(04/02/12 4:00am)
Crowd Control, Brandeis' youngest improvisational troupe at six years old, held its end-of-semester show last Sunday night in Cholmondeley's. Crowd Control's specialty is free-form improvisational long-forms, in which they perform multiple scenes inspired by a single monologue based off an audience suggestion. The troupe's 10 members celebrated the semester by performing two sets of long-forms and two line games, one of which was a tribute to the group's four graduating seniors: David Dawson, Paul Gale, Ethan Mermelstein and Herbie Rosen. To open the night, Naveh Halperin '12 sang and played five original songs he devised, including one piece he improvised onstage. Halperin started the show off strong, with comedic and poignant numbers. Characteristic of Halperin's music, the songs showcased his ability to make light of serious and even tragic topics. An example of this was a tribute to bacterial infections written as a love letter from the bacteria to himself. The upbeat, fast-paced rhythm contrasted with the subject matter, resulting in quirky, wonderful music. In addition, his improvised piece, which was inspired by audience suggestions, had the quality of a pre-written song, replete with rhymes and a cohesive stream-of-consciousness narrative. After Halperin's act, Crowd Control took the stage, starting with the line game, "I make love like I" and then launching into a long-form based off of the monologue delivered by Rosen. The highlights of the show were the two-person scenes, which occurred during the group's long-forms. "Their situations were real. Their humor was real," commented audience member and improviser Emily Duggan '15 after the show. While many of the scenes featured five or even six improvisers, the strongest scenes, and the ones in which the improvisers looked most comfortable onstage, involved just two people at a time. Each started with silence as the improvisers became acquainted with their imagined environment before talking with one another. Gale and Sadrach Pierre '13 created one such scene, in which they took on the roles of a father and son eating breakfast and discussing life. The simplicity of the scene, marked by its lack of jokes, tapped into the truth of parental relationships, and the scene's hilarity came from its believable characters. One of Crowd Control's greatest skills is its ability to call back lines and characters from previous scenes. "It's like they start at the beginning, then jump to the end, and then fill it in," audience member and improviser Zane Relethford '13 told JustArts. "It's fulfilling for the audience." The majority of the scenes involved callbacks of characters, games or catchphrases. For instance, Mermelstein initiated the game of instructing his daughter, played by Lili Gecker '13, to ask for money in increments rather than in lump sums. So, when Gecker and others bullied Dawson, they demanded he give them money in increments. This game recurred throughout the long-form, and it was invoked by different characters to good effect. After a multitude of characters, puns and one-liners, the show ended on a high note, with Crowd Control taking advantage of the fact that it was April 1 to tell audience-members that the last person to leave Chum's would get a special mystery prize. I write this as I lie beneath the blue couch in a darkened and locked Chum's, awaiting my prize.
(05/03/11 4:00am)
Into bizarre alternate realities? Enjoy over-the-top caricatures? Then Boris' Kitchen may well be the comedy group for you. Boris' Kitchen premiered "Armed and Legged," its annual spring show of all-original student-written sketch comedy this weekend, as part of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts. BK, founded in 1987, is the only live-action sketch comedy group on campus. Each semester, the group conducts a series of meetings in which anyone can participate, brainstorm and critique one another's ideas until about a month and a half before the show. At that point everyone submits their sketches and the directors and writing coordinators choose pieces to perform in the spring show. This year's show was comprised of 25 separate and unrelated sketches and involved more video shorts than in previous years, demonstrating the group's strong cinematographic and film-editing abilities. Some of the highlights of the show were Paul Gale's '12 video sketch "Old Men's Room" and Co-director Amy Thompson's '11 video sketch "Lint." In "Old Men's Room," Charlie Kivolowitz '11 plays an old man who lives with his wife, played by Briana Bensenouci '12, in a bathroom stall, conveniently filmed in the Mandel Center for the Humanities men's bathroom. When Peter Charland '14 enters the bathroom and tries to use the toilet, Kivolowitz treats him like an intruder and tells him to go away. When Charland persists, Kivolowitz pulls him into the stall, dunking his head in the toilet several times. Much of the humor in the show was derived from repetition: In this scene, Charland emerges from the toilet with a different gross and mysterious-looking material stuck to his face each time. In the final repetition, he has a piece of paper with the word "poop" written on it stuck to his face. The ridiculousness of the situation and the actors' spot-on, committed acting contributed to the success of this sketch, as did Kivolowitz's old man costume. In "Lint," Tricia Miller '12 and Christopher Knight '14 play an odd couple. Knight's character has an obsessive personality, but Miller's character is completely oblivious to Knight's crazy antics. All this is inferred from Knight's terrific acting and creative cinematography due to very little dialogue in the sketch. Instead, most of the shots are of Knight devising different ways in which to pick up a piece of lint he has dropped upon Miller's posterior by accident. With epic music reminiscent of parts of the classic 2001: A Space Odyssey soundtrack and fast cuts between scenes, this sketch worked extremely well and took full advantage of the film medium. Despite technical difficulties during Friday night's performance, on Saturday the sound and lighting worked perfectly thanks to the talented crew including lighting designer Robbie Steinberg '13, sound designer Jen Schiller '14 and projectionist Rachel Huvard '14. In addition, the costumes, designed by Jessica Rasp '13; the props, designed by Bryan Prywes '11; as well as the producer, stage manager and their assistants all contributed a great deal to the show's smooth execution, assisting in putting together a captivating performance with few lags or awkward pauses. Another highlight of Boris' Kitchen's shows are the transition music, compiled by cast and crew members, which wowed the audience as always.Of the sketches enacted onstage, perhaps my favorite was another by Thompson, co-written by Stephanie Cohen. In this sketch, entitled "Pee," Gale and Yoni Bronstein '13 play two friends eating together. The audience is left in the dark for a bit while Gale tells Bronstein about something he needs to do but can't, and Bronstein echoes everything Gale says, in reference to his own struggle. Through a combination of witty dialogue and wonderful comedic physicality, the audience learns that Gale has to use the bathroom and is afraid that Bronstein will eat his sandwich while he is gone. Thompson enters the scene at this point as a waitress, pouring water agonizingly slowly in contrast to Gale's hyperactive squirminess and evident pain, a relatable emotion for anyone who has ever had to hold it. The melodrama of the scene was heightened by the simplistic set and costumes, and the result was very funny.One common thread throughout the sketches was how they ended. Much like the illustrious and brilliant sketch group The Whitest Kids U Know, Boris' Kitchen's sketches usually extend a bit past the punch line. In "Armed and Legged," many of the sketches ended uncomfortably, either leaving the audience unsure as to what had just happened or beating the joke to death by continuing the scene for a few lines too many. Although punch lines worked well in a few cases, oftentimes the last lines of various sketches were unrelated to the rest of the sketch, thrown in for lack of a better way to end a scene. Boris' Kitchen has its own unique brand of humor. Although the cast of writers and performers changes year to year, with brand-new material presented each semester, the annual show always feels somewhat familiar, with a mainstay of "bathroom" sketches, scenes about children and a few "meta" pieces about comedy itself. "Armed and Legged"-which was co-directed by Thompson and Jordan Warsoff '11, and was the seniors' final show-stayed true to this standard, showcasing a variety of sketches that ranged from proper ladies making rap references to angels and demons escorting the deceased to their respective dwellings. While some sketches soared and others fell flat, the acting and video production skills were of an incredibly high caliber and definitely elicited applause, as well as laughter of course. The abundance and variety of material left me impressed, if not inspired to write a few more sketches of my own.
(04/05/11 4:00am)
The ticking of a clock. Moans of pain and ecstasy. Screams and laughter. Enter a world of madness. Lily Nagy-Deak's '11 senior thesis, Portraits of Madness, presented by Free Play Theater Cooperative, debuted last Wednesday in the Merrick Theater in the Spingold Theater Center. Focusing on the depiction of madness from the dramas of the ancient Greeks to present-day musical theater, Nagy-Deak chose 12 of the most poignant scenes from 10 different shows spanning this vast time period. Each excerpt, though taken out of its original context, worked well within the show to demonstrate the shift in the portrayal of mental illness on stage over time.Typical of Free Play, the show was thought-provoking and intense. From the moment viewers stepped inside the theater, they were submerged in a feeling of discomfort and other-worldliness. Center stage, Emily Bunker Peterson '13 sat perfectly still, confined to a chair and restrained by a straitjacket. Her eyes were covered and she didn't react to the sounds of the audience entering. This was the setup for the first scene from The Insanity of Mary Girard by Lanie Robertson, in which Peterson played Mary Girard, a woman sent to an insane asylum by her husband. Mary questions whether the voices inside of her head, played beautifully by the entire ensemble, are real or not, and the audience is thrown directly into the conflict. The choreography and sound were particularly amazing, especially in the aforementioned scenes. The choreography by Greg Storella '11 was key throughout the play, and the actors nailed it, circling Peterson and snapping their heads or arms in the same direction in perfect synchronization. As they tormented Peterson, it seemed that the entire cast of six people was moving as one cohesive unit, embodying the fear that existed inside of her. The sound, designed by Cynthia Simonoff '12, was amazing as well, involving a mix of prerecorded, eerie voices that contrasted with Peterson's live, more human voice.The sound didn't reach its high point within scenes, but during the transitions between scenes, the ticking of a clock was played in slowly increasing increments, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere. Unlike the usual protocol for scene changes, when the actors abandon their characters in order to make the necessary prop adjustments, in this production, the actors maintained their character motivations even during set changes, with mini-dramas going on in the seconds between scenes when the stage was dimly lit. This stood out because there was no break from the show, no time to sit back and relax or discuss what just happened with a friend. Rather, the action continued throughout, getting increasingly more and more intense. Another inspired scene was from one of the more familiar shows, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Alex Cadena '14 shone as the so-called sociopathic, McMurphy, who is forced to sit in on a communal therapy session with fellow patients, played by Aaron Berke '12, Alia Goldfarb '13 and Cathy Messier '13. While Dr. Spivey, played by Aidan Horowitz '12, and the menacing Nurse Ratched, played by Peterson, made the scene disturbing, the patients brought a note of comic relief to the drama with their blunt dialogue and strange physicality. Although the show was stimulating and intriguing, one of the challenges it faced was covering such a vast span of time (2,417 years) in such a short show. One of the solutions was the costuming, designed by Shana Burstyn '12, which matched the characters with their time periods to avoid confusion. Even so, the jump from Shakespeare's Hamlet and King Lear to The Insanity of Mary Girard (1979) and then back in time to The Shrike (1950) was somewhat jarring. Since most of the scenes dealt with the era from 1950 to 2009, the inclusion of Shakespeare and the Greek Orestes, while significant to the theme, seemed discordant with the rest of the show. Portraits of Madness ended on a note of hope, concluding with two upbeat musical numbers from Next to Normal. A talkback followed, giving audience members the opportunity to ask the performers and production staff questions about the show and the artistic choices that went into it, a smart way to end a show that was so thought-provoking and challenging.The actors and production staff, including lighting designer Elana Friedland '11, props designer Tess Suchoff '12 and stage manager Hannah Roth '14 did a great job of bringing the fantastic concept of the show to life in its execution, leaving the audience pondering the nature of madness as they left the theater and returned to the insanity of their everyday lives. Editor's Note: Aaron Berke '12 is an Arts staff writer for the Justice.
