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CARLY KNASZAK
Assistant Reverb Editor
Have you ever thought about what would happen if fictional characters came to life and demanded for an author to finish their story? Look no further because Fredonia’s Department of Theatre and Dance will be continuing “Six Characters in Search of an Author” for multiple nights as part of the the Walter Gloor Mainstage Series.
The play is about an acting cast who is practicing its upcoming play when suddenly, six strangers disrupt their practice. The cast later find out the strangers are actually characters who are looking for someone to finish their story.
Opening night was on Nov. 6, and the Department of Theatre and Dance put on an excellent show. While the audience members came into the theater, actors worked on the set as if setting up for the upcoming performance.
“It really blurs the boundaries of what is real and what is illusion,” said Director James Ivey. “Luigi Pirandello calls into question our concept of what reality is.”
Pirandello wrote the play in 1921. When it was first performed, audiences were confused by it and even called it a “madhouse.” No one understood the idea behind it until 1925, when Pirandello released another edition of the play, explaining it and making it easier to understand.
The actors were fixing the lights, using hammers and rehearsing lines. Some of the audience members were heard whispering to each other, questioning why the production people did not do all this beforehand. But little did they know, it was all part of the show.
The set-up on stage and all around the theater made the audience feel like they were part of the show. Glassless window frames circled the theater and were even used to make the set, which only had a staircase, a door and a door frame.
Junior Sammantha Nickel designed the set. She said the first part to designing a set is to read and evaluate the play.
“A common theme that I found in this play was realism to surrealism and fantasy to reality. Pirandello plays with this idea a lot throughout the play,” Nickel said.
She later collaborated with Ivey on common themes and possible material they wanted for the set.
During Nickel’s research, she saw inspiration from Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota. Shiota is known for building sculptures out of window frames, and that is exactly what Nickel used to design the set.
“My reason for the frames was to represent the six characters. They look as if the frames were weathered down and affected by the elements from being on houses. Window frames are empty, but the framing itself tells history, just like the six characters,” Nickel said.
The chaotic arrangement represented their household and the tangled story that was told. There are over 200 frames for the set that were donated from a window company.
But what made the play very personal was having cast members walk around in the audience: the “six characters” made their grand entrance through the theater entrances.
The play had the right amount of humor and drama, but with a very dark twist. It slowly built up to the reveal of why the characters wanted their play to be finished. Every audience member felt connected to or sympathized with the actors onstage.
“We really are being challenged as … audience member[s] to make a jump into another type of theater experience,” Ivey said.
“Six Characters in Search of an Author” will be performed again in Rockefeller Arts Center’s Bartlett Theatre on Nov. 12, 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets for the show can be purchased in the Fredonia Ticket Office or by phone at 673-3501. Ticket prices are $20 for general public and $18 for students with ID.