Centerstage with: D'Kameron Edmonson, of HSU's 'Air Pump'

You are: a junior transfer from Tyler College, from Forney. He is majoring in theater, with an acting track.

We've seen you before in: This is his debut at HSU, though he played a clown in a DirectFest show titled "Rainbow Sprinkles." "DK" first ventured into theater as an eighth-grader while attending school in Terrell. He continued acting through high school.

Role in "An Experiment with an Air Pump": Edmonson plays two characters, first a young scientist named Thomas Armstrong in 1799 and then a contractor named Phil in 1999. "He is very charming, very logistical minded. His goal is to be the best physician he can be," Edmonson said of Armstrong. He is attuned to discovery. Science is what drives him. Phil, on the other hand, is a more "mundane" character, he said, but the one who helps the other characters in 1999 "reflect on what they are doing" by showing interest in them. Both men are curious, but in their own ways, he said.

What you've learned about yourself playing this character: Edmonson alternates playing two characters, which is a challenge as the play bounces back between the centuries. One man is more refined, the other more working class. He has had to add different British accents, and make those "clear and understood" to the audience, he said. His experience with accents has been "far and few between — and not British," he said. Also, it's his job to push the other characters to reveal themselves. He credited theater professor Victoria Spangler and others in the cast for pushing him to tell all the "great character stories" in the production.

What the audience will get out of this production: This show, he said, has a focus on science and morality. But it's also about relationships. For example, his relationship with Isobel, a maid, in 1799. What is honest and what is dishonest? Edmonson hopes audience members will question their own relationships. Are they more interested in themselves or in the betterment of the community? Is a lie presented in 1799 repeated in 1999? As for the mystery, the audience will enjoy connecting the dots.

What's next for you: He does not have acting roles in two spring term shows, "Into the Woods" and "Comedy of Errors" but will be part of the tech crew. "Whatever they need me to do," he said.

► Extra: Edmonson said "it's good to get back on stage," even if it's "weird" acting with face masks. "But that has challenged us in the best way possible," he said, offering that a mask requires speaking more boldly and "acting more with with body language. It's helping us more than we originally anticipated," he said.

Greg Jaklewicz is editor of the Abilene Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com. 

If You Go

What: "An Experiment with an Air Pump"

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday

Where: Van Ellis Theatre, HSU campus

Synopsis: Set in England, one house is the scene of the turn of two centuries, 1799 and 1999. Uncovered are 200-year-old bones that link the past and present. Thus, mystery is mixed with the scientific quests of the day (dissection of the recently deceased, 1799, and stem-cell research, 1999) . Shelagh Stephenson's drama was inspired by a 1768 painting titled "An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump."

Tickets: $10 general admission; $5 for students, military and seniors; free for HSU students, faculty and staff.