Atop the Jesuit stage, in front of a sold out crowd, switching between Italian and English in single dialogues, the cast of this year’s fall production can proclaim the past two weekends of shows a success. Jesuit Stage and Flim’s fall production of Peter Schaffer’s Amadeus brought out record numbers of students and parents alike for two weekends of shows.
Consisting of about 23 students from Jesuit, Ursuline, Booker T. Washington, Bishop Lynch, Cistercian, North Richland Hills, and JJ Pearce, each cast performed on either the Fridays or Saturdays. More cleverly, the two casts became to be known at rehearsals as cast “Mo” and cast “Zart”, a clear allusion to the subject of the play.
Mr. David Myers, co-chair of the Fine Arts Department and head of the Jesuit Stage & Film Department, enters his 9th year here at Dallas Jesuit. He thinks that “this production is different in a few ways: First, we have an abstract set. For the past few years, we’ve avoided that. Also, we’ve rented professional costume plots for this production. It has a bit higher level of production polish than we usually feature.”
The play had its humble beginnings all the way back in May. Myers explains that “Mr. Patterson, Mr. Howard, and I make those decisions each spring when we’re proctoring final exams. I read a lot in May. A lot.” Myers emphatically added that, “I’ve been waiting to do this show for a few years. We just needed a few guys who could pull off the lead, because it’s such a demanding role. Alonso Espinosa ’16 and Nick Dart ’16 are both really capable.”
Arguably the most notable feature was the highly abstract set that Jesuit Stagecraft constructed. Myers explains that “the author” called for such a set. He added, “He calls for an abstract space that has energy in it. With that in mind, I borrowed from some of Frank Gehry’s designs and came up with our swaying space.” About 40 students in total from Stagecraft classes produced about 1,500 man hours over a period of about 8 weeks.
Mr. Chris Patterson, English teacher and co-director of the production says that overall “it was very, very stress-free.” He went on to say that he thinks “Amadeus is a lot more lighthearted, there’s some humor to it, the music is a lot of fun.” This is Patterson’s second year teaching and second year directing a main stage production.
Reflecting, he believes “The payoff for me, especially with this show and the music, when it gets really going, and it get’s really watchable.” As Patterson snaps his fingers, mimicking a steadfast metronome, he comments, “you can feel it ‘hum’ along. The show has to hum and it has to sing.”
“The payoff came when I was watching it and I wasn’t focusing on the tale or the choreograph anymore because it was so ‘orchestrated’. [Patterson laughs at his own pun] I wasn’t focused on the construction of it, so it almost came together like a piece of music does.”
Mozart’s Wife, or Canstanze Weber, was played by Meghan Harshaw ’15 of Ursuline on both Friday nights, and then portrayed by Madison Murrah ’15 both Saturday nights. Harshaw comments, “My favorite part about this production is that it’s nonrepresentational so we get to do abstract work and it’s a lot different from any production I’ve ever been in.” Harshaw began participating in theatre sophomore year, but debuted on the main stage her junior. She concluded with her observation that there are “a lot of new people in jesuit theatre this year, not even just freshman, there’s a variety of people and it’s the biggest cast Jesuit’s seen in a while.”
Similarly, the role of the antagonist, Antonio Salieri, was played by Alonso Espinosa ’16 on Friday and by Nick Dart ’16 on Saturday.
Nick Dart ’16 is currently an exchange student from Australia, who brings his talent to the main stage for one year only, sadly. When asked to comment on his experience thus far in Jesuit Stage and Film, Nick notices that “The theater program here at Jesuit has a very distinct vibe, the directors allow us actors to pursue our own creativity within the stage space.” He added, “[It’s] a very laid back and nurturing environment.” He thinks that “this year’s production of Amadeus has been a wonderful experience, the play itself is a powerful blend of charming comedy and a dramatic storyline.”
Mr. Patterson’s suspicions were confirmed this weekend when he said he “always knew it was going to be good.” Having seen the production both Friday and Saturday, both casts brought different elements to the table, both resulting in thunderous applause and resounding cheers. Both casts portrayed a story of love, revenge, and tragedy beautifully and eloquently.
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