(03/22/11 4:00am)
The Music Department kicked off the semester with a night of opera selections on March 20, providing upscale entertainment to the Brandeis community at no cost. The show involved scenes from four operas: Mozart and Ponte's Cosi fan Tutte; Mozart and Shikanaeder's Die Zauberflote, also known as The Magic Flute; Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel; and Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors. The settings of the pieces spanned from the year 0 to the present day. As Robert McFadyen (GRAD), who served as the narrator for the night, promised, the operas truly did the job of "transporting" us through space and time. The first opera, Cosi fan Tutte, told the story of two sisters and their fiancés. The sisters, played by Sujin Shin '13 and Larisa Klebe '11, sang beautifully, their voices in harmony. The fiancés, played by Ethan Goldberg '12 and Yakov Israel '12, entered next, each singing an aria to his lady love. Goldberg's deep bass provided a great contrast to Israel's sweet tenor. With comic relief from Fiona Lockyer '13, who played the sisters' maid and support from Matthew Cohen '12, their friend, the show opened on a high note.The second opera, Die Zauberflote, told a somewhat more familiar story, made even more comprehensible by McFadyen's concise and entertaining synopses delivered before each opera. Ben Gold '13 starred as Tamino, an Egyptian prince who falls in love with a girl after glimpsing her portrait. This scene started out differently from the others. Gold ran onstage from behind the audience as he was chased by a serpent. The serpent's vivid blue costume brought both humor and excitement to the stage, as did many of the costumes throughout the night, constructed by Robin Farnsley and Roxanne Becker. The Queen of the Night's three "ladies in attendance" kill the serpent and then stop to admire the fallen Tamino. Ilana Pomerantz '13 shone as the most outgoing of the ladies, matching her vocal talents with her acting ability and, despite the language barrier, since the opera was performed in Italian, her gestures communicated the meaning of the song. The Queen of the Night, played by special guest artist Farnsley, garnered the most attention, both for her singing and acting and for her dress. Farnsley, who was attired in black velvet, dazzling earrings, a necklace and a crown, dominated the stage as she sang about her imprisoned daughter, who is the very girl with whom Tamino has fallen in love. The selection ended with a lovely duet between Papageno, played by Bradley Mahlof '11, and Pamina, played by Ariella Stein '13. After a short intermission, the show resumed-but this time in English. The second act had a faster pace and was more upbeat. First up was Hansel and Gretel, which was arguably the best part of the show because the actors put the most emotion into it, not just singing their hearts out, but acting them out too. Hansel, (Pomerantz) and Gretel (Jessica Petrino '13), looked the part of peasant children from the countryside in their 18th-century outfits, telling another version of the fairy tale with which most of us are familiar. After Hansel and Gretel are lost in the woods and stumble upon a beautifully constructed house made of candy, they encounter the witch who lives there, suberbly played by Matthew Shear '11. Shear, with purple hair, a witch's hat and outrageous, drawn-on eyebrows, made the piece hysterical, especially when dancing in a circle on a broomstick. The three featured singers of this opera did a fantastic job, giving a dark piece a sense of humor and joviality. Amahl and the Night Visitors, the last opera presented, was very funny as well. This opera was the most contemporary of the four, holding the distinction of being the first opera composed for television in the United States. This opera had more poignant one-liners and punch lines, such as when Kaspar, (Jared Field '11) sings to Amahl (Amelia Lavranchuk) '12 about his box of wonders, which contains necklaces and licorice-cures for any ailment. The three kings, played by Field, Mahlof and Cohen, worked beautifully together, livening up the scene and adding humor, especially when they stood in height order. Amahl and his mother, played by Alia Goldfarb '13, shone as well in their acting and singing, and the company was joined in the end by the entire ensemble of shepherds, composed of members of the University Chorus and Choir, the a cappella group Proscenium and professional singers. The night was a huge success, in large part due to the comedy, richness of the operatic selections and the singers' enthusiasm. Directed by Pamela Wolfe, a vocal instructor at the University, the show had a great flow to it, and the splitting up of the two acts definitely enhanced the production. In addition, enormous credit must be given to piano accompanist Sarah Wheeler, who played flawlessly throughout and made the music come alive. With an audience of students, staff and community members, the Music Department demonstrated that anyone can enjoy opera.Editor's note: Fiona Lockyer '13 is a News editor for the Justice and Sujin Shin '13 is an Arts staff writer for the Justice.
(02/01/11 5:00am)
"Penguins don't die!" exclaimed Avital Percher, a student from the University of Massachussetts-Amherst. Kendrick Gores '12 and Justin Alvin '12, each dressed in penguin costumes provided by the Animal Appreciation Club, proceeded to prove this point as they dodged bullets and bodies, mainly trying to avoid getting tackled to the ground. Such was the amped mood in the Shapiro Campus Center last Friday, when Game Knight, Brandeis' resident game club, hosted the first Nerf Gun War in as far back as anyone can remember. Game Knight president Jesse Appell '12 said the penguin costumes were "a last-minute addition" to the Nerf Gun War. "They did, however, make me think up the idea of an even better event . an absurdist Nerf gun war. Perhaps next year." The event, which ran from 9 p.m. to midnight, had students lining up to check in and pick up guns as early as 20 minutes before it started. "I was a bit worried that we'd get to 9 p.m. and people would arrive stylishly late and not give us the big boost of energy I wanted in the beginning. When I saw we had about 90 people waiting in line before 9 p.m. hit, I realized it would be an epic event," Appell said.Students from Brandeis and other schools in the area, including Harvard University and UMass Amherst, came to the event ready for action, many with their own Nerf guns in tow, or else looking to borrow one of the 35 guns Game Knight had in stock. One of the big draws was that the event was free, compared to the cost of laser tag and similar games off campus. Overall, about 130 students participated in the festivities, with about 50 people on the floor at a time. The night was divided into rounds in order to give everyone a chance to play, with the first two being free-for-alls followed by one round of capture the flag. The first round was pretty chaotic, with people shooting all over the place and taking cover behind couches, garbage cans or anything else they could find. Some, including myself, had trouble shooting their guns, which made the madness around them even more intense. However, even in the midst of all of the craziness-trying to reload my gun and figure out why it was jammed-it was just plain fun. All around people were bonding, helping one another pick up ammunition or apologizing for hitting each other in the face. Everyone was good natured about the "fighting," and anyone could participate. Even better, there were no "outs," so it was just about getting into the game and shooting your friends, rather than showing off or trying to be the best. With each subsequent round the madness increased, until at a certain point, people's stamina had started to drain and they began to trickle out of the building. The hard-core gamers stayed on until midnight, however, and enthusiasm ran high.Game Knight, which meets every Friday night in the Castle Commons, often partakes in activities of this sort, playing games ranging from Lap Tag to ones that members have created themselves, including "Crazy Hat Game," a variation on charades; and "Sock Wars." "[It's] just like when we were kids and didn't need video games or board games to have fun," said Appell, who wanted to host a Nerf Gun War to give students an opportunity to experience what Game Knight is all about. A unique facet of the club is that it gives students an alternative to going to parties or going to sleep on Friday nights, offering a tight-knit community based around games instead. Up until this point, the club has existed mainly on a word-of-mouth basis, without doing much recruiting for new members. The Nerf Gun War was the biggest event Game Knight has ever held. However, due to Friday's turnout, it seems that many more students may be interested in joining. Appell encourages them to do so and promises that the group will put on more big events on campus. "We're going to be organizing a massive game of manhunt in the spring, and possibly the second annual campuswide Glow in the Dark Capture the Flag event when the weather gets warmer." So, if you missed the madness of Nerf Gun War 2011, stay on the lookout for the next wild and fun time Game Knight puts on.
