‘Don’t change who you are,’ Seymour: a play of a miserable troll

UTRGV students will perform “Seymour the Troll,” a play about an unhappy troll looking for a miracle to change his name, at 2 p.m. May 8 in the Albert L. Jeffers Theatre in Edinburg.

The Children’s Theatre Workshop course and Director Brian Warren, an associate professor of Theatre, brought “Seymour the Troll” to UTRGV.

“‘Seymour the Troll’ is basically about this troll who has been given a really bad name and he takes his journey to try to change it,” said Jaclyn Flores Barreiro, a theatre senior who will play Chief Pencil Pusher. “Everywhere he goes, he is always [being] denied or turned the other way because people make fun of his name.”

Warren said the genre of the play is TYA, theater for young audiences.

“It was actually written by one of my colleagues in the Theatre Department, [Professor of Theatre] David Carren is his name,” he said.

Warren said the play has more than one theme.

“We hope that [the] play speaks to the young people, not only about their names, but … how to come to terms with who you are, your identity and why that is valuable,” he said. “You know, so those are the themes of the story.”

Warren said “Seymour the Troll” shows the value of oneself.

“The play has to do with self-identity and recognizing yourself as a valuable part of the world, which I think we all need right now,” he said. “We want people to be proud of who they are and what they can offer the world and that’s what this play is about.”

Justin Vasquez, a theatre junior who will play Seymour the Troll, said he would describe his character as “persistent.”

“[Seymour] doesn’t … like people telling him he can’t fix it … or, like, learn how to, like, accept this part of himself,” Vasquez said. “He is just very motivated and very driven and is a little sensitive, in spite of it all.”

He encourages students to attend to learn about the process of creating a play.

“This show [is] important because of how influential it could be to people who have experienced theater for the first time and also, like, get to see how collaborative it is as an art form,” Vasquez said. “Theater, generally, can help people understand how much teamwork goes into putting on a production and how it is basically everybody, probably, putting their talents together to make sure that the community and everyone involved in the production itself has fun.”

Barreiro said she would describe her character, Chief Pencil Pusher, as “threatening.”

“The other trolls fear her but she’s just a 10-year-old little girl,” she said. “I can be, like, an intimidating little girl. … [Chief Pencil Pusher] has all the power to just, like, say if you can or cannot change your name.”

She said her experience working on the play has been “amazing.”

“I really enjoy how this production is going and it’s been, basically, a class effort,” she said. “Everyone is a student, we are all equal to each other, and I think that is really good because everyone can get along with everyone so easily. … So, it’s really amazing.”

Asked why she would encourage students to attend, Barreiro replied, “I think it is really important for the community to attend this play because it gives, like, [a sense of] ‘don’t change who you are.’”

The play is open to the public and admission is free. Masks are recommended and social distancing between parties will be in place.