An outburst of passion and drama shone through during the Theatre of New Voices.

Students enrolled in the composition seminar class hosted, directed and composed their own plays. The actors engaged the audience with their remarkable performance skills.

About 40 people attended. Due to limited seating it was suggested to purchase tickets ahead of time. Theatre of Voices consisted of seven different three to five minute scenes. Opening night was on Feb. 26 at the Dore Theatre. The first performance was strictly reserved for CSUB students. The following performances anyone was welcome to attend.

In hopes of eliminating their anxiuous butterflies, actors do a group circle before the big show. “To prepare and pump up for the performance actors do a group ‘Peace and Blessing’, a prayer is exerted, but it is optional,” said actress Shannon Smith.

“I was freaking out before because two theatre professors were present. Once you get out there you settle back,” said communications major Shealtiel Dow.

One of the many tactics to get rid of nerves is to not make direct eye contact.

Actors are advised to build a “fourth wall” which is the separation between the character’s world and the audience. If a mistake is made actors just go with it and improvise.

As the lights dimmed, the room got silent the audience waited for the show to begin.

Throughout the performances there was laughter, joy and sadness. The act that stood out most to people was “Who” which was written by David- Allen Alvarez and directed by Chad Alame.

“‘Who’ was my favorite of all the plays. The actors made it feel so real,” said Jiselle Cornejo junior sociology major.

Angelica Mena, theatre major and actress, played the role of the main character who suffered from a mental illness.

Her role required a lot of preparation. Mena rehearsed for about six months.

She stated her roll was tough. She wanted to portray the role without making fun of or offending those with mental illness.

At the end of the performance there was a meet and greet. The actors lined up through the hallway and attendees were given the opportunity to approach them.