On Stage This Week - "The Seagull"

On stage this week, the Marshall University Department of Theatre is presenting the Chekov play The Seagull. Here's the director of that play, Jack Cirillo, to tell us more about the show.

(By the way, you can also read more about the show in this story in today's Herald-Dispatch. And the photo on the left by Mark Webb shows Leah Turley, Mike Murdock and Nick Reynolds in a scene from The Seagull.)

Q: For those who aren't familiar with the show, tell us about The
Seagull.

Jack: The play centers around a famous and fading Russian actress and her love-sick and artistically impassioned son. Typical of all Chekhov plays, there is a wide array of characters that people the events of the play. Chekhov led a sort of a double life - he was a physician by trade and a writer by choice. He was fond of saying that "If medicine is my wife, writing is my mistress." Chekhov wrote hundreds of short stories, mostly comedic in nature and many short plays, but he is more widely known for his four full length plays: The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, The Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard. What is most notable about his work is the emphasis on character and "sub-text" and the De-emphasis of plot. Which isn't to say that the plot doesn't exist - it does, it's just that the characters seem somewhat stunted in their life pursuits. Plays of the 19th century tended to wrap up their characters in tight plot lines with everything being resolved by the end of the play. Chekhov wanted to show that life wasn't like that - real life is random and untidy. People speak in non-sequiturs and don't always follow a cohesive thought pattern. All of this has become a hallmark of Chekhovian style.

Q: Why did Marshall decide to tackle this show?

Jack: We try to expose our students and audiences to as many theatrical styles and genres as possible. Chekhov's work was revolutionary to the theatre - in many ways both he and the director of his plays, Konstantine Stanislavsky, created much of our modern acting techniques and approaches. "The Method" owes much of its development to the plays of Chekhov and the Moscow Art Theatre that developed the plays.

Q: You've done some Chekov shows before as an actor - why are you drawn to his work?

Jack: Like Shakespeare and Moliere, Chekhov provides a very specific challenge. In this case, the challenge has to do with finding a balance of emotional truth and theatricality. Often in Chekhov's plays what the characters are NOT saying is more important that what is actually stated. The notion of SUBTEXT - what is happening behind the line of text, must be clearly defined and rehearsed otherwise the plays seem superficial and meaningless.

Q: Tell us about the actors in this show.

Jack: Chekhov employs a large number of
characters in his plays and this is no exception. In this piece, The famous actress, Irina, is played by Mary Williams. Her dark and moody son, Konstantine, is played by Adam Terry. Shay Hannon plays the focal point of a love triangle between Konstantine and a famous writer named Trigorin, played by Cody Southern. Perennial favorite Nick Reynolds plays Doctor Dorn, a family doctor with his secret love, Paulina played by Caitlin Haught. The unlikely couple of Masha and Medvenko are played by Leah Turley and Chris Ferris. Jeremy Plyburn plays the estate's steward, Shamraev, and Mike Murdock plays the estate's owner and Irina's brother Sorin. Adam Paul, Robyn Helton and Greg Kiser play the estate's servants.

Q: Why would you recommend The Seagull to our readers?

Jack: The Seagull offers theatre goers a rare opportunity to see one of the great and pivotal plays of the theatre. The play is not done all that often - in fact MU Theatre hasn't presented a Chekhov play in over 20 years. This particular adaptation of the play (remember, Chekhov wrote in Russian) was written by another great playwright of the theatre - Tom Stoppard - who wrote the plays Arcadia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, current Broadway hit, Rock and Roll, and the screen play for Shakespeare in Love.

Q: Tell us when and where the show will be presented.

Jack: The show will open on Wednesday, Feb. 20 and play through Saturday, Feb. 23. All shows start at 8:00 p.m. The show runs about 2 hours and 15 minutes. The performances will be at the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center at Marshall University's campus. Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for seniors and MU faculty and staff, $7 for children 17 and under, and are free for full-time Marshall students with an ID. For more information, call the box office at (304) 696-ARTS.