Graduate student actors play multiple roles in noir-themed production
For any fans of satirical plays who are hungry for something fresh to sink their teeth into, “Black Snow” may have what they need. The best part — there is absolutely no admission fee.
Written by Mikhail Bulgakov and opening tonight, audiences of “Black Snow” can expect to experience a gripping and mysterious play with an undertone of black comedy.
“Black Snow” tells the story of Sergei Maxudov, a failed and penniless writer on the verge of suicide until a turn of events transforms him into the star playwright at the Moscow Art Theatre.
Director Steven Pearson and four others in the Department of Theatre, including Pearson’s wife Robyn Hunt and three graduate students, have spent the past four weeks preparing for the show to premiere at USC.
“This play normally requires 25 to 30 actors, and we have five,” said Pearson, head of the graduate acting program at USC. “The idea is to have a professional level for graduate students. We want to make a project that will challenge them, and there is nothing more challenging than doing comedy.”
All but one of the actors will be taking on multiple character roles within the play, the exception being actor Cory Lipman, a first-year acting graduate student, who will be playing the main character Sergei.
Since so many parts are being performed by so few people, rehearsals are intensive and incredibly time consuming. For the past four weeks, the actors have been giving it their all. As with many theatrical productions at USC, the student actors have attended rehearsals in the evenings after their classes Monday through Friday, and even on Saturday mornings.
“It’s hard, but this is how things are around here,” Pearson said.
Both Pearson and Hunt expressed their excitement before Friday night’s rehearsal, as the deadline for their opening night drew closer. The graduate student actors, too, were in an excited tizzy.
The cast and crew say “Black Snow” is enjoyable and funny, which they believe will be the main draw for audience members.
“The whole play is basically a farce,” Hunt said. “Things have been so historically serious in Russia, and it’s contrasted with this satirical play.”
She said everyone who attends will be delighted and thoroughly entertained. And since the performances are free, students interested in satirical, darkly comedic plays like “Black Snow” are highly encouraged to attend.
Plenty of opportunities to view the play are available to those even with busy schedules.
From Feb. 25 to March 3, “Black Snow” will be performed at the Center for Performance Experiment in the Hamilton College Gymnasium on the corner of Pendleton and Pickens streets. Showtimes Monday through Wednesday are 8 p.m. Although there will be no performance Thursday, the play opens again Friday with two showings at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. and will continue Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. both nights. The performance is approximately one hour and 27 minutes, and seating is limited, so attendees are encouraged to arrive early.