The official blog of UR Theatre

The University of Rochester International Theatre Program

[urtheatre]

It’s time for the seventh and final installment of our meet the actors series for our production of Stupid Fucking Bird.

It’s time to meet the protagonist of the production, Miles Harrison, playing Conrad. Miles, part of the Class of 2023, is majoring in Economics and Theater. His character Conrad is the tortured playwright trying to work change in the world with the love of his life center stage.

+ What are you up to when you're not in class or rehearsals?

I do community theater off-campus and student theater on-campus. I play music and read books and work and sometimes sleep.

+ Tell us a little about your previous theater experience.

I started doing community theater in Rochester when I was in high school. Over the past 5 years or so I have worked with a variety of companies on a variety of shows, with no plans on stopping.

+ What made you want to audition for Stupid Fucking Bird?

I'm a huge fan of this show, so when auditions were announced I knew I had to take the opportunity to be in it.

+ In what ways do you feel similar to your character?

I find Con's views on the role of theatre in society very compelling. I love the idea that theatre has a responsibility not just to entertain but to provoke the audience in some way.

+ In what ways are you and your character different?

......Con has only killed 1 bird..........

+ What would you say has been the most difficult thing about portraying your character?

Con has a tremendous amount of passion for everything in his life, and finding that focus and that energy on stage has been a very useful exercise for me.

+ What do you hope audiences take away from your performance?

I hope that the audience allows this show to affect them, that they engage with it and maybe even hold on to its ideas going forward in life.

+ Why should people see this play?

People should see this play because it is a beautiful script with a tremendously talented cast and crew, who have spent many hours working to make it the best show it can possibly be.

+ Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I just want to emphasize how excellent the actors are, both as my castmates and my friends! Even Celia. Usually…

You can find Miles @thatoneguymiles on instagram.

Opening night of Stupid Fucking Bird is in one week! Get your tickets here and come see these incredible actors in action!

[urtheatre]

It’s time for the sixth installment of our meet the actors series for our production of Stupid Fucking Bird.

Next up, Molly Goonan, class of 2025. Currently still figuring out her major, Molly plays our leading lady, Nina, girlfriend of Conrad and aspiring actress who just wants to ignite the world for one shining moment.

+ What are you up to when you're not in class or rehearsals?

I sit outside of Rush Rhees with Starbucks when it's a nice day or make playlists on Spotify for my WRUR Sting show

+ Tell us a little about your previous theater experience.

I was super involved in theatre in my high school, but I was more involved with the technical aspects of theatre. I played Puck in a Midsummer Night's Dream my sophomore year of high school and in a last-minute replacement, I played Mary Rose in Mary Rose last year after our lead had to drop out. I was also Stage Manager for the play Mary Rose last year and had been Head of Set Artistry for my junior and senior years of high school. Stage Managing was an incredible experience and I loved being a part of tech, but I'm super excited to be acting on stage again!

+ What made you want to audition for Stupid Fucking Bird?

Gabe made me. But also I wanted to get back into acting after being so involved in tech for the past few years and I thought the show sounded really interesting!

+ In what ways do you feel similar to your character?

I think we both really love seagulls.

+ In what ways are you and your character different?

I think that Nina is much more of a free spirit than I am and I also think that she sort of has a fixation on fame and adoration that I can't really relate to.

+ What would you say has been the most difficult thing about portraying your character?

I would say that I've had a hard time showing the arc of Nina as a character and the changes she goes through in the show, especially with some of the harder moments that she experiences.

+ What do you hope audiences take away from your performance?

I hope that audiences can see themselves in Nina, flaws and all.

+ Why should people see this play?

I think that everyone can find something to relate to in these characters and themes, and because our cast and crew have worked so hard to make this show something amazing that people should see!

You can find Molly on instagram @molly.goonan

[urtheatre]

It’s time for the fifth installment of our meet the actors series for our production of Stupid Fucking Bird.

Next up, Nick Olwell. Part of the class of 2025, Nick is majoring in Political Science. Nick portays Dev, best friend of our protagonist Conrad.

+ What are you up to when you're not in class or rehearsals?

