LSU Lab Theatre Season Presents
World Builders
By Johnna Adams
Rowan Jalso - Director
October 28 - November 2, 2025
CAST
Mallory Luckett as WHITNEY
Drew Snyder as MAX
Jayden Armstrong - Stage Manager
Madison Scott - Assistant Stage Manager
Bella Winmill - Assistant Stage Manager
Producer - Chris Wood
Faculty Advisor - Alan Sikes
Psychology Advisor - Alia Berardi
Intimacy Coordinator - Jack Fellows
Costume Designer - Sarah Walton
Set Designer - Tatianna Bunthoff
Sound Designer - Riley Harris
Sound Advisor - Tyler Kieffer
Music Composer - Abigail Eskaros
Lighting Designer - Luke Suggs
Lighting Advisor - Austin Bomkamp
Video Editor - Mads Mathis
Sound Board Op - Riley Harris
Light Board Op - Taylor Davis
Deck Crew - Ashton B Fox
Mallory Luckett
Mallory Luckett (Whitney) is a Senior Theatre Major with a concentration in performance. This is her first LSU theatre lab show, but she is no stranger to the LSU stage. Previous credits include Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson Apt 2b; Sullivan Theater’s Little Shop of Horrors; The Foundation of the Arts’ Bright Star, 42nd Street, and 9 to 5: The Musical. She is a member of LSU’s Musical Theatre Club.
Drew Snyder
Drew Snyder (Max) is a junior at LSU majoring in psychology. Notable roles include Garcin from No Exit and Professor Hidgens from MTC's The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals. He also had the opportunity to play roles in student films, such as Nic in Trance. Prior to college, he gained experience in musicals such as Little Shop of Horrors (Orin the Dentist) and Footloose (Ren McCormack). He is excited to play the role of Max because he's drawn to interesting premises and underrated scripts dealing with the mental psyche.
Rowan Jalso
Director
Rowan Jalso (Director) Rowan Jalso is a 4th year Ph.D. Student in LSU’s Theatre program. She is the acting Head of House Management, a published scholar, and a director. Her previous directing credits include Goblin Lethris by Katie Smith (West Virginia University, 2019), the original, self-written works Route 66 and Mad Liberals (West Virginia University, 2019 and 2020), and last year’s LSU Lab Production of No Exit. After No Exit, her return to directing after the pandemic, she is excited to continue working in theatre production with this Lab season. Rowan is a Disability and Mad Studies scholar who focuses on the depictions and tropes of mental illness on stage, with a History degree focussing on Avant-Garde art and culture. Working on World Builders has been a wonderful experience. She was fortunate enough to have seen the global premiere of this play at the 2015 Contemporary American Theatre Festival, and has written about this play for conferences, such as IFTR in 2024. World Builders means so much to her, for so many reasons. She hopes you enjoy this show as much as she has had directing it.
Jayden Armstrong
Stage Manager
Jayden Armstrong is a junior screen arts major, and previously worked on a black box production called Yearning as the stage manager. In his free time, he likes to watch movies and make connections with the cast and crew of the productions he works on
This play holds a special place in my heart. I was fortunate enough to see its global premiere at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival (CATF) in 2015. It was the first time I had ever gone to this, or any, theatre festival. I instantly fell in love with this show. It was serious yet funny, with both intense and quiet moments, and it asked me questions I had never considered before.
This play is all about empathy. The characters in this show are being forced to change, to become “normal,” which neither of them wants. While Max and Whitney have wildly different relationships to their worlds and their conditions, they both mourn the loss of their internal worlds. They don’t want to change. They don’t want to understand what other “normal” people mean; they want everyone to understand what they mean. They want to be understood, be heard, and be free.
I’ve written extensively on this play and how it portrays mental illness and disability. I’ve consulted with many psychologists about the condition both Max and Whitney have, Schizoid Personality Disorder, to make sure that we as a cast are acting authentically and with care. I never wanted things to seem cartoonish or over-the-top. It was a tough balancing act, but I’m so proud of my actors for working through this and achieving a realistic affect.
I’d like to thank my design team, many of whom have never been lead designers before, for their work. I’ve always been blown away by their creativity and drive. This show is filled with so many things that it’s staggering; I can’t believe we got it all done.
On behalf of my production team, my cast, my crew, and myself, I hope you all enjoy World Builders, a play about understanding what it means to be normal and fighting for the freedom not to be. Jalso 2025
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