(01/25/11 5:00am)
Not being one for cheesy romantic comedies, I was a bit hesitant to see No Strings Attached, starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman, which opened in theaters Jan. 21. From the trailers, the movie looked cute but trite, raising the age-old question of whether friends can have sex without developing feelings for one another-like When Harry Met Sally for the modern age. Despite my initial doubts, No Strings Attached left a good impression on me. While some predictable parts of the movie lived up to my expectations, like the cliché role of Emma's (Portman's) flamboyantly gay roommate (Guy Branum) and a handful of offensive, low-brow date rape jokes, there was a charm to its quirky humor and off-the-cuff style. Elizabeth Meriwether's screenplay is delightful, and director Ivan Reitman succeeds in creating an atmosphere of gentle, awkward romance. The movie avoids the fate of most romance flicks, which resort to sappy, melodramatic platitudes. Rather, Portman and Kutcher are able to portray the tenderness of their relationship convincingly, with many of the more romantic scenes still remaining down-to-earth. The main question the movie sets out to answer is, "Can friends have sex but not develop emotional attachments to one another?" However, that question is never really explored, since Emma and Adam (Kutcher) obviously have feelings for each other from the start, even before they start sleeping together. Rather than answering the question it claims to ask, the movie falls into the more familiar genre of lovers afraid to open up their hearts after they've been burned. This gives the movie a somewhat shallow feel, as the deeper questions such as the meaning of love and how to separate the physical from emotional are never asked. Nor do we learn why the two would prefer to be friends with benefits over dating. Instead, we get cliché insights from her mother and sister about their baggage and the role Emma had been forced to take on within her family. A more in-depth psychological probing would have added infinitely more depth to Emma's character and would have made her relationship with Adam more compelling. However, despite its hollowness, the apparent chemistry between the leads and the realistic dialogue save it from lapsing into the territory of the boring and unfunny, where many romantic comedies end up. All in all, I would give No Strings Attached three out of four stars. It is a sweet story with a unique sense of humor and a moving tenderness. Portman and Kutcher outshine the rest of the cast by far and prove their worth in the romantic comedy genre. Portman, who just received the Best Actress Golden Globe for her role in Black Swan, seems much more comfortable playing the emotionally reserved, cynical girl to a tee than in her Swan role, which only required her to maintain a constant expression of nervousness and horror. Kutcher wows as well, proving that he can play parts other than the goofy, irresponsible teen, a reputation he earned for roles in Dude, Where's My Car? and That '70s Show. In this film, he plays a more three-dimensional, developed character-one who is not afraid to reveal his mature, caring side. Overall, it is truly the writing that makes this movie worthwhile, with dialogue that is funny but astute, cute yet realistic. Although it is not the movie to watch in your quest for the answer to life's questions, it is the right movie for when you need cheering up or are doubting the existence of love: light and easy, just as a romantic comedy should be.
(11/09/10 5:00am)
Last Tuesday, I attended a special performance of 18th century Scottish, English and American ballads, hosted by my English class, "The Tale," with Prof. Mary Baine Campbell (ENG), a course which investigates the question, "What has happened to the oral tradition?" At this point in the semester, we are studying the form of the ballad, which is a "story in a song," as Prof. Ruth Perry puts it, so Campbell invited her to sing for us in order for us to gain a richer appreciation of the art form. Professor Perry is a scholar of balladry and 18th-century fiction, founder of the Women's Studies program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and, most interestingly, a folk singer. She became involved with folk music when she was just a child. She would listen to the folk singers in Washington Square Park and write down what they sang. She attended many concerts and took in the music around her but didn't start actively performing until college. As a student at Cornell University, she joined the musicians' union and became president of the Folk Singing Club, a group that started out small but became hugely popular once the Kingston Trio made it big and folk music came back into style. She is now a member of the Folk Song Society of Greater Boston and a scholar of folk tradition.She has written eight books in the field of the 18th century and is in the midst of writing two more: one about Anna Gordon Brown, a folk singer, and the other on Jane Austen. Perry tried to impress upon the audience the importance of the ballads' historical context, as she believes that this greatly shapes songs' meanings. Perry shared information about Brown's life and contribution to the folk tradition, such as the fact that Brown's 14-year-old nephew transcribed his aunt's songs and annotated the music to accompany them in order to give the ballads to a friend of Brown's father, who was a scholar. This marked the first instance of a live transcription of a folk ballad, and Brown's versions of these ballads are still around today. Perry sang four ballads: "Child Waters," "Hind Horn," "Dowie Dens of Yarrow" and "Sir Patrick Spens." The songs were mostly Brown's versions, each telling a melancholy, morose story. After explaining a short glossary of key words, she launched into tune, producing beautiful sounds, opening her mouth only slightly as she sang. She stood very still, closing her eyes at times and gesturing almost subconsciously at a few phrases, adopting a Scottish accent and allowing herself to "be the vehicle" for the song. I felt completely swept away by the tune, my mind set adrift, which made it strikingly difficult to focus on the actual lyrics of the ballad, rather than losing myself in the melody. Ballads are unique because of their ability to tell a story within a song, both "leaping and lingering." They leap over great stretches of time, and then linger on specific scenes. Campbell aptly compared the structure of a ballad to that of a movie, since movies often start out with longshots, cutting away and later on, zooming in on certain scenes. Perry's ability to allow the songs to speak for themselves, combined with the historical context and background she provided for the art of balladry in general, made the music a pleasure to listen to and the stories really come alive. Although I do not consider myself a big fan of folk music, its ability to narrate a story through a song is really amazing, and it left such an impact on me that I found myself listening to clips of ballads on YouTube later that night. However, the Internet clips did not compare to the live performance I experienced, so if any of you have the opportunity to listen to live folk music anytime soon, I certainly would recommend it.
(11/09/10 5:00am)
Last Thursday's SCRAM Jam event offered students the unique chance to dance in an art museum. The once-annual event balances visual and musical art by hosting extended viewing hours for the museum while an open dance takes place in the Lee Gallery. A member on the Student Committee for the Rose Art Museum and an organizer of the event, Maarit Ostrow '11, says, "The idea behind it [SCRAM Jam] is to bring people into the museum who might not go otherwise and hopefully peak their interest to come back to see the art in a quieter setting and enjoy other events at the Rose." Hosted by the Fine Arts department and SCRAM, the dance allows students the opportunity to experience the Rose in a new and unique way.Although SCRAM has not been as active in the past 2 years, it was rejuvenated this year by Director of Academic Programming Dabney Hailey and some of the Fine Arts Undergraduate Departmental Representatives, particularly Rebeccah Ulm '11 and Emily Leifer '11. Ostrow describes the committee as "a mix of students who work at the Rose, Fine Arts UDRs and people who are generally interested in the Rose and ensuring that the museum is integrated into campus life." The committee is especially relevant today, at a time when Brandeis is still recovering from all the media and controversy surrounding the extensive priceless artwork in the Rose last year. In fact, the safety of the artwork was one of the museum's biggest concerns in regards to the event, and a multitude of Rose staff and SCRAM members worked throughout the night to ensure that no one broke the rules near the art. The pool of water at the bottom level of the museum also posed a safety threat-to students, that is-and at least one student was observed being told to move away from the water when he was lying down on the floor nearby for fear he would fall in. Select pieces of art were removed from the Rose for the event, and the Foster Gallery, which contains the "Regarding Painting" exhibit, was closed.The upper and lower floors were open for viewing, although most of the action took place inside the Lee Gallery, a large room downstairs, off to the side, in which no art is hanging. However, black and white visual clips were projected on the back wall, and colorful lights like that of the Mandel Center for the Humanities were bouncing across the ceiling, giving the party an artsy feel. According to Brandeis' website, 600 students attended SCRAM Jam in fall 2008. Although the attendance list this year was not quite as long, the group organizing the event ran out of free tickets to distribute the day before the event. Many people came and left throughout the night, making for an awkward, too-few-people-at-the-party feeling for the first half hour or so until the party started heating up and attendees gathered in the Lee Gallery, where the music was being played.There was an interesting mix of grinding and more conservative dancing taking place, as students again expressed doubt as to the formality (or informality) of the event. The music was well selected and mostly comprised of hip hop and R&B-typical "dance music." Although some songs did not seem danceable, the majority were fast and upbeat and got everyone moving.One complaint students had was that no food was served and that the drinks (Sprite and water for those under 21, who were not allowed in during cocktail hour) ran out pretty quickly. The drinks were also not allowed to leave the Gallery room in order to protect the artwork. Instead, students had to feast on the art. Although this makes sense at a museum, some students were disappointed at the formal atmosphere since they came for a party and ended up with a dose of intellectualism-whether they wanted it or not. All in all, the event was a good initiative on the part of both the Fine Arts department and SCRAM to increase student involvement in the Rose. More SCRAM events are being planned this year, and if they are as fun as this was, then they will certainly be worth attending.
