Things were aflutter in Harper Joy Theatre last Sunday as thespians and crew members prepared for a dress rehearsal of the second non-instant play of the term.
The play in question––”Shooting Simone” by Lynne Kauffman––runs from Nov. 7 to Nov. 10, and is to be the first big production of the year to make use of the Freimann Studio Theatre, a space more commonly known as the Black Box.
The play features a considerable historical bent and focuses on the relationship of intellectual super-couple Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, played by sophomore Caroline Rensel and first-year Alec Foote, respectively. Senior theatre and French double major Ryan Campeau, who is directing the play for her senior project, spoke about the work involved in heading the production.
“Since about May I’ve been working with all my designers for the set, lighting, costumes, props, and doing research to better my knowledge since the play is based on historical figures,” she said. “I’ve read literature from these two figures, read biographies, cast the play and worked with all the actors, giving them what I can to help them better portray the characters.”
Despite the mountain of work, Campeau remains chipper and passionate about the whole affair.
“The entire process has been very exciting,” she said. “I’m so excited to have audience feedback. After tech weekend, it looks so beautiful.”
Rensel, who plays the title character, spoke on her experience inhabiting the famous feminist thinker.
“If you go into Penrose there are shelves and shelves of stuff [de Beauvoir] has written and stuff people have written about her,” she said. “Discovering all the work on her was pretty frightening, because she is pretty iconic.”
Rensel also commented on the space where the show is to be performed.
“It’s so much more intimate. On the Alexander Stage small motions don’t read, but the Black Box allows you to have a lot more subtlety. And from an audience perspective, it’s much more interactive in a way and a lot more fun––it’s like being in someone’s living room,” she said.
The play’s small cast also prominently features juniors Susannah Ellis and Nicky Khor, who play different characters in each act.
Tickets for the show can be collected at the Harper Joy Box Office, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.-4 p.m. weekdays.
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