Spring 2017 Department of English and Theatre Acadia University
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VOLUME 24 SPRING 2017 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND THEATRE ACADIA UNIVERSITY Acadia English & Theatre Spring 2017 1 THEATRE REVIEWS dominated areas of the property, while the women, Mrs. Hale (Andrea VOICE Switzer) and Mrs. Peters (Jenna THREE SHORT PLAYS BY Newcomb), search the domestic to SUSAN GLASPELL uncover the truth. The interplay be- 4 (Directed by Anna Migliarisi) tween the men and women of this THEATRE REVIEWS Three Short Plays by Susan Glaspell by Emily MacLeod play is purposefully ironic, in that the Anton in Show Business women make numerous discoveries Minifest 2017 Acadia Theatre Company’s while being belittled by the men for production of three Glaspell plays, paying so much attention to the do- Trifles, Suppressed Desires, and mestic sphere. The detective jokes ATLANTIC UNDERGRADUATE Women’s Honor took place in about the domestics while coming up ENGLISH CONFERENCE November at Lower Denton Theatre. short in the investigation to secure These three plays were written by Minnie’s motive. There are a couple playwright Susan Glaspell in the of key pointed feminist moments that AUTHORS @ ACADIA early 1900s. In Acadia Theatre are not lost on the audience. The play Lee Maracle Armand Ruffo Camilla Gibb Elizabeth Hay Heather O’Neill Lisa Moore André Alexis Eden Robinson Meags Fitzgerald ENGLISH SOCIETY EVENTS Halloween Party Fundraising Bad Poetry Night STAFF Sarah Bishop Laurence Gumbridge Trifles: Andrea Switzer, Marcus Wong, Zachery Craig, & Jenna Newcomb Stuart Harris Nicole Havers Company’s production of these achieves a slow, but powerful, simple Sarah MacDonald plays, director Anna Migliarisi push- moment of feminist subversion when Emily MacLeod es the boundaries in terms of the the two women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Mackenzie Molnar period’s traditional womanly ideals. Peters, pull off an eloquent act of Amy Parkes These productions really played defiance against the men. It seems Kevin Whetter around with the relationship of power that a conclusion can be drawn that Georgia Woolaver between men and women of the time. suggests women have as much to Lance La Rocque In Trifles, we are introduced to offer in the way of usefulness as men a rural setting and the lives of Winnie at the time. The tones of engagement and John Wright, neither of whom of each gender is effective in portray- If you would like to help are actually present in the play. The ing the tension between the roles and with Voice 4, contact play consists of an investigation by realities of each sex during the peri- [email protected] both men and women to uncover the od. Themes of female solidarity, sis- Phone: 585-1146 murder of John Wright. The detective terhood, and the feeling of isolation (Marcus Wong) and Mr. Peters for women that almost feels Victori- (Lewis Coverdale), spend most of an, are present through this produc- their time searching the male tion of Glaspell’s most famous play. 2 Spring 2017 Acadia English & Theatre On a lighter hearted note, Suppressed Desires follows Trifles. The transition between the plays is something worth noting and is a source of entertainment for the audi- ence. The transition, music, and movement all set the mood for what is to come. The almost jazzy 1920s music got the audience excited for what they were about to experience. The setting in Suppressed Desires was infinitely more colourful and guides the audience’s understanding of period and context. The costumes also enhance the audience’s under- standing of context; Henrietta (Andrea Switzer) is dressed in a way that matches the urban setting. The hair and hemlines were shorter; Suppressed Desires: Andrea Switzer, Lewis Coverdale, Aphrodite Ioannou women had more freedom as we see with Henrietta’s engagement in psy- aspect of the play picks up when Henrietta feels betrayed by psychoa- choanalysis. There is a lot of passion Henrietta’s sister Mabel (Aphrodite nalysis, even after all she has given in this play. The dialogue between Ioannou) comes to visit and is the field, it is concluded that she does Henrietta and her husband Stephen coaxed into the world of psychoanal- not like its application in her own (Lewis Coverdale) is engaging and ysis at her sister’s request. The com- life. The acting in this particular pro- interesting. They are opposing char- plications that arise from Mabel and duction is lively and captivating as acters in a way: she is a vibrant Stephen’s visits to Henrietta’s psy- the actor’s move freely on the stage. woman seemingly obsessed with the choanalyst are truly humorous. The The third and final play Freudian theory of psychoanalysis, revealed suppressed desires from Woman’s Honor is chronologically while he is portrayed as a calculating these two characters allow for some the last of the three. Glaspell