Eat, Sleep, hang out with friends

+ Tell us a little about your previous theater experience.

I have played Philip Lombard in And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and Mordred in Camelot, as well as a variety of other characters in Little Shop of Horrors, You Can't Take it With You, the Phantom, and Oliver! These performances were the ones that got me interested in performing in college and I loved every second of them.

+ What made you want to audition for Stupid Fucking Bird?

I just really love performing and the script for Stupid Fucking Bird is incredibly deep and emotional. I've always wanted to perform in a show like this that has the opportunity to touch the audience.

+ In what ways do you feel similar to your character?

To quote my character "I love muffins, I just really like them" and "I want a giant bowl of ice cream. A bowl the size of a bushel basket."

+ In what ways are you and your character different?

"I'm taking a philosophy course that Dev would fail out of in the first week"- Miles Harrison

+ What would you say has been the most difficult thing about portraying your character?

Trying to deliver some of the humor of his character. I've never really done comedy before, it was difficult at times.

+ What do you hope audiences take away from your performance?

No matter what, always have hope. Sometimes life doesn't go your way, but keep a positive attitude.

+ Why should people see this play?

I think there is something in it for everyone. It's a relatable play and I think everyone can relate to at least one of the characters.

You can find Nick on instagram @n_olwell

[urtheatre]

It’s time for the fourth installment of our meet the actors series for our production of Stupid Fucking Bird.

This week we’re starting with Celia Konowe. Celia finished up her degree in Environmental Studies in the spring of 2021 and is currently enjoying her Take 5 year. Celia is tackling Mash, the cynical, songwriting part-time cook

+ What are you up to when you're not in class or rehearsals?

I live in Drama House, play club field hockey, do campus radio (WRUR), and ooze Meliora spirit 🤪

+ Tell us a little about your previous theater experience.

I've been in a handful of Todd shows in the past few years—Revolt, The Grownup, Government Inspector, and Terminal 3

+ What made you want to audition for Stupid Fucking Bird?

I just wanted to bother Miles in another show 😘

+ In what ways do you feel similar to your character?

I’m also *fine*

+ In what ways are you and your character different?

I wear less black than Mash (sometimes) and I’m vegan.

+ What would you say has been the most difficult thing about portraying your character?

Apparently, I'm not that mean (I'm flattered.)

+ What do you hope audiences take away from your performance?

I have no idea I’m sorry haha i just want people to enjoy live theatre again and experience the emotional journey.

+ Why should people see this play?

Wonderful cast, great script.

You can find Celia on her personal Instagram @_tweetiebird_

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It’s time for the third installment of our meet the actors series for our production of Stupid Fucking Bird.

Next up, Rohat Chari, Class of 2023.

Rohat is majoring in Financial Economics. Rohat has the work of portraying Doyle Trigorin, a well-respected and famous author of tragic little stories full of hope. He is the lover of Emma and a literary hero to Nina.

+ What are you up to when you're not in class or rehearsals?

I like to hang out with friends, hike, learn martial arts, and dance.

+ Tell us a little about your previous theater experience.

I did one or two small one-act plays my sophomore and junior year but they were very low-key, and it was a very brief experience.

+ What made you want to audition for Stupid Fucking Bird?

I wanted to try something new and I love performing for my friends by dancing, telling stories, and other things so I thought joining a play would be an extension of that. Plus, I heard great things about the actual SFB play itself.

+ In what ways do you feel similar to your character?

We both yearn for a sense of innocence in our love lives and an escape from the mundane reality. There's a line where he talks about wanting sweet first kisses and even though Trigorin and I are both far past that stage, there is something alluring about young love and remaining in that time, and I think we both chase after that in our own ways.

+ In what ways are you and your character different?

For one, I'm not into girls half my age. I think he's also much more mature than I am, or at least he carries himself that way. He's a great writer and a lot more detached from the pursuit of fame, whereas I'm a nobody trying to be someone, so we're on very different stages of our lives.

+ What would you say has been the most difficult thing about portraying your character?

Definitely playing an older, more mature person has been tough for me.

+ What do you hope audiences take away from your performance?

