William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, the fall play in the Black Box Theater, follows the Duke of Vienna as he takes a leave of absence, disguising himself as a friar to examine how his kingdom functions. He appoints his deputy, Angelo, to be in charge, and Angelo rules as a tyrant. In the end, the Duke reveals his dual identity and passes judgment on some of the characters in the play.
This Shakespeare play was written in about 1604. The show, directed by faculty member David Edgar in the John D. and Alexandra C. Nichols Center for Theater and Dance, is a production with freshmen and sophomore actors who bring these characters to life 420 years later.
“It was a new experience for me, my first Shakespeare play,” said sophomore Joy Smith, who played the Duke of Vienna. “I remember early on in the rehearsal process we had to take one or two days to translate what exactly were the lines trying to say. That part is really important to me because you don’t want to just be saying words. You want to know what you’re saying. If you know what you’re saying, you can put different emotions into your lines ... it really brings a whole new meaning to the lines. This has been fun and very interesting.”
As in any play, the characters must keep track of many things — among them the inflection in their voices, their facial expressions, their movements, where they are looking, their marks on the floor, the lighting.
Freshman Zieozi Olen, who plays one of the main characters, Isabella, says it is all about “practice, practice, practice.” And all that practice — which began shortly after school started in early September — comes to fruition on the stage in four performances. There was a full dress rehearsal on Wednesday, October 23, followed by opening night on Thursday. Two shows remain, a 7 p.m. performance on Friday, October 25, and a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, October 26. Next week another show, The Importance of Being Earnest, opens in the Norris Ely Orchard Theater with a full dress rehearsal on October 30 and performances October 31–November 2.
When the school day is over and Zieozi is on the stage, she said, she must “empty her thoughts of school” and “breathe into the character.” That can translate in various ways. “If I am really excited, I straighten my posture,” she said. “If the character is panicked, something bad is happening, I quicken my breathing more, feel the tension, so that I can convey that.”
Freshman Phoenix Olen, Zieozi’s brother, plays Lucio, who provides comic relief, which Phoenix certainly delivered, from what he said to his facial expressions and body movements.
“Playing Lucio was really fun,” Phoenix said after Thursday’s show. “I had a blast. The entire cast — we all had a fantastic time. I got a role I enjoyed, just enough scenes. I go for characters that aren’t too big but aren’t too small. The character I got was perfect.”
Joy keeps in mind the word “fun” when she is performing.
“Once I memorize my lines — which is a whole process in itself — I really do try to have fun on stage,” Joy said. “That’s the whole thing for me, really getting to know my character, so that can help me make character choices. How does this person speak? How does this person walk around? Finding the lights [on stage], technical stuff, is more mental, more of a memorization thing.”
Angelo, the clear antagonist of the play, is played by sophomore Vivaan Chaturvedi. He called Angelo a “dynamic” character, which is how he played him on Thursday evening. Angelo is the ruthless and hypocritical judge who rules during the Duke’s absence.
Sophomore Lilly Autry fills the role of stage manager for the first time. She expressed thanks for those who showed her the way last year, and she said being stage manager has helped her learn how to be assertive and develop leadership skills with all the job entails. “I just loved being able to interact with the cast and the tech crew and director every single day,” Lilly said, looking back on the months of rehearsals and preparations leading up to this week’s performances.