'New Directors Festival' showcases talent of Brown student theater
Lindsey Meyers
Issue date: 4/9/07 Section: Arts & Culture
"The New Directors Festival," produced by Elliot Quick '07 and James Rutherford '07, was held over the weekend in the upstairs space at the Production Workshop.
The three one-act plays featured in the show - Christopher Durang's comedy "Wanda's Visit," Dael Orlandersmith's five-part monologue piece "Beauty's Daughter" and Ernest Hemingway's dramatic "Hills Like White Elephants" - differed in style and setting. Yet the show was thematically unified in its exploration of the linguistic ruptures between individuals and cultures that must be bridged if people are to understand and love each other.
The struggle to obtain human understanding and find love was effectively portrayed in "Wanda's Visit" under the direction of Jason Lee '09. The play revolves around Jim (Chris Lee '09) and Marsha (Sarah Tolan-Mee '07), a once happy but now alienated married couple who receive a visit from Jim's former girlfriend, Wanda.
Through a parody of the use and misuse of language, the play displays the comic talents of Luo and Tolan-Mee, whose characters stand in contrast to one another. Wanda dresses in tasteless clothes and freely talks about her sex life, failed relationships and past love for Jim, while Marsha is dressed plainly and exhibits a cynically tightlipped politesse. This comedic juxtaposition between the female leads suggests the darker emotional sterility of Jim, whose banality prevents him from finding lasting happiness with either the uninhibited Wanda or the straight-laced Marsha.
Once Wanda's uninhibited presence is removed from the action, Jim and Marsha find a new life as they conform to the social norms of a "happy marriage," but their conformity ultimately leaves them dissatisfied. The play ends with Marsha's bitter observation that Wanda's visit would have been an unexpected blessing if only she and Jim were happy.
"Beauty's Daughter," directed by Mark Brown II '09, continued the show's exploration of the failure of communication in love through five monologues performed by two actors, Alexandra Metz '08 and Kevin Dias '10.
The three one-act plays featured in the show - Christopher Durang's comedy "Wanda's Visit," Dael Orlandersmith's five-part monologue piece "Beauty's Daughter" and Ernest Hemingway's dramatic "Hills Like White Elephants" - differed in style and setting. Yet the show was thematically unified in its exploration of the linguistic ruptures between individuals and cultures that must be bridged if people are to understand and love each other.
The struggle to obtain human understanding and find love was effectively portrayed in "Wanda's Visit" under the direction of Jason Lee '09. The play revolves around Jim (Chris Lee '09) and Marsha (Sarah Tolan-Mee '07), a once happy but now alienated married couple who receive a visit from Jim's former girlfriend, Wanda.
Through a parody of the use and misuse of language, the play displays the comic talents of Luo and Tolan-Mee, whose characters stand in contrast to one another. Wanda dresses in tasteless clothes and freely talks about her sex life, failed relationships and past love for Jim, while Marsha is dressed plainly and exhibits a cynically tightlipped politesse. This comedic juxtaposition between the female leads suggests the darker emotional sterility of Jim, whose banality prevents him from finding lasting happiness with either the uninhibited Wanda or the straight-laced Marsha.
Once Wanda's uninhibited presence is removed from the action, Jim and Marsha find a new life as they conform to the social norms of a "happy marriage," but their conformity ultimately leaves them dissatisfied. The play ends with Marsha's bitter observation that Wanda's visit would have been an unexpected blessing if only she and Jim were happy.
"Beauty's Daughter," directed by Mark Brown II '09, continued the show's exploration of the failure of communication in love through five monologues performed by two actors, Alexandra Metz '08 and Kevin Dias '10.