Spring Awakening Poetic and Probing

The second faculty show of the semester, Spring Awakening, will usher in a 19th-century tale of sexuality that proved to be far ahead of its times. Written by German dramatist Frank Wedekind in 1891, the play offers a harrowing perspective of suicide, rape, child abuse, abortion and other difficult themes, which frequently led to the banning or censorship of the play during the author’s lifetime and beyond. (Indeed, the first uncensored production in English took place in 1974.) This weekend’s rendition will grapple directly with these complex issues, under the direction of Associate Professor of Theatre Claudio Medeiros ’90. The content is for mature audiences only.

Spring Awakening follows a group of adolescents in a small town in late-19th-century Germany. Within their sexually repressive culture, they experience an awakening into sexuality. But in a world where people still believe that storks bring babies, this pubescent transformation holds scandalous implications. As such, Medeiros described the premise of the play as “living the tension between those emotions and desires and the ideology of the time.”

To understand the context for their performances, cast members conducted research specific to their roles and spoke with Professor of German Bettina Matthias. With 21 student actors, one faculty actor and a five-student production team, the making of this show has proven to be no small feat. In contrast to the small cast of his last faculty show, Medeiros chose Spring Awakening for its wide breadth of roles.

“Directors have lists of plays in their heads that they would like to do in the future,” he stated. “Each time you direct, you have to take into consideration the students who are available and the roles that you can offer for those students.”

While casting last semester, Medeiros was extremely upfront regarding the sensitive and potentially triggering content of the play. During the reading process, he chose particularly difficult scenes for students to run through so he could read their level of comfort as they confronted the full extent of the show’s material.

Later on in the production process, following the devastating loss of one of the College’s students, Medeiros felt it was necessary to discuss the mature subject matter of Spring Awakening with the administration, and to question whether or not to proceed with the production.

“In light of recent events, some on campus were concerned about what impact the play might have on the community and, in particular, on vulnerable members of the community who might be struggling with their own reaction to recent events,” Andrea Lloyd, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, explained.

“You start questioning what you are doing,” Medeiros stated. “But we always felt that the demonstration was taking great care to look at the issue and think about it very, very carefully.”

The cast and crew discussed the issue heavily. A small group of faculty, including Medeiros, engaged in an open dialogue with the senior administration about the complexities of the show. Ultimately, it was decided that the play should go on, with a clear warning to all audiences about the mature content.

“I hope that members of the community make informed choices about whether attending is the right thing for them,” Lloyd said. “And I applaud the cast members for the work they have done grappling with very difficult subject matter.”

Indeed, the controversial nature of Spring Awakening ought not to overshadow the meticulously passionate work of the cast and crew in bringing this piece to life. Medeiros chose British playwright Edward Bond’s translation of Spring Awakening, as he preferred the economy of the text over the overwritten quality of other versions. Last semester, students in his first-year seminar, Power and Sexuality Onstage, proved integral in helping him unravel certain scenes of the play. Meanwhile, in rehearsals, the cast has demonstrated an unprecedented chemistry in piecing together this thought-provoking work.

“This company has been a total joy to work with. Usually you try to do a lot of ensemble-building. But they created an ensemble practically on their own,” Medeiros said. “The only thing I did was create an environment that was playful and comfortable. I was really fortunate.”

In particular, he lauded the initiative of Adam Milano ’15 and Chelsea Melone ’15, who play the challenging roles of Melchior and Wendla, respectively.

“I would come in and shape the material,” Medeiros said. “But the first draft they would come up with on their own.”

Of course, crafting this difficult piece has not come without its challenges. Students initially struggled to grasp the sense of sexual ignorance that embodied the era. Additionally, the poetic nature of the text has posed both theoretical and technical demands for the cast. The challenge lies in making the meaning of the dialogue understood and articulating the words so that they are clearly heard, since the spacious Wright Theater creates a tricky situation for acoustics.

“The moment an audience member moves forward to listen better, some of the effects are already drained,” Medeiros explained. In terms of the nature of the text, he stated, “It’s more expressionist than realist. Instead of representing life as it would happen outside the theater, the playwright is trying to represent the essence of experiences, not all the contours in detail. So the language is somewhat poetic, elevated. It’s not people sitting at a table having coffee and chatting. There’s a clear sense that this is poetry, or art.”

The task of the actor, then, is to ensure that the dialogue is understood not only for its surface meaning, but also for what is underneath it.

Structured as a poem, the play is composed of scenes that juxtapose each other but are unlinked by cause and effect. The visual concept is minimalist, with an abstract material space that clearly suggests a real place. Lighting shines down upon the same set to evoke scenes within a house, a forest or any number of different settings. As Medeiros put it, the space is “more of a surface that suggests something, but that resonates differently in different scenes.” Throughout the show, the visual focus falls mostly on bodies in space, lights and costumes.

In contrast to previous renditions of Spring Awakening, Medeiros chose to incorporate a dancer in this show. Through fluidly choreographed movements, Artist-in-Residence in Dance Scotty Hardwig will portray a mysterious figure known as the masked man, opening up a physical language onstage.

In breaking open difficult ideas and transcending modern times to an era of oppression and scandal, the cast and crew of this production have worked diligently to do justice to the original text.

“For us, it has been pleasurable work,” Medeiros said. “It is an artful play.”

The long-anticipated Spring Awakening debuts tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Wright Memorial Theater. Two subsequent showings on May 1-2 will also take place at 7:30 p.m. Running time is approximately two-and-a-half hours with intermission. Tickets are available through go/boxoffice.