re supposed to be doing, you won’t look back and think you wasted your time,” Easterly said.

Franne Lee, a Tony-Award winning costume designer, created the costumes for “Uncle Vanya” based on each character’s function instead of their personality. She was very particular about the costumes and every minor detail had to be perfect.

“I think when I do the work I do, I try to help the actors understand who they are by what they’re wearing,” said Lee, who has taught at Belmont for six years.

Lee incorporated the history of Russia into the modernized costumes. Uncle Vanya wears work clothes because his ancestors worked in the fields. Sonya doesn’t work so she wears a lot of fashion-forward clothing and high heels. The grandmother is very spiritual so she has loose clothing and a lot of jewelry. It’s touches like these that allow the modernized cast to show the history of their ancestors through their current clothing.

For Easterly. the best part about working on this play was the actors.

“I thank the students’ total willingness to bite off something very hard, work hard, and keep the enthusiasm up the whole time. I don’t think they’ve ever gotten discouraged even though it’s been really hard sometimes. There were many times they could’ve given up, gotten frustrated or angry but they haven’t. They’ve been wonderful.”

Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for non-Belmont students and Belmont faculty/staff. It’s free for Belmont students and offers one culture/arts convo credit.