Rookie leads to light up steel-clad Theatre X

It’s not just another hastily slapped together production.
“Firebugs” is directed by Paul Ford, and as with any plan, he said he hopes it goes well.
“My goals are to bring all those together and to set in motion this wave of energy that will roll over the department over the course of the year,” he said.

This play has been rolling around in Ford’s head for the last 35 years, and he said this is just the right time to produce it. Max Frisch wrote the play, and it is billed as a morality play without a moral. Somewhere in the mix, there are arsonists, a Greek chorus with firemen and a looming steel set that dominates all of Theatre X.

Yet, it’s easy to get lost in the pomp of the play and forget the people behind it, and, of course, its function within the University.
The play is almost entirely produced by students and serves to introduce many of them to aspects of theater they were previously unfamiliar with.

This production, for example, is Amy Bourque’s first production as stage manager. She said Saturday that the group had the first run through of the play, and it reminded her why she loves theater.

“I was calling lights, running cues and everything was running really smoothly,” she said. “I’ve been flopping around my whole life between tech theater and acting. This experience really helped push me back to my technical side. It makes me really excited for my last couple of years here.”

That excitement is something Ford loves working with.
At dress rehearsal Monday he spent at least five minutes talking with everyone. Tech hands asked him about the lights, while actors quizzed him about their parts, and Bourque talked to him at length about stage cues.

Theatre X teemed with energy as the first show approached, and Ford said that’s what sets student performers apart.
“They are in the process of kicking open doors and making discoveries,” he said. “You know they are at that stunned moment when the light pours in, and they are like, ‘Oh! I get it.’ I get to help set up conditions for that to happen, and I get to be a part of that moment when it does happen.”

One such performer, Van Hollenbeck, is in his first lead role as Gottlieb Biedermann, a man accidentally harboring arsonists. Hollenbeck previously played smaller parts, roles he said he appreciated.

“It’s more fun to put more awesomeness into five lines rather than to stretch something out over two hours,” he said. “It’s a huge honor, but a huge responsibility, too.”

In full costume for the first time, he isn’t quite nervous for the show yet, but he said that would come soon.
“Right now, I am just trying to sort out my costumes and props,” he said, adjusting his shirt. “That’s the thing, you don’t really think about the bigness of it until right before you go on stage, and then it just hits you. And then you’re like, ‘Oh my god!’”

Another first-time lead performer, Christie Carter as Babette Biedermann, said she is nervous about the part, too, but this is her senior year. She said she’s ready to step into the spotlight.

“For me, it was really fun being able to have the responsibility of more of the show. Everyone is integral, but having a bigger role is a lot more fun, and it’s a lot more challenging,” she said.
Which isn’t to say all the other

performers go unnoticed.

Everyone is getting a lot of great chances, Bourque said. For example, the tech crew got to weld a colossal set. It looms over the viewers, and for a lot of the cast this is their first time working in Theatre X, as most of the big productions are done in Rodey Theatre.
Beyond that mere fact, though, is working with Ford, Bourque said. She said all of her experiences with the professor have been great, and that it would be hard to find someone who didn’t like him.

“He doesn’t baby you, but he doesn’t let you fall behind either,” she said. “He’ll teach exactly what you need to, but without being like, ‘OK, here’s how it is,’ because that’s not how life is.”
And the sentiment is shared across the staff.

Carter said his way to approaching shows is better than some of the professional theater departments she’s worked with.
“Every first rehearsal you have with Paul is … you walk in and it’s just open and warmth,” she said. “It’s almost a family atmosphere. Other shows are work, work, work, but Paul makes it fun.”

All this discussion takes place while Ford works on the set. He’s guiding the students through the preparation of the play, and for every question he answers, another arrives. He’s never gruff, though, instead anxious to get the play going.

“I would take a group of excited young performers who are discovering their craft over a group of skilled, but cynical, performers any day of the week,” he said, while watching students below on the set. “There’s sure nothing wrong with doing this. It’s beautiful stuff.”

*“Firebugs”
Friday, Saturday, Oct. 7-9 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday and Oct. 10 at 2 p.m.
Theatre X
$15 general, $12 faculty and senior citizens, $10 staff and students*