STEPHENVILLE, Texas — A 2008 UFO sighting in Stephenville is the subject of an original play to be presented by Tarleton State University’s Texan Theatre starting April 10 in the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center.
The five-performance run of “Lights Over Stephenville” will feature a community engaged play written by Tarleton State students that recounts the 2008 incident in which hundreds of area residents reported extraterrestrial activities in the sky over Stephenville.
News agencies from across the globe converged on the town to cover the UFO sighting and interview locals.
“When I first moved to Stephenville, I was tooling around on YouTube and I saw a National Geographic documentary about these UFO sightings in Stephenville,” said Tarleton State Theater Professor Dan Stone. “I thought it would make an awesome play.”
Stone, the director of the project, formulated a class to take the idea of a play from inception to performance. Emily Fox, James Stack, Kay Grimstad, Gabe Ramos, Elm Carter, Abigail Wilson, Lily Peltz, Bee Harris, Matthew Carlton, Jake Anderson and Caroline Bachhofer all signed up for the class which created “Lights Over Stephenville.”
“It’s all their work,” said Stone. “I showed them how to do it and they took all the interviews and researched material, watched all the documentaries then synergized the stories. They did a great job. They had a blast and they learned how to create their own work. They’re already talking about other projects.”
Research for the project included interviews with residents who witnessed the occurrence.
“We interviewed at Fuzzy’s Tacos and people came and shared their stories,” said Stone. “I hung out at Jake and Dorothy’s, which seemed to be the center of all this. It was a big undertaking because people had a lot of differing experiences.”
A throughline in the plot of the play is a reporter at the Stephenville Empire-Tribune who was the first to report on the story, which immediately garnered worldwide attention. Her refusal to back away from the story reportedly led to her dismissal, after which she claimed her work files and computer were confiscated, adding to the intrigue of the story.
Stone is quick to point out that the play, through based on actual events, is not a documentary.
“It is inspired by the stories people told us,” he said. “There are characters in the play that are a combination of several different people, but they’re not actually people we interviewed.”
Evening performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 10-12. There are also 2 p.m. matinee shows set for April 12-13.
Admission is $5 for students, $8 for children and $10 for adults. Click here or call 968-254-9634 for tickets or more information.
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of approximately 18,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.