Where Have All the Lightning Bugs Gone? a Play in One Act

by Louis E. Catron

USA

Genres: Plays

Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Louis E. Catron was a professor of Theatre and Speech at William & Mary from 1966-2002 and Director of the William & Mary Theatre. He held a Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University, and was the author of several plays and books on playwriting.

From a Faculty and Staff Announcement Email from Provost Michael Halleran on November 3, 2010:

"With deep sadness, I write to inform you that Professor Emeritus Louis E. Catron died on October 30, following a long illness. Catron was Professor of Theatre, Speech, and Dance at William & Mary for more than 35 years. A beloved and highly esteemed instructor, Professor Catron is remembered as "a special teacher who continued to nurture former students years after they left William & Mary."

Distinguished as both a teacher and director, Professor Catron received the Virginia Council of Higher Education's Outstanding Faculty Award, was twice named an "Outstanding Educator of America," and was elected to the William & Mary chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. He directed more than 50 William & Mary Theatre productions, setting attendance records with many of his musicals.

In addition to his active teaching career, Professor Catron was also an accomplished playwright whose works were performed thousands of times around the world. He wrote several books, many of which became standard college texts. A special source of pride to Professor Catron was that many of his students went on to become successful actors, playwrights, screenwriters, and novelists, penning more than 40 books themselves.

A graduate of Millikin University, Professor Catron earned his Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University. After serving in the Navy during the Korean War, he found success as an actor before embarking upon a teaching career. He first joined the College in 1966, earning promotions to associate professor in 1969 and professor in 1974. Upon his retirement from William & Mary in 2002, he was named Professor of Theatre, Speech and Dance, Emeritus. In retirement, he continued to teach courses for the Christopher Wren Association and was active in the community, volunteering for Meals on Wheels and Faith in Action.

Professor Catron is survived by his son, two brothers, and a sister. A memorial service is scheduled at 2 p.m. Sunday, November 7, at the Williamsburg United Methodist Church on Jamestown Road.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to the Louis E. Catron Scholarship Fund for Artistic Development which supports W&M students who focus on studio art, creative writing, applied music, or theatre arts. Gifts should be directed to the Office of Development, College of William & Mary, P.O. Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795."
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Reviews

[Benjamin Goldman]

This one-act play involves only two characters (one male, one female) who exemplify a young couple getting to know each other, or a new friendship beginning to form. The male character enchants the (at first, hesitant) female with references from books, movies, and other characters until she's playing along too. The play is driven forward by antics and humor, and could be interesting for middle school students in understanding the development of relationships between characters. This play relates to perspective in how each character sees things differently, but manages to play off the other's ideas in a whimsical way. How I would incorporate this play into a middle school lesson is with the writing strategy from Beers called "Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover." Taking this overused phrase and making it an activity for students should be interesting so that the teacher can observe what kind of inferences are made after reading the title of the play. To complete this exercise, students will have to use their prior knowledge of the author or any terms in the title to extrapolate their ideas. The goal of this strategy is to simply get students engaged with the text, and think about it in their own perspective.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

No only have I read this hundreds of times, I've performed it on a live 1 act play competition. I believe more could be done with the character lines for the female role, yet I think it was a wonderful learning opportunity for both with regards to young life, and breaking down barriers of culture and society.

While our play didn't win in 3A State competition, I managed to win MVP for the work I put in. Strangely enough, the girl opposite of me (a genuine high-society snob) changed he views about me, and took notice of me.

I guess my Drama teacher really had something in mind when she layed out this play for us.

Thx, again.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is a great, charming play that I really enjoyed about two young people who happen to meet at s park bench. Clever, cute, challenging for the actors, this is a wonderful play that I will definitely use in the future for my school.

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nostalgia, a play I did in high school.