It started with a nervous discussion between strangers in an art gallery. It ended with "We're not getting a dog." Terry Roueche's short play, "Two Cats, No Dogs," marks Trustus Theater's first ArtRageous production, effectively catapulting the avant garde theater into the community at large. The play, directed by Trustus' Larry Hembree, is part of a series of plays entitled Ugly Art, written by Rock Hill native Terry Roueche. Terry enters the Columbia art scene with a work that has been recognized and performed both nationally and internationally.

Harrison Saunders and Jennifer Sanchez, actors from Trustus Theater, entered gallery two at the Columbia Museum of Art casually; the gathered crowd, anticipating something ArtRageous, eavesdropped on their conversation as the emotional inner monologue and nervous interaction quickly led to the passion of frank love at first sight. The production stood in quiet contrast to the rambunctious February edition of Arts and Draughts, and the gallery provided a welcome, contemplative moment for attendees to reflect on love and those subtle interactions between strangers during events like these.

Ugly Art was written to be performed in an art gallery. The series will make another appearance on the community stage this season during Artista Vista. Sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Facebook to find out when. Pocket Productions would like to thank Booth Chilcutt, co-director of the Scriptwriters of SC, for initiating this collaboration.