(11/02/10 4:00am)
"Words are important; [they're] all that separate us from the mimes." This is one of the many jokes that comedian Myq Kaplan '00, the self-proclaimed "word magician," told during his stand-up routine in the Levin Ballroom last Tuesday. For Kaplan, an undergraduate at Brandeis 10 years ago, he saw his return to the University as a favor to the rest of us, since he's collecting back some of the money he paid to the school in tuition. The comedy show put on by Student Events was emceed by Devon Hermenau '11, a member of the Brandeis improv group TBA. Hermenau, who went by "MC Voltage" for the night, introduced members of the Boston-based improv comedy club ImprovBoston, who opened for Kaplan with a half-hour improv show. ImprovBoston began its routine with a game of "Pan Left/Pan Right," similar to the game "Cube," in which improvisers must rotate to the left or right, changing partners and scenes constantly. Although ImprovBoston was voted the No. 1 Comedy Club in Boston by The Boston Phoenix and puts on some very funny shows, their performance at this show felt forced and clichéd and did not get that many laughs. The peak of that performance occurred early on, when the comedians played a game in which two improvisers were each given an audience volunteer, whom they tapped when they needed suggestions for how to finish a sentence. The scene, which started out as a meeting between a teacher and a student, developed into an argument as the two accused each other of horrendous acts of misconduct, escalating the drama. The game worked so well in part because the audience volunteers suggested words that had no relevance in the context, such as "diapers" and "cocaine club," forcing the improvisers to justify their usage. The games were a good way to warm up the crowd, but overall, the group's performance was less than what was expected from such an illustrious comedy club. Once the improv part of the evening was over, Kaplan came on to start the stand-up portion of the night, commenting that there would be a lot of audience participation in his act as well, since he needed people to sit "there . and laugh." He began his routine with a rapid-fire succession of short, to-the-point bits, mostly based off of observations he has made in daily life. For instance, he talked about the fact that most rap CDs these days have a label which reads "explicit lyrics" on the cover, something he thinks is stating the obvious due to the nature of the songs, let alone the curse words apparent in the rappers' names. If Kaplan were to make a CD, his would read "implicit lyrics," and he would make ambiguous threats in his songs, like, "You know what I'm gonna do, I don't need to say it" Kaplan also promised he would say things he hadn't been allowed to say on NBC, referencing his recent rise to fame on the television show Last Comic Standing this past summer, where he came in fifth place. He then revealed these forbidden things, such as the fact that he preferred to watch CBS and thought other channels had worthwhile shows too. Much of his humor played on the audience's expectations, promising the audience something big and then giving us in return something much more obvious and more mundane-a technique which can have varied results.Many of the jokes Kaplan made pertained to Brandeis, Judaism or both. Kaplan graduated from Brandeis in 2000, and so in his routine he mocked many of the dorky Brandeisian traditions we have that he experienced during his time here as well. Some of these jokes included our sports teams being called the Judges (the bad guys on the other team better be scared!) and our mascot being a studious owl (he'll calculate why we're losing at halftime). Although his humor was relatable, it was at times too Brandeisian, playing to the fact that he had a mostly Jewish, liberal audience and making jokes that we've all heard before but still laugh at since we "get" them. One instance is when he asked if there were any goys in the audience, and then said that he wouldn't bother explaining what it meant because if you didn't know then you obviously were one. On the other hand, audience member Elana Friedland '11 said her favorite part was when Kaplan compared his ability to hide jokes to hiding the afikomen. He then made fun of his own joke, asking "Guess where else that [joke] gets applause? Nowhere."The best parts of his routine were humorous because of his awkward silences and self-critiques of his jokes and of the audience's reactions, reinforcing the Brandeis style of humor that seems to be very typical here. This is not necessarily a negative, but it was a bit eerie how similar his delivery and content were to most other comedy routines you hear at Brandeis, either by professional comedians or by students. His strengths did shine through, however, in his witty and original take on basic facts of life, like his concept of what science fiction must have been like in the time of the ancient Greeks, when they didn't have the technological fears we have today: "Beware, [there's a] pulley, [a] lever, [an] inclined plane-inclined to kill you."His ability to maintain a straight face throughout his act was also quite impressive, since comedians who break character and laugh at their own jokes often ruin it for the audience. Although his routine started off on an extremely high note and became a bit too topic-specific toward the end, Kaplan put on a good show overall, making the audience laugh with his witticisms and wordplay. After the show, people lined up to talk with him and buy his CD, many even asking for his autograph, proving that Brandeis can give birth to good comedians, and not just doctors, as some might think.
(11/02/10 4:00am)
False Advertising, Brandeis' oldest improv troupe and its only musical one, took to the Merrick Stage last Thursday for its annual Spooktacular Halloween show. The group always celebrates Halloween with a different theme, this year's being You're A Dead Man, Charlie Brown. The improvisers went all out with makeup and costumes to embody the characters of the Charlie Brown gang but with haunting touches of bloody death attached to most. This unique blend of horror and comedy was well-received by the audience, who laughed loudly at the opening act, in which Linus (Jeremy Slosberg '11) narrated the story of how each member of the cast met his or her death. The characters entered the stage one at a time and silently acted out their deaths as he announced them, doing so in an over-the-top and melodramatic fashion that befitted the show. Although this was the only part of the night that was scripted, one of the biggest laugh-getters occurred when Schroeder (Louis Polisson '12) fell to his death atop his keyboard, his head causing one of the instrument's pre-programmed musical tracks to play. Even when you try to escape improv, you wind up doing it.The opening act culminated in all of the characters rising from the ground, crawling downstage in a zombie-like manner and echoing Linus' last words, "Writing and waiting, writing and waiting." The group dove right into the improvisation then, calling on a member of the audience for a suggestion of "the worst thing to lick." Upon receiving the word "cactus" as their prompt, the improvisers created and performed a long-form sketch that spanned a number of themes. Abandoning their Charlie Brown characters, the players took on numerous roles throughout the night, producing laughs, particularly with their uses of physical humor. In one scene, Michael Zonenashvili '13 played Zane Relethford's '13 son, sitting on Relethford's lap and climbing all over him, putting himself in awkward physical positions. Relethford responded to his son's movements by telling him to settle down, prompting other members of the group to enhance the humor by calling for a flashback to the son's first date. Relethford left the stage and Matt Eames '13 went on as Zonenashvili's prospective date, ringing the bell to his house only to be greeted by Zonenashvili launching himself into Eames' arms and grabbing hold of him, maintaining the same physical awkwardness of the previous scene. Another flashback involved Relethford being surrounded by the rest of his children all assuming monkey-like positions, clinging to his body. Other examples of False Advertising's skill at physical comedy included Slosberg's and Eames' embodiment of Siamese twins, fused together to cut down on health costs, and other improvisers' interactions with the one prop onstage, a black box. Ari Salinger '12 and Zonenashvili performed a scene in which they struggled to push one another off the box, silently. Zonenashvili ultimately won, breaking the silence by proclaiming "This is why we're best friends!" as he turned to Salinger for a high-five. Heddy Ben-Atar '11 and Salinger continued this thread, chasing each other onstage and accidently knocking into the box when they heard a voice coming from within it. The voice, played by Zonenashvili, who remained offstage, ordered the children to lift up the box, but then yelled at them for actually considering doing so. Ben-Atar and Salinger, at first fearing the box, decided to sit on it to suffocate it, Salinger breaking the silence with a poignant "He's dead, we can play again!" following Zonenashvili's character's death. The long form ended on a heartwarming scene of a capella singing involving Salinger and Relethford.A birthday announcement followed, with the group calling the birthday girl onstage; they sang her "Happy Birthday" and peer-pressured her to eat the birthday cake they had baked her, berating her for not eating quickly enough. The group's musical long-form, titled "Just Business Acquaintances," was the highlight of the show. Polisson, the group's pianist, took the stage once again, providing musical accompaniment for the improvisers as they all performed the fast-paced group number "Business." Relethford and Ben-Atar created the plot by establishing Relethford as a phone salesman for a credit card company and Ben-Atar as his boss. The absurdity of the situation unfolded as Ben-Atar told her employee he had to smile while talking on the phone in order to brighten the customer's day and with Relethford protesting that the customer couldn't see his smile over the phone. At the same time, Ben-Atar was unintentionally sabotaging his conversation with the customer by telling him to put the client on hold each time she wanted to give him advice. Slosberg and Michael Shemesh '14 picked up this strand in a later scene, in which Shemesh played a persistent salesman and possible scam-artist who called Slosberg to sell him a box-set of Rob Schneider movies. While Schneider jokes are often overused, Slosberg and Shemesh were still able to squeeze humor out of the joke by singing a duet that largely amounted to a list of Schneider's roles in movies and their commentary on them. The rest of the group joined in the scene, singing harmonies as they danced across stage behind the improvisers. Although the focus of musical improv is not usually on singing ability, Andrea Verdeja '14 shone as a singer in her scene with Salinger, playing an abusive wife juxtaposed with his silent, subservient role of husband. Her voice as well as her quick wording sustained the scene as she sang about his failure to bake her apple pie. Although he was silent in this scene, Salinger demonstrated his skill at rhyming and wordplay in other scenes, rhyming "solitaire" with "easy chair" in reference to Ben-Atar's activities while at work and making up other memorable lyrics.False Advertising's improvisers put on a very quick-witted and lyrical Spooktacular show. The group's particular skill at awkward physical comedy and its ability to relate scenes to previous ones (known as making callbacks) made their show a success, and their enthusiasm and passion was evident throughout. Happy Halloween!Editor's note: Zane Relethford '13 is a member of the Justice copy staff.
