The Open Hand

by Robert Caisley

UTK Department of Theatre/Clarence Brown Theatre 2020

Director: Cal MacLean
Scenic and Projection Designer: Nevena Prodanovic
Costume Designer: Marianne Custer
Lighting Designer:  Tannis Kapell
Sound Designer: Roderick Peeples
Video Production: Joe Payne

"Allison does not accept gifts. Not even on her birthday. Not even from her fiancé. So when she finds herself without her wallet and unable to pay the tab for an expensive lunch with a friend, it is with great reluctance that she accepts the generosity of a total stranger. Determined to repay his kindness, Allison comes face-to-face with the dark secrets that drive her inability to accept even the simplest act of benevolence." 

This play was written for our 2016 class of graduate actors, and had a successful run at that time. During the pandemic in the fall of 2020, Cal MacLean wanted to do something creative and revisit the script with the same actors, primarily as an online reading.  As the project developed, we decided to record the actors on Zoom and creatively edit it into the archival video of the 2016 production. We then presented it online as part of Clarence Brown Theatre's 50th anniversary. 



Cast includes: Melissa David, Kyle Maxwell, Lindsay Nance, Steve Sherman, Roderick Peeples