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College Theater will present Caryl Churchill’s Far Away 8 p.m. today through Saturday at the Williams Center for the Arts Black Box.
Tickets cost $6 and may be purchased by calling the box office at 610-330-5009.
A brown bag preview of the show will be given noon today at the Black Box. Lunch may be brought or purchased for $3.
Childhood innocence, mad hatters, and Armageddon are the apparent subjects of the surreal dystopian theater piece that The Observer praised as “tableau theater in which installation art is given motion and voice.” It is presented in conjunction with Lafayette’s Eighth Biennial Roethke Humanities Festival, which focuses on performance art.
Suzanne Westfall, professor of English, is directing the production. The crew includes Alastair Noble, assistant professor of art, set designer; Kathy Bruce, costume designer; international affairs major Sanda Wijeratne ’06 (Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka), stage manager; Kiira Benzing ’07 (Ridgewood, N.J.), assistant stage manager; Richard Kendrick, light/technical designer; and Timothy Frey, sound designer.
The cast is comprised of Trustee Scholarship recipient Sarah Templeton ’06 (Metuchen, N.J.) — Joan; Danielle Truppo ’04 (West Long Branch, N.J.), a double major in economics and art — Harper; Trustee Scholarship recipient Jared Hughes ’04 (Woodbridge, Va.), an English major – Todd; and Corinne Patti, a sixth-grader at East Hills Middle School in Bethlehem, Pa. – Young Joan.
“What is both intriguing and challenging about Joan, and I think about most of the characters in the play, is the complexity of thought, and the utter confusion as to their own positions at times,” says Templeton. “In the beginning, for Joan at least, it is very much about herself, and only what affects her personally. Toward the end, you get an idea that there may be hope for a broadening of her understanding of others, and of the bigger picture that she is a part of.”
Portraying that change, or the suggestion of it, is difficult, Templeton admits. Joan is not a particularly likeable character, but can be easily identified with, and the implications of that can be challenging to suggest to the audience.
“Churchill has really imbued the play with so many various ideas, levels, and allusions, but at the same time kept the language rather simple, so there is a lot that must be done in addition to performing the dialogue; a lot has to be done behind the visible actions,” notes Templeton. “Churchill is also making a strong point, and of course, as an actor, you want to make sure you are getting that out to the audience.”
For Truppo, the most challenging part about portraying Harper is the fact that she is “very tightly wound and paranoid.”
“Her movements are very much all inward. Instead of flailing her arms about when she gets excited, she might put her hands together and maybe rub them nervously. This has been difficult for me because I am Italian and a ‘flailing arms’ kind of gal,” Truppo explains with a smile. “I speak with my hands a lot, and Harper does not. So I have had to make a conscious effort to tone it down a bit. At the same time, this body behavior makes Harper freaky and interesting — you never know what she is going to do or say next!”
Just deciding how to play Todd has been a challenge for Hughes, who is making his acting debut.
“When you read a book or a play there are a myriad number of ways one can interpret a character’s actions and words, but when you’re actually playing that character you have to decide who exactly he is,” he says. “The dialogue in the script is comparable to a blank canvas; you’re pretty much free to do whatever you want. So actually committing to your character and settling on what exactly you want him to be like can be intimidating. I’m constantly changing my mind about how I want Todd to be received.”
This production has been a “wonderful experience” for many reasons, says Templeton, including the fact that she is trading her usual position backstage for a role on the stage. Previously, she served as stage manager for College Theater’s The Cherry Orchard and assistant stage manager for The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
“Just being on the other side of the curtain has been an extraordinary experience in and of itself,” she says. “The cast has been a lot of fun to work with, and it is very rewarding to get to spend so much time with this script in depth, as it delves into issues that are not always pleasant to think about, but are certainly necessary to be aware of. I think the cast has worked really well together to develop their characters both as individuals and also in the context of their relationships with each other. And the formation of that context has in turn been an enormous aid in developing my own character.”
Becoming another person for a few hours each day is challenging both physically and mentally, she adds.
“But it is an extremely advantageous process to go through, and can potentially teach you a lot about yourself,” she says. “Performing in front of other people has a tendency to draw you out anyway, and theater especially, in the sense of it often being exaggerated, really forces you to think and act in abnormal and sometimes uncomfortable ways.”
Truppo also is a newcomer to acting and is enjoying the entire process.
“The rehearsals have been fun, and also timely, and I feel like we get a lot accomplished at each two-hour session. I enjoy the fact that it’s just a little cast and crew as well. They are fun people to work and act with, and they laugh at all my stupid jokes — or maybe they are just laughing at me,” she jokes.
Truppo calls the College Theater program “great,” citing the quick design and availability of props and hats, as well as the entire set, as one example.
“Also, I am having fun working on this project,” she says. “It is a huge time commitment, and we all take it very seriously, but Professor Westfall isn’t a ‘director nazi’ or anything like that. I think she understands that we all have incredibly busy schedules outside of rehearsal, and she tries to accommodate them as much as she can. So it is sort of a laid-back atmosphere. Because the time is used efficiently though, we still can get down to business and accomplish what needs to be accomplished, and I think that will be seen by the quality of show that we end up giving.”
Although the play is requiring a significant time commitment, Hughes has found it a very enjoyable and enlightening experience. He never expected to be in a play until Westfall encouraged him to audition for the role. The professor is an “amazing” director, he says, listening to and accepting good input, but unafraid to reject bad input.
“She has a good eye for detail, she knows what she wants to get across to the audience, and she is very good about showing us how to get our meaning across beyond just the lines we say, but also with body language, our tone of voice, etc. All in all this has been a very valuable experience.”
Patti says playing the role of Young Joan is an honor.
“It is challenging because you really have to try to think of what Young Joan is thinking while you’re remembering your lines,” she says. “You can’t just think of what you’re going to say next. But since Young Joan is around my age, it’s easy to relate to being very scared of what you see and curious because most 12-year-olds are. Young Joan is also very interesting because it’s great to see me grow up as Joan (Sara Templeton) and be able to say, ‘I was once a little girl sitting on her aunt’s lap scared and curious.’ I’ve learned a lot and am so happy I got the part of Young Joan. This is so cool to be a part of and I’ll always remember it.”
Far Away has been “amazing” and her favorite production, says Patti, who has performed at her school and the State Theater in Easton.
“I’ve learned so much in just one month that I never would have thought I would,” she says. “Suzanne is great — she teaches me everything I need to know when I’m on stage, from the way I speak right down to my facial expressions, and I was very honored to work with her.”
The cast has also been fun and has made her feel comfortable despite the difference in ages, notes Patti.
“They’re so friendly and I don’t have to be anyone else but myself when I’m around them,” she says. “The crew is amazing doing what they do. Those hat designers did a heck of a job! I couldn’t imagine having a better cast and crew; all of them are really great people.”