(10/26/10 4:00am)
"We should honor everything about our lives." This was just one of the many pieces of advice that Michael Klein, author of two memoirs and two books of poetry, offered up during the course of his poetry reading event last Tuesday. The event, put together by the School of Night and co-sponsored by the Mandel Center for Humanities, took place in the Mandel Center Reading Room and was attended by faculty and students. While promoting his new book of poetry, then, we were still living, Klein interwove his readings with anecdotes, reflections on the art of writing and blunt advice on life. He believes that people should appreciate everything around them, a view which prompted him to write a poem about the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive-commonly known as the FDR-a highway on the east side of Manhattan that is always clogged with traffic. As a New Yorker, he hates the highway and always hears complaints about it, which made him want to find some redeeming quality to then write a poem about. Tidbits like these made Klein's poetry reading that much more personal and engaging.Klein started off the night by reading some of his older poems, including "5 Places to Have Sex," a poem about sexual fantasies, which he would be presenting at a gay and lesbian potluck reading at City College in New York the following day. He was very frank about his sexuality, joking that the reason he writes is so that he can afford cosmetics: "I like beauty products. . I'm gay." He also joked about his discomfort with reading a graphic poem aloud to an audience of strangers but said that he would do so anyway. He read only the first portion of the poem, which tells the story of a man who encounters another man on the train reading a book to whom he is attracted. The second man continues to read while getting more and more aroused by the first man's presence. The first begins to massage the other, and the poem culminates in their mutual satisfaction. Listening to Klein read is an experience unto itself, separate from enjoying the content of his poems, which is beautiful in its own right. His tone is extremely lyrical and melodic, emphasizing certain words and stretching out specific syllables. He imbues his poems with these same qualities, since he believes a large part of writing is listening to the sounds of words and the flow of sentences. Sometimes, he likes to listen to classical music while writing, as he did with his memoir, Track Conditions, which derives its title from his stint as a groom for the award-winning racehorse Swale. The music "informed the language" of the book, although, he admitted, sometimes listening to music can be too distracting for him while writing. In the question-and-answer session following his reading, he explained that he is "always listening; not thinking as much as I am listening." Prompted by questions, Klein talked about his writing and editing process. He believes everything should be revised and says that only two of the many poems he has written over the years have not been edited. When writing prose, he writes paragraphs in no particular order and then arranges them later. Regarding poetry, he is often more focused on word order than on the words themselves, since the words either feel right or they don't, but the word sequence is what gives the line its structure. A disdainer of clichés, he strives to come up with as many original lines as he can and suggests doing an Internet search for a line to see if it comes up before using it in a poem. He makes some exceptions, however, such as the line, "The body is everywhere," which he borrowed from a friend's work for his own poem "Ghosts." From the start, he knew that his poem would end on the line, "The body is everything." Klein says that sometimes you know what the arc of a poem will be-where it will start and where it will end-even before beginning it. Another one of his poems with a poignant conclusion is "The Gift of Prophesy," which tells the story of a person who is continuously telling half-truths to avoid the truth. After the reading, Klein was asked to repeat the last line of this poem, a true testament to its power. It ends on the line, "What nobody/Can say, I am living of something." At the end of his reading, Klein took a bow. After taking several questions, he wrapped up the night with some reflections on the process of creating a one-man show (a process he went through with his act 10,000 Men Have Touched Me) and advice for budding writers, to which the community of English and Creative Writing teachers present contributed a great deal. At the conclusion of the presentation, copies of Klein's latest book of poetry were sold, and he talked one-on-one with anyone who was interested, autographing books as well. The reading was infused with humor, creativity and honesty, making it a pleasure to attend, and hopefully he will be returning to Brandeis soon with more writing to share.
(08/31/10 4:00am)
Friday, Aug. 27, marked the official beginning of the Brandeis 2010 to 2011 academic year, with the campus' four improvisational comedy troupes performing a half hour each at our beloved coffeehouse, Cholmondeley's. As a frequenter of the university coffeehouses, an improv enthusiast and a student of comedy myself, it was a comforting homecoming for me to attend.The room was abuzz with excitement. Chum's was packed, perhaps the most crowded it ever gets throughout the year, with people coming and going throughout the night and a crowd of about 110 people in the room at any given time standing-room only. Normally, each of Brandeis' improv troupes (TBA, Bad Grammer, Crowd Control and False Advertising) perform independently, booking slots at coffeehouses hosted by other clubs or having exclusive semester-end shows. The only other times they unite are at monthly Improvaganzas, which take place the last Thursday of each month, when members of the different groups improvise with each other indiscriminately. However, Friday night's comedy performances included a mix of all the troupes, offering each a chance to showcase itself, a rare sight at Brandeis. A large part of the show was self-promotion, with the groups announcing their audition dates and times, all scheduled for this upcoming week; the pressure was on.TBA was up first, warming up the crowd with several short-form games. The group does both short and long forms of comedy, as well as improv-inspired sketches, meaning that they often intersperse their improvised scenes with scripted vignettes, called sketches, resembling those of Saturday Night Live or Mad TV. This show concentrated on improv, in which they played a line game of "My dick is so -," asking the audience to fill in the blank with adjectives and then making one-liner jokes. After that, they performed a long-form off the suggestion "Hot fudge," and David Ronn '11 presented a monologue about his love for fondue without ever mentioning the word itself and instead describing a vague dipping process. The group had only four improvisers performing, all of whom were male. Much of the humor involved gay couples and homoerotic tension, but improvisers were able to make it feel original by sporting foreign accents, spy action and hints of racism.Next up at bat was Bad Grammer, a group that also performs both short and long types of improv, but focused on short form at the show. Short-form games, similar to what you would see on Whose Line is it Anyway? are more structured, with audience input and clearly defined rules but are also more gimmicky, limiting the amount of emotional depth the characters can reach within a five-minute scene. Bad Grammer had the most audience interaction of the night, with crowd pleasers such as the game "Survivor," in which multiple improvisers start a scene but are voted off one by one by the audience. The improviser who receives the most applause must exit the stage, leaving the remaining characters to reproduce the scene, forcing them to take on multiple personalities. In the end, there is one improviser-in this case, Talya Davidoff '12-who had to stay onstage and alternate between four characters. Bad Grammer is known for its mascot, the "Catapus" (combination cat and platypus), whose name they encourage the audience to call out when they need to signal the improvisers.Third up was Crowd Control, Brandeis' youngest comedy group, celebrating its fifth birthday this year. Crowd Control is now one of the University's biggest groups, coming out in fine form with nine performers. The group specializes in long-form improv (a group of interconnected scenes inspired by a single suggestion) but plays short-form games as well. Crowd Control began their half hour with a long-form, diving into scenes involving rappers, femininity and just how far someone is willing to go to save his cousin. The group got the most laughs when characters from initial scenes came back in later scenes, repeating catch phrases and maintaining odd characteristics, such as extremely high and low-pitched voices. Their show wound up with a line game of "I once dated a -," in which the audience supplies a noun for the improvisers to play upon, ending on a joke by Paul Gale '12 about the sitcom Friends, based on the suggestion "paleontologist." The last group of the night was False Advertising, which has the distinction of being Brandeis' only musical improv group. The troupe, whose pianist graduated this past year (they are seeking a new accompanist) performs musical as well as nonmusical long form, demonstrating their versatility. They show off their flexibility often in the form of gymnastics-offs between troupe members Jeremy Slosberg '11 and Zane Relethford '13, each of whom can fit both of their legs around their necks and perform other amazing physical feats. The group started off its set with a bang, asking an audience member, "Where is the worst place you could lose a hamster?" and basing the rest of its long-form off her answer, "a strip club." Although it lacked musical instruments at this show, the group still managed to weave some singing into its long-form Friday night as Ari Salinger '12 created a character who sang while he worked and then coerced his co-worker, team member Heddy Ben-Atar '11, into singing along. When all the performances had ended, the audience reluctantly left Chum's, having enjoyed an evening of improvised fun. Friday night's show was a good sampling of the world of comedy Brandeis has to offer. Anyone who has an interest in joining one of the groups is invited to come to auditions this week or check out the open rehearsals that some of the groups hold weekly. Here's to improv! Clink!Editor's note: Zane Relethford '13 is a Justice copy staff member.
(04/27/10 4:00am)
Some might think that no human event can continue for 24 consecutive hours and still be funny. Well, they might be right, but who cares what they think? It's still a cool feat to accomplish, which is exactly what this year's set of improvisers did at the sixth annual Brandeis Improvathon, hosted at Cholmondeley's from 7 p.m. last Friday until 7 p.m. last Saturday. Members of all four improv groups-Bad Grammer, Crowd Control, False Advertising and To Be Announced-joined forces to bring laughter to the world and raise money in the form of donations for the Oxfam Charity. The event was organized collaboratively by a few of the improvisers assembled into a committee by Crowd Control member Paul Gale '12.The marathon of improvisation comes with certain traditions and rituals that have been venerated over the years. First and most importantly, all of the improv groups are represented at Improvathon, bringing them together in a way only paralleled at Improvaganza, a monthly event also hosted at Chum's. However, improvisers are not the only ones who go onstage to perform. Due to the delirious, exhausting nature of the show, the improvisers are bound to get tired, and audience members are encouraged to try their hand at improvising. By 4 a.m. it's difficult to think up new and original "I like my women like I like my ." jokes, and any contributions are appreciated, from audience members or even passersby. Special recognition must go to Abraham "Abe" Roisman '10, who, although not a member of a Brandeis-recognized improv group on campus, is still an accomplished improviser at heart. Roisman is credited with lasting the longest of all audience members and improvisers, spending almost all of the 24 hours at Improvathon, except for a brief break to visit a friend's dorm.The second rule of Improvathon is that someone must be onstage at all times. This rule was invoked when Roisman called out frantically, "Wait! There are no improvisers onstage!" at one point. However, his fears were subdued once it was established that someone always had to be onstage, but not necessarily one of the members of the improv groups. And besides, Roisman was deemed an honorary improviser by all present, due to the extreme dedication he demonstrated to the cause. Another time, during Sleepover Hour (each hour was assigned a theme), Ida Chelengar '12, a member of False Ad, was assigned to perform a scene that involved touching each and every window inside of Chum's. In order to allow her to do so, the other improvisers agreed to stay onstage while her character drove around in a car and hit each and every window.Another Improvathon tradition is the exchange of kisses for money. While donations are requested at the door, people are also encouraged to pay a dollar and choose which two improvisers they would like to see kiss onstage as part of a scene. These kiss assignments resulted in much hilarity, for instance when False Ad member Zane Relethford '13 resorted to getting down on his knees and singing a love serenade to a reluctant Jeremy Slosberg '11, another member of his troupe, although he was ultimately shot down. By the end of the night, even some nonimproviser audience members were goaded into kissing-all for the sake of charity, of course.It's pretty hard to do the same thing for 24 hours without variation, so the improvisers routinely incorporate different improv games and forms into the show. These games ranged from "Flock of Seagulls" to "Ding" to long-forms (one story inspired by many short, interconnected scenes), and each brought a much-needed aspect of creativity and change to the stage. Musicality is also a huge part of Improvathon, since what is more amazing than watching people improvise songs onstage? However, something key to Improvathon this year was freestyle rapping. Due to people's enthusiasm to experiment in a new field from their usual, and perhaps in part due to a lack of keyboard, almost all of the improvisers partook in freestyle rapping throughout the night, singing over famous beats. Often ignoring the designated theme of the hour, they instead spit rhymes about an array of topics ranging from their pets to saltwater taffy and have performed with an astonishing amount of skill. The most poignant moment of the night/morning came when Roisman and Crowd Control member Maya Siegel '10 sang personalized love songs to people in the audience, truly breaking down that old fourth wall.The most touching tradition (aside from the kisses) is the communal shouting of "__ hours down, __ hours awesome," which is called out every hour on the hour. By the end of the 'thon, Saturday at 7 p.m., everyone had gone back to their rooms to sleep at one point or another, but many of the improvisers came back to end the night in style. After 24 hours happily devoted to improv, I think it's safe to say everyone left with a heavy heart, as many made their bleary-eyed ways down to Gosman Sports Center for the 12-hour overnight Relay for Life, another charity fundraiser. Well, don't let anyone say Brandeis students just sleep all day!Editor's note: Zane Relethford is a member of the Justice Copy staff.