I hope they can understand the futility of chasing abstract things like fame and realize that pursuing more grounded, yet beautiful things like love and the arts is what makes life fulfilling.

+ Why should people see this play?

This play has so many themes about love, sadness, pain, and it's done so intelligently! I think you'll definitely laugh seeing this play but also walk out a more thoughtful, if not better person, which is something you can't say for most plays.

[urtheatre]

Welcome to the second installment of our meet the actors series for our production of Stupid Fucking Bird. 

Today we have Syanis Yarí Vargas-González, Class of 2022. 

Syanis is majoring in Digital Studies and Theater and is planning to graduate this Spring! She is portraying Emma in our production of Stupid Fucking Bird. Emma is the starlet mother of our Protagonist, Conrad, the lover of famous writer Trigorin and sister to Dr. Eugene Sorn. 

+ What are you up to when you're not in class or rehearsals?

I make coffee, write songs, or watch series on one of the many streaming apps I'm subscribed to. 

+ Tell us a little about your previous theater experience.

In 2019, I was in the Spring Awakening production by ROC Players. Other than that, lots of musical theater camps throughout middle and highschool, and then Todd's zoom show The Government Inspector.

+ What made you want to audition for Stupid Fucking Bird?

Nigel [our director] thought I could be a great Emma and I agreed. 

+ In what ways do you feel similar to your character?

We both like being the center of attention. 

+ In what ways are you and your character different?

Emma might need the attention, but I don't believe I *need* it. She's more arrogant, self-centered, and makes everything about herself. Though I'm not saying I'm perfect, I know I show people I care about them, actually listen to them, and want to be there for them. 

+ What would you say has been the most difficult thing about portraying your character?

Dismissing other characters and being so stupidly self-centered that I actually don't notice how miserable they are. It hurts me to think my character can't see how upset she makes people. 

+ What do you hope audiences take away from your performance?

That Emma is human and she is flawed, but she has layers. 

+ Why should people see this play?

Because it's real.

You can find Syanis on instagram at @syanisyari

Stupid Fucking Bird Opens in the brand new Sloan Performing Arts Center on December 2nd!

[urtheatre]

Welcome to the first in our meet the actors series for our production of Stupid Fucking Bird.

First up. Gabriel Pierce, class of 2025.

Gabe is working towards a double major in Biomedical Engineering and Political Science. He is portraying Dr. Eugene Sorn in our production of Stupid Fucking Bird. Dr. Sorn is the brother of the starlet Emma, and the uncle of the plays protagonist Conrad.

+ What are you up to when you're not in class or rehearsals?

You can find me at Starbucks spending too much declining.

+ Tell us a little about your previous theater experience.

I played Pippin in my junior year of high school, unfortunately, it was shut down on opening night (March 12th) because of the pandemic. I was able to return to the stage for a production of Something Rotten in which I played Nigel, as well as a production of Legally Blonde in which I played various ensemble characters. I'm ecstatic to be on stage this winter and have felt that this production has helped me grow so much, much more than I first thought it would.

+ What made you want to audition for Stupid Fucking Bird?

I just said, "why the hell not?". My mentality was more so that I could say I tried, rather than regretting and wishing I did.

+ In what ways do you feel similar to your character?

I very much enjoy helping others, family or friends, through struggles and listening to what others have going on in their life.

+ In what ways are you and your character different?

I'm definitely more of an "attention seeker" than Sorn is.

+ What would you say has been the most difficult thing about portraying your character?

The physicality and movements of a 60-year-old man. I'm very much a mover and it’s very difficult to overcome that in order to portray him fully.

+ What do you hope audiences take away from your performance?

I hope audiences realize that life is so much more than just one feeling at a time or one dimension. People are far more complex than I realized until I really dove into this show.

+ Why should people see this play?

I hope people just like theater or performances, but also to support classmates who work hard on this! To actually listen and appreciate something that someone else has worked for countless hours on goes a very long way.

+ Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Here's a fun fact: I only started theater late my sophomore year of high school (which was 2019). Not even 3 years in, it's never too late to get involved!!

You can find Gabe on instagram or on snapchat at @gwp_music777

[urtheatre]

On the topic of small incremental change.

