Love's Labours Lost to premier this weekend
Maria, played by Lee student Andie Phillips, delighted by her lover’s sonnet.
photo from Portico.com
The second half of the Lee University Theater 2016-2017 season will resume with the Shakespearean classic "Love's Labours Lost."
Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 10 - 11 and 16 - 18 in the Buzz Oates Theatre, in Lee’s Communication Arts Building.
Tickets are sold at at the Communication Arts Box Office Monday - Friday, 3 p.m. - 6 p.m., and one hour before curtain time. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children and seniors.
Love's Labour Lost is a comedic tale of four young men who set out to abstain from all pleasurable distractions in pursuit of learning, but end up falling in love against their will.
"In the time that a student is here for four years we want to make sure that they get experience in working on a variety of types of shows," said Dr. Christine Williams, director of Love's Labours Lost and coordinator of the theater program. "It was time for us to do Shakespeare."
The premise of the play resonated strongly with graduating senior Dumisa Moyo, who plays Lord Berown in the play.
"The play is about four bros who forgo the pleasures of the work in pursuit of higher learning. Enlightenment through pain," said Moyo. "I think the [Lee University] covenant is just that."
A reoccurring challenge faced throughout the rehearsal process was the language.
"It's not every day language, which is easier to memorize," said Dr.Williams.
Moyo encountered this problem to a greater extent as an acting member of the cast.
"It was challenging to not only learn the longest monologue in Shakespeare history but it was also challenging to sink into the role while also spitting out these incredibly complex sentences," Moyo said.
To remedy this issue, supporting cast member Rachel Kirkland shared how she overcame the challenges.
"We'd all meet up to go over lines. It's the only way to learn it," said Kirkland. "You can't read it in your head and memorize it, you have to actually do it with everybody else to memorize it."
When going to see this play, one can expect a harmonious interplay between actors and the set. Much effort and thought went into crafting the sensory experience, according to Williams.
"I'm a big believer that Shakespeare shouldn't be done in a theater. It becomes boring when doing scene changes. It's meant to be performed with scenes flowing into each other," Williams said. "Shakespeare's theater is a thrust theater (which is the actual set up). Where the audience is set up on most of the sides of the stage."
This particular set design was designed by theater student Megan Kinney in a scene and set design class.
"Megan Kinney did an incredible job with the set. It's pop art. If you look at other Shakespearean plays and how they are supposed to look, they definitely don't have these colors or shapes," said Rachel Boover, a scene and set design student. "I think it will definitely add a dynamic to the story."
Moyo is confident that beyond the theatrical experience, the audience will leave with an impactful message.
"I think that Lee University students can learn a lot from this play," said Moyo. "It's okay to indulge in the pleasures of this earth. That is how you learn about the earth. It's not from books."
