Ex-wives who shoot the family dog, uncles who lust after their 18-year-old nieces and illegal immigrants who sneak into America. Sound like the lineup for a daytime talk show? Not in this case.
These are just a few of the scenes one might come across walking by the Studio Theatre in the Curry Student Center any given night of the week.
The Theatre Department has begun production on its two fall plays, “A View From the Bridge” by the late Arthur Miller and “Italian-American Reconciliation” by John Pat-rick Shanley.
A joint audition was held Sept. 7 for all students interested in being a part of the productions. Students prepared a one to two-minute monologue and read both plays prior to the audition.
Del Lewis, director of “Reconciliation” and head of the NU Center of the Arts, said about 60 people auditioned, which he said was an impressive turnout considering the two plays have a combined cast of only 21.
However, Lisa Martin, a senior theatre/cinema major, who is stage manager for “A View,” said auditions happened very quickly. With first call on Wednesday, callbacks on Thursday and posting of the cast list on Friday, it was “long nights and a lot of hard work for the directors,” she said.
With the stress of auditions out of the way, both casts have begun memorizing their lines, developing their characters and immersing themselves in the rehearsal process. “A View” is a dramatic play that centers around Brooklyn longshoreman Eddie Carbone and his secret lust for his 18-year-old niece, Catherine. The situation is complicated when his wife’s cousins, Marco and Rodolpho, illegally immigrate from Italy to Eddie’s front door.
The cast of 16 has little over a month before opening night; they are rehearsing six days a week, with only Fridays off.
Managing rehearsals and school can be very difficult, and for some Northeastern students the rehearsal process can seem like having two full-time jobs.
“Doing a show is like having a job, but you’re not getting paid for it,” said Brian Petersen, a senior theatre major.
Petersen plays Eddie Carbone in “A View.” Besides taking on a lead role, he is also on co-op, working full days as the master carpenter for Justin Townsend, Northeastern’s new Design/Technical Director.
Brian said he is proud to work for the Studio Theatre both on and off stage. Off stage he is eager to learn from Townsend’s vast theatre experience both in New York and Los Angeles, and on stage he said he likes the fact that the NU Theatre is very “ensemble based, meaning that no one person is more important than the show.”
While rehearsals for associate director Nancy Kindelan’s “A View” are already in full swing, Del Lewis’ production is starting off a bit slower. His small cast of five currently meets only twice a week.
Because both plays are sharing an actor (junior Mike Satow), Lewis said he wants to just get started with rehearsals and hopefully get ahead of the curve. He will have to take a considerable break from rehearsals while Satow performs in mid-October. After that, however, his cast will begin rehearsing seven times a week, Monday through Friday and twice on Sunday, up until their mid-November performances.
This year the Theatre Department will only put on one large-cast production, which will allow for a number of smaller plays to be directed by various professors. Lewis said he usually directs the musicals and larger cast productions and is pleased to work on a show with a smaller, more intimate cast this time around.