It’s perhaps the third week of rehearsals (Probably. The days have started to blend together and the only real measure of time is the number of days until opening) (21 days). Designers’ run has come and gone, and we have stopped making sweeping changes to scenes. I’m not sure I expected this frenetic pace to continue, but I was slighting surprised at the change of pace in our first rehearsal after designers run. We spent almost the entire 3 hours on the single opening scene, adjusting entrances, the timing of hand waves. For the most part these were tiny adjustments but I was amazed at the difference from the start to the end of rehearsal. 

In my directing class, the professor liked to say that the real work didn’t begin until the blocking was mostly done, the lines memorized, the prop list finalized. And at least right now, the work is good.

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Adaptation or License Violation?

I recently had an interesting conversation with the director, Kate Eminger, of Todd’s newest production, The Grown-up, on the subject of line changes. 

Sometimes, directors will choose to change lines in the script. In my experience, this usually happens for one of two reasons. Usually, there’s some production reason - limitations of the stage, actor gender change, time period shift, etc.  Otherwise the change is according to the whims of the director or from a personal dislike of a line or phrase.

During one of our most recent rehearsals, Kate mentioned that she absolutely did not want to change the lines in the play, even when the line felt out of place or anachronistic. I had never really thought about whether changing lines was a good idea - prior to my conversation with Kate I would have on the whole said there was nothing wrong with the practice. After all, isn’t the director interpreting the show already? Changing a few lines seemed like a natural extension of this. 

Kate’s take was that she 1) knew too many playwrights. It felt disrespectful to the vision of the playwright to arbitrarily change things. Also 2) If the directors has to continually change things, then they probably doesn't understand the intent of the playwright or the play isn’t right for their personal style. She agreed that it possibly was allowable to update the play to a modern setting, as long as it was either a classic play, or the intent of the playwright was to set the play in the modern day relative to the audience.

Watching Kate be so dedicated in remaining faithful to every word of the playwright’s vision has been thought provoking. There are several lines in this play that are slightly awkward, and I’m not honestly sure why the playwright included them in the show. However, Kate has deftly worked with the blocking and the actors to make them make some kind of sense. It is often said that restrictions force creativity, and I’ve started to see strict adherence to a script as that kind of creativity producing restriction. 

I think there is still a place for making changes, but it should be out of necessity, not convenience.

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First Few Weeks of Rehearsals for “Revolt. She Said. Revolt. Again”

First Read-through

With no named characters or concrete stage directions, Revolt. She Said. Revolt. Again by playwright Alice Birch made for an interesting first read-through. Before we began, we assigned lines/roles very loosely, and accepted that pretty much everything was subject to change. The actors and director quickly began making sense of the intricate and confusing piece as they took chances and made big choices during the read-through. Although we’re off to a great start, this play is extremely nuanced, complex, and has many moving parts; the coming weeks are sure to be a great learning process for our entire cast and crew.

Second Week:

This week we began to put the play on its feet. Christina gave the actors a lot of freedom in the first few rehearsals. Actor Oti commented, ‘I’ve never been given this much freedom in a production, my director typically just tells me exactly what to do’. This type of freedom allows the play to develop naturally and gives the actors opportunities to sculpt the scenes. 

Fight Choreography:

Violence and fighting is a core component to this piece. Intentional, gruesome violence is used throughout the play to convey a sense of urgency and disgust at the current environment in. Having a fight choreographer come in was a very exciting process; it was the first time many of us have ever worked with a designated fight choreographer. The cast caught on quickly, and soon began to turn the fight choreography into stage magic. Also a new concept for many of our actors is a fight call— a fight call is done before any scenes that contain fight choreography. It’s a last minute chance for the fight captain to ensure that everything is running smoothly and safely. The meat cleaver, steak knives, watermelons, and tables all  have to be double checked before fight-scenes to ensure safety.

Making Sense of It:

The blocking and the language of this piece are intricately connected— as I was watching the final scene of the show (which contains many lines performed simultaneously), new meanings and concepts emerged based on how the actors were arranged on stage. This means that any minor changes in blocking can lead to major changes in the meaning of the scene. For example, when many lines are being performed simultaneously, actors standing grouped together presents a very different message than actors spread out across the stage. 

