The "King" of DRAMAT plays

In a Black Box performance this past weekend, students, alumni and faculty witnessed fourteen students suffer death, madness and betrayal while Skrillex echoed through across the stage. This past weekend, DRAMAT produced a modern interpretation of Shakespeare’s King Lear. The cast and crew of the play showcased an engaging story about an aging king and the conflicts he faces when turning over his power to his daughters.

The show was directed by senior and co-head of DRAMAT Kieran Minor, who first got the idea when traveling abroad in Stratford last fall, where he watched multiple Shakespeare productions. On the plane ride home, he began to design the play, and by January he was busy choosing fourteen cast members from the sixty who tried out. Minor explained why he chose to do a Shakespeare production and how he narrowed it down to King Lear. 

“It made me realize how much of the creativity comes from the concept, the vision, the actors, and the direction,” Minor said. “The script gives you a blank canvas. Most of the interpretation is left up to you. I chose Lear specifically because it had everything you could want in a play: wild characters, action, humor, tragedy, and an impeccable story.”

The play was one of the biggest DRAMAT productions ever performed. Lasting almost two hours, immense amounts 

of preparation were required to perfect the show. From memorizing lines to learning the personality of each of their characters, the actors were constantly kept busy.

“It was such a big undertaking, it could've been a mainstage production if we had the time,” prep Raul Galvan explained. “We started at the beginning of winter term, just memorizing lines and basic stage direction once or twice a week. Closer to opening night we we're practicing every night including weekends.”

Lower Tess Drauschak added that the effort that went into the play and the entire cast’s determination produced a successful show. 

“Unlike those ten or fifteen minute DRAMAT shows of the past, whose cast met maybe twice for rehearsals, this was an undertaking,” she said. “It's a wonder Kieran trusted us to memorize all those lines. But that's where the magic is, all these people with their own separate lives and problems, all with the goal of making this show a reality.”

Although long hours of rehearsal seem tedious, Drauschak said that the preparation for the play was rather a labor of love. Over the months the cast members grew very close and viewed their time spent practicing as enjoyable. 

“Somehow, nothing felt like work. Even during the longest, most boring rehearsals, I never wanted them to end,” she said. 

All the time spent preparing payed off. The actors never stumbled on lines or were unaware of the scene. Each actor brought a unique personality to his or her character, whether sassy, sexy or humorous. The cast managed to add lots of life and modern relevance to a play written four hundred years ago. 

Upper Augustus Gilchrist, who played the role of King Lear, commented on his fellow actors’ abilities to bring charisma into each character.

“My fellow cast members did a great job of bringing those characters to life, and coupled with the aesthetic and staging of the show it created what was, in my opinion, a very highly-charged, emotionally affected show,” Gilchrist said.

Minor was also beyond satisfied with the ending result, and believes he will always remember the experience.

“Seeing it all come together, from sketching out the stage on the back of the napkin, to the first readthrough, to choosing the music, to opening night, was amazing in and of itself,” he said. “To work with a cast of such dedicated people made it unforgettable.”

The audience seemed to agree with Minor that the show proved to be one it would remember. On the opening night of the play, the Black Box was so full that some of the spectators were invited to sit on seats on the sides of the stage. And the next two nights proved to be just as big of a success, with another full house Saturday and only a few seats open that Sunday. 

“We had great audiences,” Drauschak said. “Of course, everyone is always going to feel like their show deserves full houses every night, but we poured so much of ourselves into this show, so it made us so happy to see only a few empty seats. We even had to turn people away on opening night, the theater was so full.”

One of the audience members, prep Alejandro Arango, stated his opinion on the play and its originality. 

“The play portrayed itself in a modern setting ranging from its music choice to costume choice while at the same time incorporating the old English lines,” he said. “While an incredibly original view on King Lear, I felt a bit of emulation to the style of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet. Director Kieran Minor did a fantastic job putting this together.”

Upper Jad Seligman also went to see the play and agreed with Arango that one of the best parts of the play was its originality. 

“I’ve never seen the BlackBox being used like that, and I probably won’t again,” he said.