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updated November 2, 2009
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Drama Club Displaying Comedic & English Talents in “Noises
Off” Play
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Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Drama Club members will let the audience
observe the shenanigans, chaos and frustrations that go into creating a
dramatic production while presenting the hilarious farce “Noises Off” as the
college’s fall play.
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Ready For Two Productions: Working double time to produce the
play-within-a-play production of "Noises Off" are Rose-Hulman
Institute of Technology Drama Club members Jack Pringle (front);
second row (from left) Marcie Huber, Emily Yedinak, Chelsea Howard
and Alice Forehand; and top row (from left) David Pope, Jarod
Markley, Alex Cochrane and Travis Vanderberg. |
The show continues Thursday through Saturday in Rose-Hulman's
Hatfield Hall Theater, starting at 7:30 p.m. each night. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $8 for non-RHIT
students and youths. Seating is reserved and tickets can be purchased at the
Hatfield Hall ticket desk from 1-5 p.m. or by calling (812) 877-8544.
“Noises Off” is really a play-within-a-play with the audience following a
motley and disorganized theater company as it rehearses, performs and just
tries to make it through the production of the dreadful sex comedy “Nothing
On.” Each of the three acts of “Noises Off” contains a performance of the
first act of “Nothing On” -– covering the dress rehearsal on the night
before the show’s opening, a matinee performance one month later and a
performance near the end of the show’s production schedule.
Along the way, doors slam, identities are confused, and chaos –- and
sardines -- reigns.
"’Noises Off’ is about doors and sardines, and getting on and getting off
(stage) –- getting the sardines on, getting the sardines off. That’s farce.
That’s theater. That’s life,” said David Pope, a senior who plays Garry
Lejeune, an easily fired up actor with disappearing speech affectations.
“’Noises Off’ is a hilarious play which everyone who has any kind of sense
of humor should see. That being said, who wouldn't want to be the one making
people laugh?”
Written by English playwright Michael Frayn, “Noises Off” gets most of its
comedy from the variations in each production version as off-stage chaos
affects on-stage performance –- in thick English accents.
“By the end of the play everything is falling apart,” observes Chelsea
Howard, a senior who plays Belinda Blair, a cheerful and sensible actress.
The play also features seniors Travis Vanderberg as Frederick Fellowes, an
actor who often questions the meaning of his lines and stage movements;
Marcie Huber as Poppy Norton-Taylor, the emotional and over-sensitive
assistant stage manager; and Jarod Markley as Selsdon Mowbray, the elderly
alcoholic who conveniently finds his hidden bottles throughout the stage;
and junior Alice Forehand as Dotty Otley, a forgetful middle-aged actress
who is in charge of the sardines. Newcomers to Rose-Hulman productions are
freshmen Alex Cochrane as Lloyd Dallas, the temperamental director of the
play “Nothing On”; Emily Yedinak as Brooke Ashton, a young and inexperienced
actress who rarely takes stage direction; and Jack Pringle as Tim Algood,
the stage manager.
“The play has been a wonderful challenge for our students, learning the
British accents and the play-within-a-play concept,” states Rose-Hulman
Drama Club Director Bunny Nash. “I thought this cast had the comedic wit and
acting ability to pull off this hilarious farce, and they have done a great
job. It is a fun show -- for the audience, the cast and the production
crew.”
Nash cautions that the show contains some adult language and situations that
might not be suitable for younger audiences.
Developing the thick British accents haven’t been challenging to cast
members, according to Huber. She has been using the accent throughout the
school day to get comfortable with the vocal inflictions.
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On The Couch: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Drama Club
actors Travis Vanderberg (left), David Pope (top) and Chelsea Howard
(right) attempt to comfort Alice Forehand during a scene from the
production of "Noises Off" on the Hatfield Hall Theater stage. |
This is Huber’s fourth year in Drama Club productions, having appeared in
“Three Musketeers,” “Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,” “Wizard of Oz” and
“Once Upon a Mattress.”
“The best part of performing in the Hatfield Hall Theater is that the
technical talent surpasses any you would see at a normal school, as opposed
to our wonderful engineering techies,” she states. “Drama Club is like a
family to me. It is my home away from home.”
Howard concurs after being part of Drama Club productions “Scapin,” “Crazy
For You” and “Night of the Living Dead.”
“The wonderful theater and crowds that come are amazing for the vibe and
thrill of acting,” she said. “’Noises Off’ is a small, comedic play which
always makes it enjoyable to be around your peers.”
Meanwhile, Pope, another veteran Rose-Hulman stage performer, sees Drama
Club productions as providing a wonderful change of pace during a hectic
senior year of design projects, laboratory assignments and job interviews.
“Drama Club productions give an escape from the engineering way, not that
there’s anything wrong with all-engineering, all the time,” said the
mechanical engineering major. “It’s nice to have breaks here and there.
Also, the people are great.”
The fall production once again features the set design talents of Technical
Director Greg Stump and a large student technical staff. The “Noises Off”
set is the largest constructed for a Rose-Hulman production and flips 180
degrees during the second act to give the audience a better glimpse at what
actually goes on behind the scenes during a play.
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