Theatre Is Weird

Rehearsals have begun for Student Directed One-Acts. I have been cast in Chamber Music by Arthur Kopit, directed by senior Jordan Michael Loyd. The play is an absurdist piece about a handful of women in a psychiatric facility planning a counterattack against the men's ward. Each of these women believes they are a different woman from history. Naturally, there are several clashes between the characters caused by their extremely different personalities. The play, at first read, seems to be nothing but crazy ladies trying to talk over each other.

One of Jordan's inspiration photos

The brilliant thing about absurdist theatre is it does not have to make sense. In fact, you could say it is deliberately obtuse. That means, however, you can do anything you want with it and it will never be wrong. Absurdism invites the audience to make their own judgements. It allows them to view a piece of art, interpret it and ask questions about what made them have those impressions or come to those conclusions. Theatre of the absurd is theatre that undeniably asks a lot of its audiences.

The first several rehearsals for this piece include something referred to as "table work," meaning the actors and director spend their time focusing primarily on the text and what it means to them. Jordan has asked his actors to share their initial impressions of the script and share images etc. that they think would inspire their performance.

I love art types like absurdism. I love things that do not make sense and force people to think. Theatre, in particular, has a special quality about it that allows strangeness to transcend. The deliberately obtuse becomes something entirely transformative and influential. It challenges the way people view themselves, their lives and society as a whole. I got into theatre because I wanted to do the weird stuff: the stuff that makes a difference. I am beyond excited to have the opportunity to do this.

Until next time!

Kathryn