This show is also part of the Conservatory’s Second Stage season, and it is one of the most popular plays in universities across the country, said Dr. Kenneth Stilson, chair of The Conservatory of Theatre and Dance. The winner of the National Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, The Diviners is the magical story of a mentally challenged young man with special gifts and his relationship with a disenfranchised ex-preacher during the Great Depression.
Directed by Southeast senior Kaylin White of Paragould, Arkansas, and set in the early days of the Depression in a small, southern Indiana town, The Diviners begins with elegies spoken by two of the townspeople describing what happened the day of Buddy’s tragedy.
Buddy Layman is a mentally-challenged boy whose sweet nature touches most people he meets. One day a stranger named C.C. Showers passes through the town looking for work and food. C.C. takes an immediate liking to Buddy and vice versa. C.C. is able to relate to Buddy in ways that most people do not. The two become close friends, and C.C. soon finds himself as Buddy’s mentor and teacher.
Everyone in town is looking for regrowth in their businesses. CCs relationship with the people of the town changes drastically when they learn that he was a former preacher who has given up preaching. That knowledge changes everything and leads to a horrible tragedy.
Tickets
Tickets may be purchased by contacting the River Campus Box Office, located in the Cultural Arts Center, 518 S. Fountain St., weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., by calling (573) 651-2265, or online at RiverCampus.org/the-diviners.