Play examines intimacy, relationships
Oct. 6, 2022 -丹顿-亲密是一个很好的方式来描述TWU分部剧院的赛季开幕生产 The Effect.
An intimate subject matter. A small, intimate cast. 对观众来说也是一次亲密的体验，其中一些人将与演员一起坐在台上.
The Effect, which runs Oct. 12-16，在哈伯德大厅北端的TWU紫荆剧院, 是关于两个学生在抗抑郁新药的临床试验中相爱的故事吗. 学生们发现自己试图理解他们的感觉是真实的还是毒品的产物. The play was written by Lucy Prebble.
“只有这么一小群人，而且剧本非常紧凑, 你会不由自主地去接近与你互动的人,” said Brenna Petersen, who plays Dr. Lorna James.
“这是非常相关的，”导演兼戏剧副教授诺亚·勒莱克博士说. “临床试验提供金钱换取他们的时间，所以你让这些孩子在试验中服用一种新药. 但它仍然走在那里，不知道你是在服用安慰剂还是药物, and not knowing what the drug could do.
“Having really clear relationships in the story, 而不让观众知道它的走向，我认为这是最好的事情之一,” Lelek said. “You think you know something and then you don’t. I think it’s really interesting for the audience.”
And that audience will be up close to the play. The Effect 特色推力座椅，观众坐在动作的三面. Two of those sides are actually on the stage.
“我想做的是让观众感觉他们正在进行临床试验, too,” Lelek said. “We haven’t done thrust seating before. 对观众来说，感受演员的感受将是一次非常有趣的经历. 我们在某种程度上进入了这些角色的思想，因为他们正在经历这些临床试验.”
故事中心的学生是康妮和特里斯坦, played by Mercedes Slade and Dinvela Adam, respectively. Both are freshmen.
斯莱德说:“上大学当主角真的很奇怪。. “我想我可能会得到全套服装，所以我很惊喜地得到了主角. I called my mom at 10 o’clock at night, ‘I got the part!’”
It’s a part that calls for Slade to play against type. She’s nothing like the character she’s portraying.
“Connie is very uptight,” Slade said. “She second guesses a lot of things and does not trust easily. It’s fun to not just be yourself, 但当你试图进入角色的思想并理解她的动机时，这也更难.”
Adam, who is from Plano, 他第一次接触表演是在高中，但真正对表演感兴趣是在紫花剧院看了两场戏之后.
“我被他们的表演和表演迷住了, and how next level everything was,” said Adam. “I wanted to be a part of that, so I came here. I didn’t expect to be thrown into such a big role so early on. It was a bit frightening at first, 但一旦我们开始了整个过程，一切都在正轨上，我们做的每件事都有一个时间表, I got more comfortable and I’m just flowing with it.
“特里斯坦是剧中比较外向的角色之一，”他补充道. “他有点像一个叛逆的青少年，但他比康妮大. He’s done these trials many times before. But something happens with Connie that changes him.”
这也是对演员身临其境生活的介绍. 一天晚上排练时，剧院外面正在举行现场音乐派对.
“It’s definitely taking up my entire life,” Slade said. “There’s a party going on outside. Can’t go to that. That’s just the life of theater, staying late, 一次又一次的排练，努力记住台词. But it’s worth it.”
除了新人，还有戏剧老手，三年级学生阿德里安·泰森和布伦娜·彼得森.
Theisen, who plays Toby, is in the third of his four TWU productions this year, two from the 2021-22 school year and two this season.
“我第一次读剧本时，我读的是英国版，”泰森说. “I was very interested in playing Toby. He has a monologue in the show that I love. 我认为这四个角色都有明显的性格缺陷，这让他们非常吸引我作为一个演员. All four are very intriguing. 我觉得他们可能会引起人们的共鸣，我喜欢这样的节目. 你的角色会做一些你不同意的事情，但你明白他们为什么要这么做. It’s a very character-driven show.”
20岁的彼得森来自一个爱表演的家庭，扮演47岁的医生. James. 与她交谈几分钟，对彼得森来说，扮演一个年龄大得多的角色似乎并不费力, who has been on stage from the time she was eight.
“I’ve played a lot of adults,” she said. “I’m tall (5-foot-10), and that has always played into it. 我有一种让我经常扮演老角色的风度.
“She has a pretty vicious character arc,” Petersen said of Dr. James. “It’s profound, and it’s intimidating. 这是我最近演过的最具情感挑战的角色. She has a lot to offer, but she’s been a beast to tackle. I’m very grateful to Adrian. He and I have worked together before, 在我试图弄清楚我和她的关系，以及我和他在一起的场景中讲述的故事时，他一直在帮助我.”
彼得森和泰森的经验对复杂的比赛很有帮助 The Effect. 推力座椅迫使演员保持自己的位置，以便观众能看到他们的动作, and presents challenges in lighting and sound.
还有明显的浪漫元素，包括演员们的触摸和亲吻. 排练时提供了隐私和清晰的沟通渠道，让演员们尽可能舒服.
“在过去的5到10年里，人们一直在推动所谓的亲密训练,” Lelek said. “It’s making sure the actors are safe. They’re young and they don’t know each other. It's kind of up to them when they feel comfortable to kiss. 我们在他们排练的地方排练了一遍，只是为了让大家知道.”
“Emotional preparation is always interesting,” Petersen said. “你必须考虑到舞蹈编排中的一切. 一种方法是我们把自己从“我在和一个没有恋爱关系的人接吻”的概念中分离出来,问题是我们要怎么瞄准，这样她的口红才不会溅到他的脸上. It’s finding that things like that, that are technically important, versus having some romantic, emotional idea about it.”
Tickets for The Effect 网上可以买到，成人10美元，学生和老年人5美元.
The Effect contains adult language and content, 一些人可能会觉得令人痛苦的性场景和频闪效果/闪光灯. Viewer discretion is advised.