(04/20/10 4:00am)
Authors find inspiration from all different kinds of media. For award-winning novelist and Brandeis aluma Jennifer Gilmore '92, that inspiration came in the form of her grandmother's diary. She was sorting through her grandmother's possessions when she came across the diary, and upon leafing through it, she was struck by the thought that it could have been written by anyone of any generation. Taking that idea, she went on to write her first novel, Golden Country, released in 2006, which follows the saga of Jewish immigrants in New York through multiple generations. On the other hand, bestselling author Anita Diamant's motivation to write her latest novel, Day After Night, came from her experience on a trip to Israel, where she took a tour of the remnants of Holocaust detention centers. She recognized a story that needed to be told in the lives of people who escaped Atlit, a detention camp during which the British jailed Holocaust survivors going to Palestine. Her novel depicts four characters in similar situations, young women who have to create new lives for themselves after surviving the Holocaust and fleeing to Palestine. Diamant says she was inspired by Virginia Woolf's feminist novel A Room of One's Own as well. Both Jewish female novelists, Gilmore and Diamant came together on April 13 to discuss what goes into their writing in a panel titled "The Personal and the Political: Historical Fiction and the Jewish Experience." The event, sponsored by the Creative Writing program and moderated by Prof. John Plotz (ENG), featured each author reading an excerpt from her latest novel, speaking about her writing process and then answering audience questions. Although Gilmore and Diamant have each written so-called historical novels, including Gilmore's latest book, Something Red, they differ in their opinions on what it means to write historical fiction. Diamant was inspired by the history she encountered in Israel, but oddly enough, she doesn't consider herself a historical novelist. Diamant is perhaps best known for her first novel, The Red Tent, a New York Times bestseller that is a retelling of Bible stories from the perspective of Dinah, Jacob's only daughter. However, despite the historical time periods that both of these novels are set in, Diamant refrains from categorizing herself as a historical novelist because she believes her novels are just as much about fictionalized stories as they are about the time periods during which they take place. In contrast, Gilmore believes that "all novels are historical to some extent," since they record and reflect the views of the times. She pointed out that even if a book is written about the contemporary period, by the time it comes out it is no longer current, and so each book is a time capsule from its era. In her latest novel, Something Red, Gilmore tells the story of a boy who attends Brandeis in 1979 and becomes involved in social activism and the radical movement. Gilmore pored over photographs from the period in order to maintain historical accuracy and capture the mood of the times correctly, paying great attention to detail. When asked why she made the decision to name Brandeis as the protagonist's college rather than simply implying its identity, she responded that the more specific a writer can get, the better, because readers relate to details. She believes that including details such as cultural references from the era or products that were popular at the time helps evoke a sense of the decade for the reader. Diamant agreed, even suggesting that as soon as the reader spots one factual inaccuracy in the book, his faith in the author's credibility is destroyed and he cannot continue to believe the narrative. However, she also warns against overloading a novel with detail, in which case she says her editor tells her, "Your research is showing."Another issue the two authors addressed was that of the role of Judaism in their novels. Gilmore spoke to the Jewish theme in Something Red, saying that the Jewish experience is innately tied to political radicalism, and so it only made sense for her protagonist to discover his inner radical while at Brandeis. On the other hand, Diamant discussed the difficulty of writing a novel relating to the Holocaust because of the inherent issues of discussing such a deeply emotional, disturbing event, especially one which took place so recently in history. She felt it was an issue she could tackle because, as she says, "I never learned what the Holocaust was. I knew what it was, like a table or a chair." But rather than trying to tell a Holocaust survivor's story, Diamant specified that in her book she tells four fictional characters' stories, to which she hopes the eader can relate. "Characters should be possible, probable ... inevitable," as Diamant said.Both novelists presented themselves articulately and intelligently. They provided insightful words of wisdom-enough to convince people to purchase their books, which were sold at the end of the panel. The panel, which was split between talking about their latest novels and the creative writing process, proved a success. Although some of the questions addressed to them were challenging or critical, they put great thought into each response and answered quite knowledgeably. On a closing note, they even managed to bring some light-hearted humor into the discussion. When discussing the hardship of writing a novel about such recent history, Diamant admitted that Gilmore's latest novel was set in a more recent time period than hers, implying that it would be harder to maintain a sense of realism due to reader's recollections of having lived through the 1980s. However, she laughingly pointed out that Gilmore's struggle was nothing compared to hers because "the Holocaust trumps everything.
(04/20/10 4:00am)
There usually aren't any venues around Brandeis where you can go for some gospel music and a taste of early 19th-century R&B, or even some soul. However, that was not the case on April 17, when the Brandeis University Chorus put on a concert featuring poems and music from the Harlem Renaissance. In fact, the concert included a variety of songs and genres, from spirituals to Broadway show tunes to gospel. With the entire University Chorus decked out in flowing black robes for the ladies and tuxedos for the men, Slosberg Recital Hall was transformed for a night into a combination church and jazz club with dimmed lights and a soothing feel. Under the direction of Prof. James Olesen (MUS) and with fabulous piano accompanist Ben Cook, the Chorus shone as the music reached the audience's ears. The concert began with two rousing poems by James Weldon Johnson and Countee Cullen, performed by Derek Strykowski '10 and Kristina Birthisel '13, respectively. The performers recited their poems as if in response to one another and showed passion and emotion in their delivery. Following their poems, the entire chorus performed three rhythmic spirituals, with solos by sopranos Sarah Pace '13 and Amelia Lavranchuk '12. From the start, the spirituals felt full-bodied and strong, resonating through the auditorium with power. The piano accompaniment gave the songs a gospel-like feel combined with the image of the organ behind the singers, onstage. Sarah Pace sang beautifully in her solo, a call-and-response section with the tenors and basses. The songs flowed so smoothly into one another that it was hard to differentiate between them, but the last song, "Holy Spirit, Don't You Leave Me," stood out because of the austere, religious quality the voices took on, and Lavranchuk's high soprano solo provided a nice contrast to the hushed tones.Each set of songs was prefaced by a selection of poems in order to provide a smooth segue from one genre to another, some with better results than others. The next series of poems, for instance, dealt with religion, and Emily Griffin's '10 dramatic performance of "The Creation-excerpt" provided a nice segue into three spiritual songs sung without piano accompaniment in a choir-like tone. The tenors and basses represented their sections beautifully in "My Lord, What a Morning," singing out with more power than their numbers would suggest and engaging in a nice harmony with the sopranos and altos. The two other spirituals, although performed well, felt too controlled, performed in a classical way; rather than allowing the singers to get into the groove of things, lacked feeling at times.Fiona Lockyer '13 reinvigorated the show with an emotional performance of Langston Hughes' poem "Dream Variation," leading into more jazzy songs representative of the Harlem Renaissance, such as "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" and "In a Sentimental Mood." The second song, featuring the quartet of Katharine Pena '12, Amy Englesberg '12, Matt Lawrence '10 and Matthew Cohen '11, started quiet but then grew louder and more passionate as the entire Chorus joined in. The quartet brought feeling to the song by smiling and swaying to the rhythm, especially Englesberg. After two poems about violence and hatred, Heller School for Social Policy and Management staff member Alexandra Rubington swept the stage with her rendition of "Summertime," the famous jazz standard from the opera Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin. Gershwin composed the song in the 1930s in an attempt to create a spiritual in the style of African-American folk music. The effect is an operatic, high-pitched song that makes an emotional plea with the audience to continue believing. Rubington was a sight to behold as she showed such emotion while at the same time displaying her range and control of her voice, and the Chorus' hushed support added to the song's impact. Although there were many wonderful performances, the highlight of the night was indisputably Nicholas A. Brown's '10 performance of "I Wasn't Going to Tell Nobody," the last song of the night. Brown led the audience in clapping with the beat, an essential element to any good gospel song in my opinion, and expressed his emotions openly for all to see. The praise song sounded joyous and upbeat, and it became jazzier as it went on. Brown excelled in his singing, but it was his open exuberance and enthusiasm that took the song over the top, evoking big rounds of applause and ending the concert on a brilliant note.The concert was a great mix of Harlem Renaissance poetry and songs with a good selection of both spiritual and jazzy music. Some songs didn't capture the enthusiasm and spirit that their gospel nature intended, an artistic choice that resulted in perfect pronunciation but perhaps a bit too mechanical a performance. All in all, the show was a success, and my biggest complaint was the absence of the customary spread of food at the end of the show, a feature I have gotten used to and grown to expect from past concerts I have attended. However, the Chorus' performance was terrific, and I walked away happy that most of my cravings had been satisfied. Editor's note: Fiona Lockyer is a Justice editorial assistant and Matt Lawrence is a Justice staff writer.
