Story by Da’Sha Tuck, Staff writer

Elizabeth Residential College hosted a madrigal dinner with a performance of “A Ring of Truth” last week, taking all who attended back to the Middle Ages.

Almost 90 tickets were sold at the event and all proceeds will go to Elizabeth council fund so they can host more programs in the future, said Tyler Bradley, advertising lead for the show and residential director for Elizabeth. They hope to host a similar event each year.

“A Ring of Truth” is a production about a less than pleasant king who plays a joke on the wrong woman, a fortune-teller with a few tricks of her own. The fortune-teller gives the queen a ring that forces whomever wears it to only tell the truth. The ring of truth makes the king see the error of his ways through the honesty of all his subjects.

“For the limited amount of people they had, it was really great,” said Jade Wagoner, freshman make-up artist for “A Ring of Truth.”

Although Elizabeth was the host, students from all residential colleges made up the cast.

“I enjoyed being in the show,” said Theo Triplett, sophomore from St. Louis, who played the town crier. “It was fun to be in the costumes and pull off something great.”

The idea for this production came up in September from a freshman student who lives in Elizabeth who had been a part of similar performances before. The students started organizing and preparing in November.

Triplett said the cast had a rehearsal or meeting six days a week.

“It’s amazing how they brought it all together,” Bradley said. “I know it’s been stressing them all out so it’s nice to see them have the show and close it on a really good note.”

The event went above and beyond what some students had anticipated.

“I had no idea it was going to be this big of a deal,” said Brett Eisenhauer, sophomore from Mahomet, Illinois. “The food was amazing and the event as a whole is something, I hope becomes a yearly thing.”

The cast posted fliers and used social media to get the word out about the event. They also sent personal invitations to President Bob Davies and other important figures on campus.

Davies attended the event and even took part in the production. At one point during the play the king, played by Martin Dowling, pulled Davies from the audience and asked him advice on what he should do about his unruly queen. Davies played along well and even let the King put him in the stockade, a barrier formed from upright wooden posts used to confine prisoners.

Dowling, being the mean king, all in good fun made some not so pleasant remarks about Davies and his height, but Davies played along and shot right back at him jokingly.

“I may be short, but you, sir, are short-lived,” Davies said.

Other than the cast, there were many people and organizations who helped with the production.

Bradley Almquist, director of choral activities, provided the costumes and various props. 

“The students did an outstanding job,” said Crystal Coel, Elizabeth College’s College Head. “It was self-directed. All I did was lend emotional and some financial support.”