Although at some points in the piece the dialogue changes into an overwhelming “wall of sound,” our goal is to ensure that meaning is not lost in that wall. Even though the dialogue is packed with themes, messages, and plot points, when it is presented simultaneously as a “wall of sound,” it becomes very challenging to make sense of. Whenever we work on these scenes, this challenge is our primary goal.

Post Designers Run:

The energy of a real audience at designers’ run upped the cast’s enthusiasm and energy ten-fold. The designers seemed to really enjoy the piece, and picked up on the nuances and jokes that we worked so hard on in the weeks leading up. 

This run was also a very valuable tool for Christina; without a clear picture of the set, costumes, and props, it can be very hard to direct and block a show. The designers’ run gave the design team an opportunity to collaborate in person for the first time. Many aspects of design were in their very early stages and subject to change. It was interesting to see the subtle changes to costumes, sets, and props accumulate and evolve.

Watermelon Tech:

Smashing a watermelon seems like a pretty simple task, but when it’s part of fight-choreography, it becomes a full-team operation! Because the timing of the watermelon smash is crucial to the scene, we go through many fake (and real) watermelon smashes every rehearsal. Watching the “operation” evolve and become efficient is quite entertaining (and a little amusing). All the stage managers work quickly and tirelessly  to clean up between scenes. Without the efficiency of their “watermelon smash operation,” rehearsals would be delayed, and the integrity of the production.

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Moving on to “Stage 2” of rehearsals

With 2 weeks till opening night, the cast and crew is eager to start perfecting and polishing their newly devised piece. Unlike traditional, ‘un-devised’ works, there are almost two distinct stages to a devised-work rehearsal process. The first is Creation: for the first weeks, before we had a script in front of us, the cast researched themes and events that our piece plans to explore. This meant reading newspaper clips, listening to interviews, watching timely videos, and immersing themselves into the thematic world of the show. The creation stage also involved blocking (stage movements). Although most pre-written scripts have rudimentary stage directions written in, because we are writing ours from scratch, we can do away with stage directions and just block the show as we write. This is unique and exciting because it gives the writer(s) (the ensemble) the power to block the piece and put it on its feet, a power usually reserved just for directors.

Now that we have a (draft of a) script, the more traditional rehearsal process can begin. Actors will spend the next two weeks polishing and revising their performances. This involves intense character development work, perfecting their blocking, adding props, and getting everything else performance-ready before Tech week. It also means getting off book!— although, I think the actors will agree, memorizing text for a devised work is much easier than memorizing someone else’s’ words.

One thing we will be focusing on specifically in the coming weeks is keeping the actors’ performances present, fresh, and un-rehearsed. Nothing is worse than the infamous “Acting Voice”— the uniform rhythm, “theatre-y” tone, and automatic sounding dialogue that comes with rehearsing a piece for a long time. Even great actors struggle to keep their performances fresh and real during a long run. The only cure for this ailment is focus and being present. Similar to successful meditators, great actors will be completely focused and immersed in the moment on stage. They don’t think of the past; they don’t think of the future. They have to live aggressively in the moment to keep their performances believable. The second an actor leaves “the moment,” the audience will take note and become disengaged. Todd audiences are typically unfamiliar with this phenomenon...

Stay tuned for more updates as we creep closer to Tech week!

[urtheatre]

Music and Dancing in a Drama?!

Although Todd typically doesn’t do Musical Theatre— and We Don’t Live on Mars is no exception— we do occasionally like to utilize music as a theatrical element in our pieces. Whether it’s used in a movement piece, a transition element, or something in between, music has the power to take theater audiences to amazing places. Our NYC based sound designer and composer Christopher Ross-Ewart and our cast have been working over Skype to compose original songs for our upcoming show.

After jamming and writing for just a few minutes, the cast presented Talya (the director), Anne (stage manager), and myself with 3 amazingly unique pieces of music— with thematically appropriate lyrics and catchy, folk-like melodies! We were amazed at their progress in such a short time and are thrilled to see how the music will grow throughout the rest of the rehearsal process.