(04/13/10 4:00am)
"Why, in Chinese theater, are women always played by men? Because only men know how women should act." As Song Liling (Dani Gurfinkel '13) tells us, gender roles are not always clearly defined. M. Butterfly is a show fraught with confusion and deception that culminates in the question of what it means to be in love. Beautifully portrayed by the Brandeis Players, directed by Aaron Arbiter '10 and produced by Asya Bashina '12, it tells the tragic story of Rene Gallimard and Song Liling. The story of M. Butterfly is likely familiar to most audience members since it is an adaptation of the Italian opera Madame Butterfly, in itself a spinoff of the musical Miss Saigon. The play, written by David Henry Hwang in 1988, was inspired by the true story of Mr. Bouriscot and Mr. Shi, two men who were put in jail for treason against the Chinese government in 1986. Although the two men were together for 20 years, Mr. Bouriscot claimed he had not known that Mr. Shi was a man, due to his disguise as a Peking opera singer, provoking great disbelief throughout the world. M. Butterfly takes these two men's relationship even further, exploring the boundaries of love and explaining the ambiguities of their romance. Before the play even begins, Rene Gallimard, played by Daniel Liebman '12, draws the audience's attention by sitting downstage, staring off to the side as if in deep thought. Gallimard then proceeds to address the audience, explaining sardonically that he is being held in a French prison. He then takes the audience through his memories, tracing the path he took to get to the jail. We follow him to the first time he met Song Liling, the man whom he came to call Butterfly. Gallimard, a French civil servant, is a guest at an ambassador's party when he encounters Song, who is performing as the title character in the opera Madame Butterfly. Mistaking Song for a woman because of his costume, Gallimard proceeds to flirt with Song, soon becoming enamored of him. Gallimard, a man who never found love in his Western life and is trapped in a loveless marriage, is intrigued by Song's Chinese ways and lives out his fantasy of having a submissive Chinese mistress over whom he has complete power. The dynamic relationship between Gallimard and Song (Liebman and Gurfinkel) is a pleasure to watch, and the two convey a feeling of passionate, controlling and yet tender love quite convincingly. Gallimard becomes more and more preoccupied with testing the limits of his control over his seemingly subservient mistress, while unbeknownst to him and to the audience as well, Song exerts control over him as well. In an interruption from Gallimard's retrospective narrative, Song reveals that he is acting as a spy for the Communist Chinese government, seducing Gallimard in order to uncover classified information. However, Gallimard does not become aware of this betrayal until 20 years have passed and their relationship has progressed to the point that Song presents him with a son whom he claims to have borne. In the end, the Chinese government punishes Song for disloyalty to the country when they discover he has been engaging in homosexual acts with Gallimard, and for enjoying the luxuries of being an actor while his peers labor all day in the fields with little to show for it. He is sent to a re-education camp and then told to return to Gallimard in order to get more information from him. Gallimard is put on trial for treason against the French government and Song testifies against him in court. He states that Gallimard passed on information about the French government to him although he cannot answer when he is asked whether Gallimard knew at any time what he was doing, or whether he was aware of Song's gender. In the final scene, after Song strips naked for Gallimard, admitting what Gallimard has suspected all along, that Song is a man, Gallimard rejects Song, claiming he doesn't love him but loves Butterfly, his ideal woman, who exists only his mind now, and stabs himself, choosing fantasy over reality. The stage, with a minimal set of Chinese screens along the background and sides, and a few pieces of furniture, increases the tension we feel at seeing Gallimard alone onstage, speaking directly to us. The hugeness of the space was apparent, as well as the clash between old-world Asian culture and new-world imperialist European culture, brought to life by the juxtaposition of furniture and the set. The costumes added to the realism of the show as well, giving it a very authentic feel and staying with the theme of the clash of cultures.The moving story is told mostly from the point of view of the jailed Gallimard with interjections from Song and his colleague, Comrade Chin (Cathy Messier '12). The entire cast does a great job of establishing characters and conveying the theme of the feuding old and new world cultures, with a great distinction between Gallimard's European friends and colleagues (Bryan Belok '12, Leila Stricker '13 and Adam Patterson '11) and the Asian characters (Messier, Rishika Assomull '13 and Jessi Fixsen '12). Gurfinkel presents an intriguing, disturbing view of Song, the calculating, deceptive man who remains aloof throughout. Praise must also be given to Fixsen's portrayal of Helga, Gallimard's wife, who embodies the well-to-do politician's wife and puts up with Gallimard despite the horrible, neglectful way he treats her. Another actor who brings great life to his character is Patterson, who plays M. Toulon, Gallimard's laughably pompous and insensitive boss, among other roles. Liebman shines as Gallimard, carrying the show through his portrayal of Gallimard's multiple facets; he is at all times the awkward, insecure little boy of his childhood, the suave womanizer, the cruel sadist and the unwitting fool. Liebman does a terrific job throughout, and so the ending, when he takes his own life and transforms himself into the Butterfly, putting on Song's wig and traditional Chinese performance makeup, is entirely moving and true to character. Editor's note: Rishika Assomull is an illustrator for the Justice.
(03/02/10 5:00am)
Board-chopping. Fashion shows. Singing. Where do all of these beautiful art forms come together? At K-Nite, the annual Korean cultural show hosted by Brandeis' Korean Student Association. This year, K-Nite brought together the ancient art of tae kwon do and modern dance, the fashions of the old days and the new, traditional Korean songs and Korean pop and much more. People of all different nationalities were in attendance to watch the breathtaking performances and celebrate historic and contemporary Korean culture. The show started with Tecktonik and modern dances and ended with a traditional fan dance, displaying the dancers' talents at synchronization and wielding fans. The modern dance performance, which resembled a hip-hop performance, included many different styles and songs all meshed together in a nice sequence. The fashion show that concluded the first act stood out as well, as students paraded onstage in different traditional outfits, including wedding costumes and the garbs of a king and a queen. The costumes were extremely elaborate and of all different colors and cuts. Perhaps the highlight of the show was the tae kwon do performance by Ku's Tae Kwon Do Academy, which involved students of all ages performing a series of captivating stunts. The martial arts students performed routines, sparred with each other and even leap-frogged over one another before breaking wooden boards in half with their feet. These epic feats each roused applause in the audience, especially for the young children who performed some of the astounding moves. Lastly, Master Rodriguez performed a move in which he kicked cigars completely out of three people's mouths, coming within inches of their faces.The music component was emphasized in the second act, when the Poongmul (traditional Korean drummers) performed in a semicircle on the floor, followed by the KSA band, which performed modern Korean music with electric guitar, bass and a drum set. The contrast between traditional Korean music and modern Korean pop was evident in the juxtaposition of these two musical acts. The first had a natural, spiritual feel, the second was more exciting and lively, and the two blended well together.The K-Nite show was a success, combining old and new aspects of Korean culture and showcasing the KSA members' dedication and talents. During intermission, KSA members handed out Korean flags and books on Korean culture and traditions, and after the show a Korean buffet was offered, encouraging people to take a sampling of the culture home with them. Editor's note: Justice staff writer Sujin Shin participated in K-Nite 2010.
(02/09/10 5:00am)
The SunDeis Film Festival was started five years ago by a group of students who believed there should be a forum for film students to get their work out there. Intended to unify and strengthen the film community at Brandeis, new plans for SunDeis may now be dividing it.SunDeis started small and grew each year, drawing in more and more submissions from student and independent local filmmakers and encouraging a greater appreciation of the art of film. The annual festival has developed hand-in-hand with the Film, Television and Interactive Media Program, which started out offering only a few classes in the Film Studies minor but over time has grown to the point that in 2008 the University created a major for it.As of last year, SunDeis' future was in jeopardy. Due to substantially reduced funding from Student Activities and a lack of leadership, rumors abounded that SunDeis would be canceled this year. In response, the Film program, headed by Prof. Alice Kelikian (HIST), offered to ease the financial burden on Student Activities by co-sponsoring SunDeis in partnership with BTV.According to BTV president Avi Swerdlow '10, who also serves as undergraduate departmental representative to the program, the organizers will create a SunDeis 2010 planning committee. It is composed of seven to 10 people, mostly from BTV and the Film program, although as in years past, the committee will expand to include students not necessarily connected to either group. The sponsors also plan to offer prize money for the first time and bring high-profile speakers to campus, as permitted by the newly expanded budget."I think it's a good reflection of the film community that's growing on campus," says Swerdlow of the organizers' goals. On the other hand, Illona Yuhaev '11 and Tom Charging Hawk '10, who were involved with SunDeis in past years, do not think that these changes are for the better. Yuhaev believes that with the Film program's involvement, the festival would no longer be truly student-run. She advocates a neutral planning committee comprised of interested students not necessarily affiliated with the Film program or BTV, and she wants these students to have the power to decide which student films will be screened.Kelikian is eager for the program to become more involved in organizing SunDeis because of the potential to "broaden the festival," making it more inclusive of the entire film-making community, with an emphasis on alumni outreach, the greater Boston area and celebrity guests and judges. Kelikian maintains that the festival will continue to be student-run but asks, "Why should we limit ourselves?" She hopes the involvement of people outside of the Brandeis community may create more opportunities for student filmmakers and attract larger audiences to screenings and panel discussions. Although Yuhaev admits the Film program could contribute significant funding and make the festival larger than it has ever been before, she feels that in the long run, "It is better for students to have a voice." Yuhaev feels that by taking over sponsorship and trying to engage bigger names in the film community, the program is endangering SunDeis' future. "If it's not going to happen through students then it's gone, it's going to die," she says. She fears that the Brandeis community will forget about SunDeis if the program absorbs most of the control over it and that the festival will lose its significance.As a result, Yuhaev and Charging Hawk have started efforts to create a separate festival not affiliated with the department, which would be "completely student-run." Yuhaev and Charging Hawk organized a "Save SunDeis" meeting held on Thursday in the Getz Media Lab to raise student awareness of what is currently happening with the festival. Yuhaev has gone forward with plans to execute what she considers a truly student-run festival, which will focus on students' work and give any interested students the opportunity to help organize the festival, select judges and screen submissions without rigid demands from the Film program being placed on them. In this way, she hopes to create a solid base of students who can carry on the tradition and assume roles of leadership once the current organizers graduate, ensuring SunDeis will remain for years to come.Even as both festivals are in the planning process, attempts are being made by all parties involved to form some kind of compromise, since, as Yuhaev says, "It would be a waste of resources" to have two festivals. Swerdlow agrees, adding that it might come off as confusing to students. "We just want to make it as open and inclusive as possible," he says, which is why the program's festival coordinators held a town-hall style meeting yesterday, to which all interested parties were invited, in order to reflect on the goals of the SunDeis festival and offer everyone the chance to become involved in the activities. Until the two sides can reach an agreement, both will continue planning separate film festivals, with some confusion over rights to the name "SunDeis" and the timing of the two festivals. Either way, there will certainly be no lack of film festivals at Brandeis this spring!
