Revenge is prominent in many of Shakespeare's masterpieces, and AU's Shakespearean performance troupe, The Rude Mechanicals, centered on this for their first show of the year, "Shakespeare with a Vengeance."
The show opened with a scene from "Romeo and Juliet" featuring Romeo's slaying of Tybalt. The actors' performance ran smoothly and the swordfight was well-choreographed. Catherine Bullard (Mercutio), a freshman in the School of International Service, performed exceptionally, particularly during Mercutio's death scene.
"Stage combat was fun," said Katherine Molksi, a senior in the School of International Service and director of the scene. "The blood balloon didn't go off. But ... it was still so much fun to direct."
The second selection, "Exit, pursued by a bear," was an original piece written and directed by the founder of the Rude Mechanicals, Thom Ferlisi, an AU alumnus. Named for one of Shakespeare's most famous written exits, the scene is a comedic, modernized piece where three students from "Denmark High" make witty exchanges as they rotate roles of Shakespearean characters. There is also a subplot during these exchanges where the three actors, two females and a male, debate the sexual orientation of the male actor.
"Exit, pursued by a bear," performed by Connie Heiss, a senior in SIS and the School of Communication, Elizabeth Ardagna, a freshman in SIS, and Russ Hull, a junior in SOC and the College of Arts and Sciences, was the standout selection of the night because of its originality and humorous integration of vengeance. The audience could not help but laugh, especially when Ardagna as Juliet said, "I've been waiting for Romeo for two hours. What a douche!"
"I know past shows have been dark and dreary, and I wanted to write something comedic and true to Shakespeare ... vulgar and bawdy," Ferlisi said.
A scene from "Antony and Cleopatra" was the third performance. This scene appeared to be the least rehearsed. Many actors stumbled over their lines, which made the scene drag. Next, there was a comedic break with a humorous spin on Caesar's murder in "Julius Caesar." The actors relieved the heaviness from the previous scene with their victorious dancing after killing Caesar.
An abridged "Titus Andronicus" was the last piece performed. Joe Grimme (Titus), a graduate student in SOC, Miriam Callahan (Lavinia), a sophomore in SIS, and Erin Wildermuth (Tamora), a senior in SIS, performed notably. "Titus Andronicus" was cleanly executed, and to have the stage littered with dead bodies at the end of the show was fitting and nicely blocked out.
"I was really pleased with the [ending]. ... My cast was amazing. They had their lines memorized after four days," said Callahan, the director of the scene.
"I thought it was a charmingly irreverent rendition of some of Shakespeare's both greater- and lesser-known works. And I also liked the part when they stabbed that chick, Lavinia," said Caitlin Servillo, a freshman in CAS, of the show.
The Rude Mechanicals performed "Shakespeare with a Vengeance" four times over the weekend. The troupe started putting the show together two-and-a-half weeks prior, and each scene rehearsed independently, which may explain the varying levels of preparedness.
"For the first play of the year with many new people, including myself, we did pretty well," said Andrew Robinson, a sophomore in SIS and actor in the "Antony and Cleopatra" scene. "Time was an issue. We met five times before dress rehearsal."
The troupe emphasized that roles in the Rude Mechanicals' performances are not strictly for theater majors. Sunny Petzinger, a junior in SIS and the director of "Exit, pursued by a bear," mentioned that although the group is not as professional as groups like the AU Players, they still deserve respect from the campus community.
"We're the bastard child, but we want everyone to love us," Petzinger said.
Four more full-length shows are planned for the year. Auditions for the next show, "The Merchant of Venice," will be held Oct. 9.
