‘Sitting Pretty’ in an Old Buick Dealership
With new theatre in production, the School of Theatre tenaciously approaches creative stage design around campus
Spark Volume 3, Issue 2 | by Rebecca McDade
Armed with perseverance, fearlessness, and radical imagination, the students and faculty in the School of Theatre work diligently to transform ordinary spaces into new stages. It’s their area of expertise and they execute it flawlessly. So when it came time to find creative solutions on where to host productions for this season, the School of Theatre rolled up their proverbial sleeves and rose to the occasion.
The new Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre is scheduled to open for productions starting in the spring semester. With this new 75,000 square foot structure at the heart of the Charles River campus still under construction, the School of Theatre seized the opportunity to re-imagine current work spaces. They quite literally grabbed the expression, “the world is your stage” and transformed a worn-down car dealership showroom and the lawn of the George Sherman Union into new venues.
Once an old Buick dealership, the College of Fine Arts building still holds traces of industrial glamor. It is a bit worn and ornate all at once. A perfect space for creatives to get their hands dirty and create works of art that shine through the grit. Studio 102 in the CFA building, located at 855 Commonwealth Avenue, has become a perfect backdrop for the gritty 1920s Berlin nightclub scene for the production of Cabaret. Producing a musical like Cabaret is much like a car engine – it takes a lot of moving parts – from the lighting, sound, set design, and costume design to keep the engine humming.
In Cabaret, a garish Master of Ceremonies, played by Desiré Hinkson (CFA’18) welcomes the audience and assures them they will forget all their troubles at the Cabaret. With the Emcee’s bawdy songs as wry commentary, Cabaret explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Berlin’s natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich. Cliff, a young American writer newly arrived in Berlin played by Arden Lassalle (CFA’18), is immediately taken by English singer Sally Bowles, played by Sarah Hirsch (CFA’19). Meanwhile, Fräulein Schneider, proprietor of Cliff and Sally’s boardinghouse played by Shawna James (CFA’18), tentatively begins a romance with Herr Schultz, a mild-mannered Jewish fruit seller played by Hannah Antman (CFA’18).
As senior Acting major Arden Lassalle shares his excitement for the show stems from multiple factors. “One is the wonderful set that is going to be built and the other for the story we get to tell.” Lassalle explains, “the set is going to heavily contribute to the audience’s experience in taking in the show because of the unconventional seating. It will feel like actually being inside a cabaret. For the story, it feels especially poignant for the political climate right now and to do meaningful theatre is always a joy.”
“The students’ intense response and enthusiasm for being a part of this project has been palpable,” shares McCaela Donovan, Assistant Director of the School of Theatre and director of this December’s Cabaret. “I think they are keenly aware of the impact of this piece and how it relates to our political and social climate today. I’m thrilled to get in the room and dive deeply into this story, and by doing that, hopefully we can hold a mirror up to ourselves in relationship to this moment in time,” explains Donovan.
The cast and crew of roughly 40 people spend hours every week in design and production meetings before performances begin. One of the items on their long agenda is how to re-imagine the space in Studio 102. “We already have such a great environment to play in with [Studio] 102, so the main focus of our conversations is how we just enhance the environment that’s already there, rather than feel like we’re dropping a stage into a random room,” shares Donovan. “The challenges come in the fact that it’s not designed to be a theatre performance space. So we will have to bring in and create a lighting grid, figure out how to control the acoustics of the sound, where to put the band so they won’t overwhelm the sound and space, how to figure out a floor that dampens sound but also is safe for the actors to dance on, etc. It’s very complex, but knowing that we are doing site-specific work this semester, the University has been very supportive in helping us support this transition, as the Booth Theatre complex moves toward completion,” says Donovan.
Much like Cabaret, the School of Theatre produced site-specific work this season by transforming existing spaces into stages across campus. The production of Agamemnon: Dawn To Dusk took place outside at the George Sherman Union, Fox Fountain Courtyard at dawn, to an audience of 170 people. In order to prepare for this production, the cast rehearsed in the CFA building most nights and then rehearsed on location outside most Saturdays. “This helps makes the adjustment during tech week not so daunting,” explains Donovan. As with any site-specific work, complications surrounding sound also needed to be addressed prior to this performance.
Reflecting on the site-specific process of staging Agamemnon, Theatre Arts Major Claudia Watanabe (CFA’19) said, “working on Agamemnon forced me to be a lot more attuned to the space I was performing in. Unlike a black box, there were a lot of sounds and quirks that were out of our control. Embracing the space, rather than fighting it, was actually freeing and has made me more adaptable as an actor.”
The School of Theatre is looking forward to the opportunity to host more productions over the coming season that are both timely and relevant. “The programming of the SOT season was very thoughtful in this tumultuous time and the role of the artist is absolutely crucial. The programming of Mother Courage, Cabaret, Rhinoceros and Antigone was very specifically curated, as all three plays touch on very crucial issues and themes we are experiencing today,” says Donovan.
You can expect the School of Theatre to dive even deeper into their fields of creative research over the course of the upcoming semester. “With the Booth Theatre in the center of our campus, we know that the BU community will be joining us as an integral part of our season and we are thrilled for the conversations we know will emerge,” reflects Donovan.
Stewart F. Lane And Bonnie Comley Musical: Cabaret
College of Fine Arts, Studio 102
$15 General Admission | $7.50 with CFA Membership | Free with BU ID, at the door, day of performance, subject to availability
bu.edu/cfa/season | 617.353.3380
- Friday, Dec 8 – 8pm
- Saturday, Dec 9 – 2pm & 8pm
- Sunday, Dec 10 – 2pm
- Wednesday, Dec 13 – 7:30pm
- Thursday, Dec 14 – 7:30pm
- Friday, Dec 15 – 8pm (Talk-Back)
- Saturday, Dec 16 – 8pm
- Sunday, Dec 17 – 2pm
Sponsored in part by the Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley Musical Theatre Fund
Book by Joe Masteroff | Based on the play by John Van Druten and Stories by Christopher Isherwood | Music by John Kander | Lyrics by Fred Ebb | Directed by McCaela Donovan | Music Direction by Catherine Stornetta | Choreography by Olivia Tennison
