Behind the scenes of 'Hedda Gabler,' students research play
Jancy Nightingale
Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: Arts
The lights illuminate the stage, revealing an authentic American late-1950s living room. The show begins. Characters clothed in the fashions of the time enter the scene, conversing in the decade's dialect. "Hedda Gabler" comes to life, but each show-enhancing detail has resulted from dedicated research known in theatre as dramaturgy.
It's the "capstone class for every theatre major," said Professor of Theatre George Angell, who directs "Hedda" and teaches a semi-annual dramaturgy class for theatre majors.
The class conducts behind-the-scenes research and helps form a director's ideas for one of the year's productions. Held in the fall, the students' work usually anticipates an upcoming spring play. But "Hedda" was an exception, with both class and production taking place this semester, said senior Katelyn Rasmussen, a class member.
Other "Hedda" productions have portrayed the title character as evil and deserving of a sad fate. Considered the "female Hamlet," Angell wished to reveal a sympathetic side to the Hedda character. It's his main reason for directing the play, he said, and added that criticisms on Hedda's decisions can also refer to the famous tragic character, Oedipus Rex, who also makes questionable moral decisions yet still elicits sympathy from the audience.
Since dramaturgy students must do most of the research, Angell limited his directorial research over the summer to reading 15 translations of the script. He entered the school year only certain about setting the play in America during the late-1950s, he said, but chose areas of interest, from costume and set elements to philosophical and dialectical analysis, for his class to examine.
Senior Natalie Scarlett analyzed feminism during Ibsen's life - born in 1828, he lived in Norway until his death in 1906 - and late-1950s America to understand exactly what stereotypes feminists revolted against.
"I was shocked by some of the images I found, the blatant sexism in a lot of these advertisements," Scarlett said. She continued, describing a particular advertisement for shoe polish in the 1960s. "It said 'Keep her where she belongs' and I was just shocked. These advertisements were mainstream, and they were just accepted."
Rasmussen looked at productions of "Hedda Gabler" since 2000, studying how modern audiences viewed those shows and, specifically, their reaction to the Hedda character.
"It's hard to describe the characters because they are very real," she said. "They have aspects of them that [the audience] may hate or admire or see part of themselves in, which can always create various reactions."
A dramaturgical display sits in the Sage lobby outside Markel Auditorium, which exhibits all the effort put into the production. Scarlett created a slideshow of her findings for the display, and Rasmussen's research is part of a special booklet within the program.
As for the show, Angell hopes to surprise the audience with his modern interpretation of the play.
"We've made pretty significant changes in the script," he said, mentioning he brings one pivotal scene from behind curtains to center stage, two feet from the audience. After such extensive researching and adapting, he's interested to see the audience's reaction, he said.
"The show's a piece of realism," Angell said. "It's not about what people ought to do, but what people do. A lot of Ibsen's works are about self-actualization, how people live their lives out and choose to demonstrate their beliefs through action."
It's the "capstone class for every theatre major," said Professor of Theatre George Angell, who directs "Hedda" and teaches a semi-annual dramaturgy class for theatre majors.
The class conducts behind-the-scenes research and helps form a director's ideas for one of the year's productions. Held in the fall, the students' work usually anticipates an upcoming spring play. But "Hedda" was an exception, with both class and production taking place this semester, said senior Katelyn Rasmussen, a class member.
Other "Hedda" productions have portrayed the title character as evil and deserving of a sad fate. Considered the "female Hamlet," Angell wished to reveal a sympathetic side to the Hedda character. It's his main reason for directing the play, he said, and added that criticisms on Hedda's decisions can also refer to the famous tragic character, Oedipus Rex, who also makes questionable moral decisions yet still elicits sympathy from the audience.
Since dramaturgy students must do most of the research, Angell limited his directorial research over the summer to reading 15 translations of the script. He entered the school year only certain about setting the play in America during the late-1950s, he said, but chose areas of interest, from costume and set elements to philosophical and dialectical analysis, for his class to examine.
Senior Natalie Scarlett analyzed feminism during Ibsen's life - born in 1828, he lived in Norway until his death in 1906 - and late-1950s America to understand exactly what stereotypes feminists revolted against.
"I was shocked by some of the images I found, the blatant sexism in a lot of these advertisements," Scarlett said. She continued, describing a particular advertisement for shoe polish in the 1960s. "It said 'Keep her where she belongs' and I was just shocked. These advertisements were mainstream, and they were just accepted."
Rasmussen looked at productions of "Hedda Gabler" since 2000, studying how modern audiences viewed those shows and, specifically, their reaction to the Hedda character.
"It's hard to describe the characters because they are very real," she said. "They have aspects of them that [the audience] may hate or admire or see part of themselves in, which can always create various reactions."
A dramaturgical display sits in the Sage lobby outside Markel Auditorium, which exhibits all the effort put into the production. Scarlett created a slideshow of her findings for the display, and Rasmussen's research is part of a special booklet within the program.
As for the show, Angell hopes to surprise the audience with his modern interpretation of the play.
"We've made pretty significant changes in the script," he said, mentioning he brings one pivotal scene from behind curtains to center stage, two feet from the audience. After such extensive researching and adapting, he's interested to see the audience's reaction, he said.
"The show's a piece of realism," Angell said. "It's not about what people ought to do, but what people do. A lot of Ibsen's works are about self-actualization, how people live their lives out and choose to demonstrate their beliefs through action."
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