(11/24/09 5:00am)
This week marked the run of the Hillel Theater Group's production of The Dybbuk, a play that explores traditions found in Hasidic Judaism and delves into the mystical world of the unknown. Much of the dialogue throughout the show refers to historic events in Jewish culture and ethics of Judaism, and the central action takes place within a synagogue and nearby graveyard. Although the show raises many interesting questions of ethics and morality, the production seemed to struggle to make a show about Hasidic Jews from another era accessible to a secular, contemporary audience.The plot centers around the thwarted romance between Leah (Rachel Garbus '13) and Hannan (Jacob Chatinover '12). Leah's father, Sender (Jeff Horowitz '10), has repeatedly attempted to marry her off, but each time the bridegroom's family has failed to live up to his extremely high standards. While several rabbinical students are sitting around a table in the synagogue discussing Jewish parables, Sender is busy trying to betroth his daughter for a fourth time. The students are theorizing when a mysterious figure, known only as the Messenger (Maayan Bar-Yam '12), arrives and engages them in debate. Bar-Yam's portrayal of the Messenger is very intriguing, but one is left wondering what his role is in the series of events that transpire, a question that is left hanging throughout the play. At times, the Messenger interacts with all of the characters, while at other times he is seen or heard only by Leah, leaving the audience in confusion as to whether he is some type of other-worldly spirit or a real person.One difficulty with the production is the challenge involved in following the long-winded, detailed discussions in which the characters frequently engage. Although these discussions of morals make one think, they tend to be preachy and seem more like abstract philosophical questions thrown into the mix at random than relevant questions of ethics. The story is quite discursive, leading us down several routes only to abandon them later in search of the love story between Leah and Hannan.Leah and her grandmother go to the synagogue to pray for the soul of Leah's mother, and Leah is happy to find Hannan studying biblical texts there. The two shyly exchange looks as she approaches him only to be drawn away by her grandmother. Soon after the women depart, Sender returns to the synagogue with the good news that he has finally betrothed his daughter. Hannan, distraught by this news, soliloquizes over his inability to understand kabbalah. However, after an epiphany, he immediately falls down dead, his body lying in front of the Torah ark. In the next scene, Leah is preparing for her wedding day and is bothered by something she cannot identify. She dances with a group of wedding guests, but the exertion overwhelms her and she starts to feel faint. Confusingly, many of the female characters are played by males costumed in very comedic, "feminine" outfits, or with physical characteristics such as hunched backs and crutches. These depictions seem awkward and out of place. It is not clear why the director made these choices. Increasingly agitated and exhausted, Leah faints, and the authorities determine that she is possessed by a dybbuk, or a "wandering soul." Her father and grandmother immediately bring her to Rabbi Azrael, beautifully played by Dan Forman '10, and he begins to perform an exorcism. With the help of Rabbi Samson (Sam Fowler '13), it is discovered that the dybbuk is the lost soul of Hannan and that he has possessed Leah's body in order to prevent her from marrying anyone because of a promise made by their parents before they were born. Hannan feels that he is Leah's soul mate because of this pre-destined promise and refuses to give her up to someone else. The ghost of Hannan's father is summoned and he claims that he and Sender had agreed to marry their children to each other long ago, before the children were born. He accuses Sender of breaking this promise, and Sender confirms the claim, although he tries to justify his actions. Although the truth has come to the surface, Hannan's father's ghost does not accept the rabbi's pleas to ask Hannan to leave Leah's body. While the rabbi wants to proceed with Leah's wedding to her new bridegroom and believes he can vanquish the dybbuk, Leah and Hannan prove him wrong by uniting under a marital canopy carried by four spirits dressed in white. The show ends on an ambiguous note, leaving the audience to decide whether Leah has killed herself in order to be reunited with Hannan or whether she is still alive and they have been reunited in a purely spiritual sense.Garbus plays a possessed Leah brilliantly, maintaining a sense of realism and invoking compassion for her character in an otherwise unbelievable story. Although several actors imbue their roles with great passion, the production did not capture the essence of mysticism which plays such an integral part in the Hasidic experience. We are left wondering and disturbed. Although questions of rabbinical authority are raised many times, in the end it is the dybbuk, or perhaps the power of love, that triumphs over all.Editor's Note: Jacob Chatinover is a member of the Justice Copy staff.
(10/27/09 4:00am)
Lot's Daughters is a play about sexuality, gender, religion and oppression set in the 1940s. Sitting amid an attentive, intimate audience in South Campus Commons, one couldn't help but feel transported to the locale of the play's setting-rural Kentucky during World War II. The actors portrayed their characters brilliantly, depicting intense emotions and thoroughly embodying their roles throughout the production. Despite the small cast size (only nine actors), each actor did an amazing job of creating a sense of a small, Midwestern community while engaging the audience in the drama and leaving little wanting, as evidenced by the audience's sniffling at the show's completion.Lot's Daughters, by Rebecca Basham, is the story of two young women, Gertie and Susannah, growing up in a fanatically religious town where men have all the power and women struggle with their confined roles. References are made to the Old Testament story of Lot, and parallels between the biblical text and the girls' situation are obvious throughout the show. The drama leaves viewers wondering about faith and pondering how people can twist and distort religion to meet their own means. Gertie Cobb, powerfully played by Leah Carnow '12, is the protagonist of this story as she questions her relationship with her brother Waincey's (Yoni Bronstein '13) new wife Susannah (Jessi Fixsen '12). Waincey and Susannah, having only met once, marry the night before Waincey must leave for war, leaving Gertie to take in and provide for her new sister-in-law. Gertie helps Susannah learn her own self-worth by showing her tenderness and affection, in great contrast with the treatment Susannah has received from the men in her life. However, as Gertie and Susannah grow closer, they are forced to question the nature of their relationship and whether it is a sin, both because of their romantic feelings for each other and because of Susannah's legal ties to Waincey. Carnow and Fixsen shine as they make a series of emotional discoveries throughout the story, in tears one moment and professing their love the next. The two actresses play off each other amazingly and seem to have real chemistry. Bronstein does a great job portraying Gertie's clueless older brother, and although his character is away at war for most of the show, when he is present he provides some much-needed comic relief.Added to a story already fraught with trouble is the presence of Brother and Sister Rankin, who are husband and wife and the town's religious fanatics. Brother Rankin, as played by Hank Lin '10, is a character of ambiguous morality until a confession from Susannah allows the reader some insight into the true dynamic of the town. Lin excels in his role, walking to the very front of the stage during his sermon and demanding who will confess before him, making audience members feel as though he is speaking directly to them. His ranting is accompanied perfectly by Rachael Barr's '10 disturbing portrayal of Sister Rankin, as she proceeds to speak in tongues and convulse in seizures on the floor of the church. A true testament to Barr's skill is her ability to create sympathy for her character despite the way she treats Gertie and Susannah and the hate she propagates. The two create a dynamic team of villains. The cast is rounded off by a crew of supporting characters, including Susannah's abusive father, Harlan Hicks (Benjamin Witte '11) and a young man looking for love, Junior Dobbs (Stephen Badras '13). Although these male figures are on stage less than the female leads, they play influential roles all the same and contribute to the audience's understanding of the gender roles within the town. Another important character is that of Gayla Faye (Erica Lubitz '12), a young woman suffering under circumstances similar to those of Gertie and Susannah. Gayla and Junior Dobbs are responsible for carrying the subplot of the show and do so commendably. Lubitz portrays a sympathetic Gayla, a flirtatious girl who has been forced into marriage to an older man but has not given up hope for a better future for herself. Perhaps the most touching moment of the show comes when Gayla speaks to Gertie about her happiness over her pregnancy. She explains to an innocent, confused Gertie that knowing she will create a new life gives her a sense of power and hope that she has not had before. In the end, Gayla's example offers Gertie an alternative to acceptance of her repressed life as she leaves town and starts a new life with Junior.Perhaps the most amazing aspect of the show is the actors' accents, which lent the whole production an air of authenticity. With a bare stage, few props and sparse scenery, the burden rested on the actors to get the story across, a feat they pulled off masterfully. Students and parents alike left the show puzzling over what the show had made them feel and think, evidence of a successful production.
