'Brecht-Fest with Weil' dazes audiences
Campus Times
February 14, 2003
In a song about being "very, very wealthy," the cast of
"Brecht-Fest with Weil", sang and danced to a full house in the
Cabaret, Friday night. The show, which ran from Feb. 4 to 8, combined poetry
and prose from Bertolt Brecht and music from Kurt Weil and was presented
in "Cabaret style." From left to right are Ayana Moultrie, Brianna
Roth, Adrianna Ortega, Sarah Morales, Whitney Wickman, Jonathan Serret,
James Darrah and Bjana Washington.
The University of La Verne's theater and music department's presentation
of Brecht-Fest with Weill was definitely a show within a show.
Steve Kent, director of the institute for conscious acting, directed
the Cabaret-style play, and Scott Farthing, chairman of the music department,
did the musical direction.
The ambiance of the theater was mesmerizing and delightfully surprised
the audience with a club-like atmosphere. Bistro tables replaced the usual
rows of chairs, and to complete the setting, waitresses graciously waited
on each table.
The costumes complemented the stories being told. Especially noticeable
were the costume and makeup design for Chris Smith and Anthony Guerrero,
who respectively played Mack, the club owner, and Clive Destrous, a Cabaret
performer.
These two actors brought natural humor to their characters. Their unique
line gestures perfectly matched their characters' personality.
The other actors and actresses seemed to be into the spirit of the play,
which made it an enjoyable feature for most to participate in.
"I really enjoyed it, and anyone who hasn't seen it is missing
out," said sophomore Wanda Groppi.
The Cabaret's plot, although difficult to grasp at times, touched upon
many issues relevant to today. It discussed serious issues like poverty
and the roles of women and minorities in society issues that society
tends to shun away from.
However, although performers intended to address serious issues, much
of the comedy, such as the drag queen, seemed unnecessary due to its distracting
nature. Additionally, the audience lacked previous knowledge of the composer
and poet, so it was difficult to fully understand the content of the performances.
Despite minor problems in attempts to understand the plot, most audience
members greeted them with nothing but praise.
"I think a big part of the play was to reach out to the troubled
youth about taking responsibility for their own actions," said freshmen
Cassie Hoeffer.
A desire to connect the music and theater departments, as well as teaching
familiar students, inspired Kent to approach Farthing about doing a January
class where they would plan and put together an original Cabaret.
They decided to incorporate the music of Kurt Weill and the poetry of
Bertolt Brecht. Kent said most of the student population has probably not
heard of either of those men.
"I got permission to use any Kurt Weill songs," Kent said.
"Most people are not aware that Brecht was a poet as well as a playwright.
Most people are aware of his plays, which can be a little didactic."
The cast went through a selection process of the songs and poems to
be used, and then the formation of characters began.
Farthing worked with the students in the morning to talk about the songs
and interpretation. Kent worked with them in the afternoon, talking to them
about putting the show together. After awhile, they teamed up to work together
with the performers.
"It was quite an experience developing the characters," said
sophomore cast member Bjana Washington. "Understanding what a Cabaret
is was a starting point for us. And then developing and establishing how
we were going to portray the Cabaret and do it justice was another main
focus."
Washington played Ashton Lundia, a young undercover journalist interning
at a newspaper who was writing a documentary on Cabaret life.
"My character is very sarcastic, easily irritated and one of the
showgirls," Washington said.
Sophomore Christina Massengale, who played Sharlene "Shar"
Church, the club owner that looked after the girls, said in order to help
develop their roles, each actor came up with an animal that would represent
them the best.
"I was a lioness," Massengale said. "A lioness hunts
for her pack and looks over her pack to make sure that they are secure."
Washington said Kent wanted each character to have a story and past
to bring their character to life.
The cast members watched movies and studied costumes and makeup designs
from the 1920s. They studied costumes and designs from the 1920s. They
also studied Cabaret performers, Brecht and Weil, to get an idea of what
to do for their characters.
"We started to understand the history and just how amazing theater
and Cabaret work could be," Washington said.
Besides developing characters, the cast was also responsible for designing
the set and lighting. Preparation involved working weekday's during interterm
from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on the weekends during the last two weeks before
opening night on Feb. 4.
"We became like a family," Massengale said. "We ate lunch
and dinner together, and went to the movies three times."
The basic premise of the play was the study of Cabaret, Kent said. He
wanted the students to get an idea of what it was like to do everything
in theater.
"I also wanted to teach them intuitive," Kent said. "Don't
wait around to be asked to do a role."
Washington said that Kent is a man that knows what he wants and what
he wants to portray.
"He tries to inspire us to give us the intuitive to accomplish
what we want. He guides us," Washington said.
Massengale said that she is a better performer because of Kent.
"I am better at trying to be an actress because of Steve. He knows
how to pull people in," Massengale said.
As for Farthing, Massengale and Washington said he was wonderful in
helping them mold the songs to portray.
"He made a conscious effort in trying to create the right essence
of what the songs were trying to say," Washington said.
Both Massengale and Washington enjoyed doing the Cabaret and learned
a lot from it.
"It was a very fulfilling experience. It helped me understand what
it would be like to be involved in a theater company from the ground up,"
Massengale said.