wrote engineer skeptical of his wife’s in- ironic and humorous wordplay or the play in 1918 during a time of sig- volvement in the field. The comedic better yet nameplay. In the end, after nificant change in the lives of post war women. The women in this play illustrate the idea that women could be a number of things in society dur- ing the time. Each woman introduced has a distinct personality, style, and motive for wanting to be the woman used as an alibi for Gordon Wallace on the night of November 25th. There are six women in the play who repre- sent six different subsections of women in society. The conversations between these women reveal interest- ing details about their own lives, but more importantly about women more broadly. The commentary from these women lends to a dissection of what a woman’s honour actually means in society, and how honour for women is really synonymous with virtue. Woman's Honor: Nile Whidden, Zachery Craig Acadia English & Theatre Spring 2017 3 These women also meditate on environment. However, as much as combination with being estab- how a man’s honour seems to be I enjoyed the content, what stood lished as moveable (with the actors about everything but male virtue out to me the most was the play’s still onstage) from the very begin- and this echoes notions of mascu- unique way of conveying it. If I ning, the simple act of moving linity, strength and bravery that had to pick one word to describe these pieces in certain ways com- were idealized for men coming this play, it would likely be municated so much in terms of home from war. All three of these “dynamic”: the play within a play, mood and pace. Sometimes we plays challenged the role and per- actors performing multiple roles were rushed from scene to scene, ception of both men and women in (sometimes switching them up in with those comically conspicuous early 20th century life. There are front of the audience with the help stagehands wheeling things around stark differences in each play that of very visible yet theatre-blacks- as actors continue to walk, talk, lend to the overall mood of each clad stagehands), simple set pieces and exchange witty bits of dia- production, but they are tied to- constantly transforming and shift- logue, while other times the previ- gether by the notions of female ing around to suit the content and ous movement and comedy was identity and what it really meant to tone of the current scene, and contrasted starkly with a bleak be female during this period of other unique and refreshing choic- stillness. transition from the Victorian era. I es all contribute to my impression It was also extremely truly enjoyed the intricate dialogue of the play as fluid, unconvention- impressive to see certain actors and irony in all three productions. al, and boundary-breaking. accomplish playing multiple roles, All three had crafty elements that The very dynamic set is often in quick succession. Stepha- made the overall production worth talking about all on its own; nie Clervi, Sarah Surette, and thought provoking, engaging and very funny. The setting of each play changed the respective moods entirely. The transi- tions between each were unique and they geared the audience up for what was to come. Overall, the production of these three Glaspell plays was thoroughly enjoyable. ANTON IN SHOW BUSINESS (Directed by Robert The full cast of Anton in Show Business Seale) by Nicole Havers whether this was down to direction Anna Van Hoof (who I would like or meticulously written into the to say gave my personal favourite The Acadia Theatre script I’m not sure, but the set performance as director Company’s performance of Anton managed to perfectly reflect the Wikéwitch), all portrayed several in Show Business is outrageous, mood of each scene without hav- characters, each of them also play- funny, and also extremely sad. It ing much to it at all. In most ing at least one male character. focuses on the struggle of being an scenes, the set was completely That isn’t to say that the actor on Canadian stages, while minimal— a door, a few movea- performances of Rachel Leibovitz, also addressing topics such as ble chunks of wall, etc.—but be- Ashley Wells, and Robin Moir, feminism, sex, capitalism, and the cause they were so simple, in who played the three main 4 Spring 2017 Acadia English & Theatre presented in ways that aren’t No one could have prepared me for typically expected. The six the emotional impact that the photo- plays were Y ogafu by Alex graph behind them would have. Rubin, Assumptions by Lynne What was presented as a simple and Bolen, Paper Planes by cute play turned out to be a memori- Michael Pisaturo, Death and al for the young Syrian boy who the Psychiatrist by James was found washed up on the beach Hutchinson, A Whole Other and captured in a haunting photo- Shade of Blue by Gwendolyn graph that dominated the media for Rice, and The First Last Time weeks.