We are lucky enough to have Eastman School of Music student Marc Laroussini as part of the cast; he studies composition and voice and will be an integral part of the music-making process. Rosie Flanagan, a cast member and singer/violin player of the NJR rock band on campus, will also be helping to sculpt the musical elements of this piece. On top of that, every cast member shows a knack for music and music writing that will be evident in their performances in March. I for one can not wait to hear the finished product!

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We Don’t Live on Mars Yet opens in about 5 weeks— and we don’t even have a script yet!

Actors spent this first week of workshops doing dramaturgical research and getting immersed in the themes of the piece. What is the meaning of “home” and how has it changed with the political climate? The actors— and the piece as a whole— will attempt to answer this question as they get to work developing their characters in the coming weeks. They also experimented with slide projectors and explored how they can be used throughout the piece (Marc Laroussini pictured below)

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Division and Conflict

How one man’s complexities are encapsulated in seven in Todd Theatre’s In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer.

In our production of In the Matter, Oppenheimer is played by a total of seven different actors, symbolizing the transient nature of “good” and “evil,” the complexities of Oppenheimer’s personality, and the difficulties of passing judgement on one who holds so many contradictions.

Nearly every member of the ensemble plays Oppenheimer at some point during the ensemble; from the more liberal judge, to the searing prosecution. Everyone has a chance to be interrogated on the basis of their beliefs--no one is safe, no one is “completely loyal.” 

Our approach blurs the line between protagonists and antagonists, and forces the audience to think critically about the life of this fascinating, complex man. 

See this experiment in action starting on October 12th! Tickets are $8 for students, and $15 for the general public. We look forward to sharing this amazing story with you!

[urtheatre]

Probably talking about how awesome Tech Breakfast was today.

[urtheatre]

The Eltenton-Chevalier Incident in 3 Minutes or Less

The Eltenton-Chevalier incident was perhaps the defining evidence in J. Robert Oppenheimer’s 1954 security hearing. The incident itself occurred during February of 1943, though it would haunt Oppenheimer for over a decade subsequently.

Haakon Chevalier was a professor of French at the University of California at Berkeley, and a great friend of Oppenheimer. He had strong left-wing political leanings, and it was likely that he was a member of the Communist party.

In February 1943, Chevalier was attending a dinner party at Oppenheimer’s home, and communicated to Oppenheimer that a man named George Eltenton, who was working at the time at the Shell Development Corporation in Berkeley, had means to transmit technical information about the Manhattan Project, underway at Los Alamos, to the Russians, who were being decimated at Stalingrad. Oppenheimer responded emphatically that he would have no part in such a scheme.

Nothing more was said about the conversation, and Oppenheimer did not report it to his security authorities until six months later, in August. During a meeting with Colonel John Lansdale, the security officer under General Groves, who was in charge of the project, Oppenheimer disclosed that he had been approached by “an intermediary,” as he would not disclose Chevalier’s name.  Lansdale recommended he recount this story to Colonel Boris Pash (Major Radzi in In the Matter). The interview was recorded, and Oppenheimer lied about the circumstances of the conversation--Oppenheimer said that the intermediary had approached three members of the project, though he would not disclose their names either. This “cock and bull story,” as Oppenheimer described it later, was admittedly foolish, and led to a large-scale investigation in order to discover the identity of the intermediary.

After repeated stonewalling and evasion on Oppenheimer’s part, on September 12, 1943, General Groves ordered Oppenheimer to disclose the identity of the intermediary. Oppenheimer named Chevalier, and himself as the person Chevalier contacted. He also retracted the lie about three members of the project being contacted.

In 1946, Chevalier was investigated in relation to the incident, with Eltenton, unbeknownst to Chevalier, being interviewed at the same time, to identify any discrepancies. Oppenheimer called the story “a pure fabrication except for the name Eltenton,” and could offer no explanation as to why he lied, other than that Oppenheimer felt that Chevalier was innocent in the matter, and did not want to involve him.  

Whew! Now that we’ve got that covered, be sure to come see In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer at Todd Theatre, October 12th to October 21st! Tickets are $8 for students, and $15 for the general public.

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Exchanges, perspectives.