With the privilege of mounting the first Second Stage production of the semester comes a few challenges. How does a production team go straight into action after an idle six week break? The answer: you pull together a team of Wesleyan theater all-stars and act fast.
“The Pillowman,” a play by Martin McDonagh, tells the eerie story of the writer Katurian K. Katurian (Matt Alexander ’12) and his brother. The product of his maniacal parents’ (Tess Jonas ’15 and Christian Schneider ’14) creative experiment, Katurian writes a series of disturbing short stories in response to his troubled childhood. The plots of his stories begin to intertwine with the activities of his slow-witted brother (Zach Libresco ’13) as well as recent murders of children in his town. The play uncovers the truth about the murders and Katurian’s own horrifying past while questioning the virtue in death.
Director Nathan Perry ’12 and designer Evan DelGaudio ’12 collaborated to bring McDonagh’s play alive in the ’92 Theater. They knew that putting together a show at the start of the semester would not be easy, but they persevered in their quest to make the production match their vision. The team arrived at Wes well before the end of winter break to construct an unbelievable set designed by DelGaudio. As the script revealed crucial plot twists, DelGaudio’s intricate set design complemented the story with complex space configurations. The scenery used a confined setting to make audience-members feel as though they, too, were trapped with two very intimidating police officers (Richard Starzec ’14 and Julian Silver ’12) in a small interrogation room.
The actors were presented with an interesting rehearsal schedule upon joining the “Pillowman” team. Although the cast rehearsed prior to winter break, they had about two weeks to reconvene between returning to Wes and opening night.
“I could have eight weeks, and I’d still be rushed,” said DelGaudio on the accelerated rehearsal process. “I’m always raising the bar.”
However, the cast showed no signs of panic. By the night of the dress rehearsal, usually an infamous time in the theater world, the actors conducted themselves with flawless rhythm.
“They’re the best people to work with that I could have possibly gotten in the world,” said Perry.
The show immediately set an atmosphere of fear and anxiety in the first scene. Silver and Starzec were particularly unsettling as Ariel and Tupolski, two menacing police officers who question Katurian about his alleged crimes. The playful banter, when coupled with the threatening statements of the police officers, made the interactions especially creepy. The audience couldn’t help but laugh at Starzec’s nervous tics, but this became very uncomfortable when the next second he pulled out a gun.
Jonas, Schneider, and Maddy Oswald ’14 also gave captivating performances as the characters in both Katurian’s fictional and authentic murder plots. In an extremely high-volume show, one of my favorite scenes was between Katurian and his brother, Michael (Libresco)—both Alexander and Libresco captured the complexities of brotherly love, with a few tender moments mixed in with typical sibling quarrels. The damage resulting from their sickening childhood shone through in their convincing performances.
DelGaudio certainly realized his goal to keep raising the bar. The cast and crew ought to be extremely proud of what was truly a memorable performance in the ’92. “The Pillowman” set an unbelievable standard for Second Stage shows this semester.