A Midsummer Night's Dream - Reflection

This semester I got to perform in my second mainstage show here at SDSU, A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Peter Larlham. The entire production was set in the 60’s, with the mortals representing more conservative dress, and the fairies with a more of a hippie influence. In addition, much of the production was set to music composed by Thomas Hodges. I found this to be a very appropriate choice, since the play is written in verse anyway, and it really brought out the poetry of the show.

Working on this show was such an experience within itself. I have to say that I truly learned a lot about working in a larger-scale production. All of us were expected to have our lines memorized by the first rehearsal, and we immediately started blocking. Every single rehearsal was very “no-nonsense” in the respect that once it was time for rehearsal to start, it started and didn’t stop until we weren’t called anymore. There wasn’t any time for being late or goofing off, which I really liked. A lot of the time, the blocking changed from rehearsal to rehearsal, but it all came together in the final weeks. This was by far one of my favorite productions I’ve worked on in my theatre career, and I’m really sad to see it end.

In the production, I played Peaseblossom, one of Titania’s fairies. I had a small amount of lines, but I still had to work really hard during rehearsals. I find that sometimes it’s harder to be a character with few lines, because you still have to stay in the scene and pay attention even though you’re not speaking. Sometimes it can be hard to continue to pay attention to what’s going on, especially with Shakespeare, but this production really taught me how to stay within a scene. In addition, I got the opportunity to sing in various numbers and perform dances, which I really enjoyed. I haven’t done a lot of song and dance in a production as of late, and it really helped me remember how to project while doing a lot of movement.

Two actors that I believe went above and beyond were Anthony Simone as Oberon and Gracie Lee Brown as Titania. I had the pleasure of being in rehearsals with these two from the get-go, and they really impressed me. They had nearly all their lines down verbatim for the first rehearsal, and I was really amazed with all the hard work they had already put into this production. In addition, they managed to have very “larger than life” personas that complimented their colorful costumes, rather than letting themselves get lost in them. They took control of their voices and really projected and commanded attention as soon as they walked on stage. They created great characters for themselves, and I really enjoyed their performances.

In addition, I found that Alyson Shepard as Peter Quince was a very noticeable performance. When I first saw the cast list, I was a bit confused at Peter’s choice to cast Alyson as Quince, since I had only seen Quince performed by a man, but when I saw their first rehearsal, I instantly knew why. Alyson was utterly hilarious as Quince, and took on the role of a woman who’s trying to command a bunch of men who aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed. She perfectly portrayed her objectives and made it clear that she was trying to take charge, and her performance at the end in the “play within a play” was very comical.

Altogether I found that Midsummer was a very rewarding performance, not only for me as an actor, but also as an observer/ audience member. I was very impressed with all the hard work my piers did, and we all came together to create a beautiful show.

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Tom and Huck and Jim Review

Last weekend I had the pleasure of seeing some of my friends perform in Tom and Huck and Jim, a children’s play by Margaret Larlham. Having worked on 1001 Grains of Sand last year, I had gone into it with expectations of song, dance, and lines that sometimes go over the heads of the children in the audience. However, almost instantly my expectations were shattered and the bar instantly raised. The instant the play started I was captured by the story and characters. I found everything about it intriguing and interesting, especially the story and writing of the play. In addition, everyone was cast extremely well, and you could tell that the actors were all incredibly committed to their characters. (And their accents!)

I was pleasantly surprised by Margaret’s choice to cast Loren Schrieber as Mark Twain. I honestly didn’t know that he had ever acted before, and I was extremely excited to see him after taking his THEA240A class. He played an extremely convincing Twain and carried himself with a languid quality that extruded the presence of the Mississippi itself. In addition, his vocalization was extremely new to me, he masterfully manipulated his voice and accent so he wasn’t Loren anymore, and I was taken into the play instantly.

I also found Eric Dowdy and Megan Stogner to be extremely entertaining. The two expertly carried themselves in both their neutral “narrator” roles, and also in the other characters they portrayed. They both were very different in each role and managed to convey different people in different situations. I especially liked the courtroom scene at the end of act I where Eric portrayed the judge, and Megan portrayed both the prosecutor and defense. It was very entertaining to see Megan jump back and forth between both hats and personalities.

The title characters were all also expertly cast. Bradley Sattler as the mischievous Tom Sawyer was extremely convincing and committed. His paintbrush/ fence sequence was extremely entertaining and childlike. I perfectly remembered that part of the book, and I loved the way he conveyed it. Jon Wat as Huck Finn was incredible. He managed to communicate to the audience a sense of immaturity and youth, yet maturity and a yearning to be a bit older than he really is. DeAndre Clay was an excellent Jim as well. I had never really seen him act before, and he blew me away. The way he carried himself lightly through the play, however also encompassed a tinge of sadness or worry. These actors all masterfully conveyed multiple levels in their characters and portrayed every facet perfectly.

Altogether I absolutely loved the play and all the actors, music, songs, and the whimsical journey it took the audience on. Margaret Larlham has really outdone herself this year, and I can’t wait until next year’s show she devises.

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Birds of Paradise Review

I figure I should put a disclaimer at the beginning of this entry: You may not like what I say. So there.

I didn't like Birds of Paradise. I don't mean to be rude or ungrateful, but I just didn't like it. It wasn't particularly my style, and some things either fell flat, or detracted from the story, in my opinion. It was a mix of everything, I suppose.

I didn't particularly enjoy the story itself, but then again that could have been because of certain directional choices or other factors. I found it to be a little... Well certain things in the plot didn't seem to have "high enough" stakes, such as the possible falling-out of Nancy Snow's character and Justin Deater's character. It seemed like it was merely a subplot that I knew, and the characters knew, would end up ok. The only thing that seemed to be a high-stakes situation was the main conflict of Brandon Joel Maier's character with the script and "struggle for power and recognition."

I personally found Brandon as Homer to be just about the best actor in the whole production. I found his performance to be the most sincere and realistic. In addition, he really pulled off being a younger, more awkward character, which must have been a huge challenge considering his height. He really did his homework as far as character study goes. However, I found the other actors to all have their moments of truly breaking through and being real, but for the most part it seemed as if they were just an actor on a stage playing a role. Don't get me wrong, they're all great singers, but some of the actual lines were said extremely... Campy. And honestly I don't like campy stuff.

The line delivery seemed to be either campy, or like they were over-acting. Not the annoying, in your face "OH HERE I'M ACTING LOOK AT ME ACTING" kind of over-acting, but the kind where it sounds and looks like they're aware that they are playing a character and that they're telling a story. I found the diction to be to be really enunciated and clear, but it wasn't realistic at all. Not in my reality, at least. I also found that some of the characters seemed extremely shallow and fake. While they were, in fact, more minor characters, I truly believe that in order to make a production real and poignant, every character has to seem just as deep as the "main" characters. Otherwise, the audience is subconsciously aware that it's a play that they're seeing, and they become aware of who the leads are and who's most "important". In reality though, everyone is just as important as everyone else, so just because a character is minor doesn't mean that it is any less important than the lead. The playwright wouldn't have written the role if it was dispensable. So you may as well make the character seem like a real person.

Altogether, I found it to be a show that captured my interest for it's duration, but that's about it. Nothing I saw there will stick with me emotionally like other shows have stuck with me. It didn't make me think or ponder about anything, and it didn't strike me emotionally. Actors need to reach out to the audience and make them see that they're not that different from one another, but the entire show I felt as if there was a plexiglass wall between us. It was somewhat disappointing, but eh. At least I went in with an open mind and no expectations.

Also, that penguin sequence was just weird.

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