Thrust Theatre

Thrust theatre is a small but very cute theater which is great for small school productions. There were a few downsides to the theaters location on campus. For example the parking is a nightmare on campus especially with all the construction going on downtown. There is also a railroad track located directly behind the theatre which a train travels across about every hour. However the Unilocal event was provided with parking specifically set aside for the Unilocalers attending the event. And the actors incorporated the train passing by singing, «Come on ride that train» every time they heard the train blow its horn. It was cute and funny keeping the play at an upbeat pace. UofL has a great theater department, wish I would’ve taken advantage of their great productions while I attended the university. But now that I know the production value and satire that goes into their productions I will definitely be attending more plays in the future.

So, being as this is both my first review on Unilocal,as well as the first review for the Thrust Theater, I may be biting off more than I can chew. But here goes nothing!
First off, this review really needs to be broken down into two parts: the physical theater space and the play itself. It is impossible to judge both as one and the same. That being said, the «place»:
First off, I’ve been in this city for a year and I never knew that University of Louisville had a Department of Theater Arts! Let alone that this theater existed! Needless to say, I was looking forward to a few things — checking out yet another new place in Louisville and trying my hand at a small theater venue here. The theater stage didn’t disappoint. It had 3 of 4 walls used for seating and is small and quaint. It seats probably about 200. (I tried to find the actual number on the website, but to no avail!) It is easy to hear everything well and makes for an incredibly intimate setting. The actors in the play I saw actually interacted directly with the audience (which ended up being both awkward and funny at the same time.) I happen to love small venues for theaters, so this place fit the bill perfectly for me.
That being said, onto the «play»:
As a disclaimer, I’m not an artist, don’t claim to be, and sometimes artsy things go over my head. Apparently dark comedies fall into that category. We saw «Flu Season» — and it was, as it so perfectly proclaimed to be, a dark comedy. It started out a little slow, and somewhat confusing (it was very vague, poetic, artsy, etc.), but led to more entertaining scenes. Now the venue lends well to small crowds, but can also be a detriment at times. If something is funny, the laughter in the place ends up being contagious. But when something isn’t funny, yet a few audience members laugh, it tends to feel awkward or uncomfortable. This happened a few times, and it was both awkward and uncomfortable. I don’t want to give away anything to the play, but I left unsatisfied. And somewhat sad.
Why the «three stars»? Because I’d go back. Not to see «Flu Season» again, but I’ll be keeping an eye out for upcoming plays. I liked the venue, and really enjoy supporting local artists. I’m just hoping for a play that I’d appreciate more — probably just a regular ol’ comedy will fit the bill. The play bill.