Dead Men Do Tell Tales
Duluth News Tribune
October 1,
2015
Contrary to the old saying, dead men (and women) indeed do tell tales in director Tom Isbell’s adaptation of Edgar Lee Masters’ 1915 poetry collection Spoon River Anthology. The crisp, 90-minute production (performed without an intermission) flies by with its mix of comedy, pathos, music and dance.
In stories of murder, lust, greed, jealousy, pride, and any number of other human vices, Masters’ voices from the grave tells the provocative secrets and revelations and the mostly unfulfilled hopes and dreams of those “sleeping on the hill” in the town cemetery of the mythical town of Spoon River.
Isbell’s research from his pilgrimage this past summer to Masters’ home turf in Lewistown and Petersburg, Ill., is on glorious display, not only in his selection of which poems to choose and how to arrange them in ever fascinating configurations but also in the projections, with the beautiful, the ugly and the comic in images of American life gone by.
Scenic designer Jenna Mady’s elegant set includes a simple rake of wooden planks, nine mismatched chairs, a small bandstand, a few stacked boxes and frames for the projections. Wesley Darton’s lighting design is appropriately atmospheric without being dark or oppressive. Heather Olson’s costumes are evocative of the period, with simple but effective changes made in progress by adding aprons, shawls, hats and coats.
The ensemble of five men and four women tackle nearly 60 of the poems in earnest direct address to the audience. While the monologues don’t all ring with the same levels of conviction and clarity, each of the cast members has a chance to connect in moments that are brutally honest, delightfully comic and frequently sarcastic.
Because each cast member is called upon to play several characters, it is important for them to distinguish each clearly with style, energy, dialect, projection and expression. Some of the ensemble members succeed at this more universally than others.
The evening’s most effective comic highlights are provided by Brian Saice as a fiddler and a diminutive judge and Phil Hoelscher as the ever-beleaguered husband. On the tragic side of the ledger, Lauren Schulke resonates with her portrayals of a rape victim, a prostitute and the brutalized town poetess.
While it truly is an ensemble show, Ryan James Fargo brings a special maturity and confidence to his various personas. Fargo’s energy is electric and his understanding of how to take command of the stage and how to set each character apart make him the most compelling to watch.
Music Director Andy Kust (who also worked with Isbell on the adaptation) is the onstage “band,” playing piano and percussion. While the show is not a musical, the use of music in hymns, period songs and underscore helps to evoke mood and to provide another slant on the show’s themes.
The full-company vocals on “Blessed Assurance” and, most particularly, “This Little Light of Mine” are stunning. One of the evening’s other standout musical moments is a lively full-company square dance, choreographed by Rebecca Katz Harwood.
The cast shows an obvious reverence for the poems and the songs throughout, most particularly with the closing hymn, “I Feel Like Traveling On.” The song underscores projections of people in the community who sent in photos of themselves and their loved ones, reminding us all how fleeting such moments are.
The English teacher part of my soul hopes that UMD’s production will spark interest in audience members going back to the original source material, to do their own detective work of how intricately these characters connect in a masterwork that reads like a kaleidoscopic mosaic of the human experience.
The University of Minnesota Duluth’s adaptation of Spoon River, directed by Tom Isbell and Andy Kust, was a well-executed production. The unfamiliar story adapted from the book of poems by Edgar Lee Masters is a whirlwind of characters that keeps the audience on their toes. Each new character had their own three-minute story, and each character connected with the following character in some way.
ReplyDeleteEvery actor portrayed their array of roles impeccably; adopting new accents, little tics, posture, and the like, to match their character at the time. Each new character brought a new personality to the stage, and while it may have been confusing in the beginning, the audience quickly caught on. The projections aided the audience with pictures and names of each person. Although the costume changes were limited, they were distinguishing enough that the audience could acknowledge that a new person had come into the story. The play consisted of many soliloquies interrupted by perfectly-timed songs and dances.
While Spoon River was a beautiful production, with stellar acting, the play itself was boring in the sense that without an actual plot, the audience had no real interest in following along to each new person’s story. An audience member could quickly go bored with the constant roll of fast stories that had minimal relevance to today’s society.
That being said, because the cast did so well and took up their roles valiantly, the play was still entertaining to the average audience member and well worth the trip to the theatre. With wonderfully harmonic ballads and jigs that captivated the attention of each person the audience member was once-again engaged. The staggered characters that brought humor and laughter to the stage throughout the play were paired with more dramatic characters, creating a well-rounded production.
Overall, Spoon River was a production that most would enjoy, but many may not relate to the play itself.
On Thursday, October 1st, the Marshall Performing Arts Center opened “Spoon River”, based on the Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters published 100 years ago. This serious yet humorous production was directed by Tom Isbell and kept the audience engaged with the actors executing an outstanding performance, creating a tremendous scenic design, and utilizing an excellent approach to the script. Each actor took on the role of at least seven different characters telling their life stories after they had died.
ReplyDeleteTom Isbell displayed extraordinary perception balancing strong emotion with humor. This was especially apparent in one scene when all of the characters made animal noises which transformed into a song which got the audience laughing. Without the occasional laughs in this production, the play would have been boring. The humor was able to give the audience a break from the tragic and emotional stories ranging from depressing to gut wrenching tragedy of each character.
The actors in this production undertook their rolls in skillful ways by having the audience believe each character’s story. The audience could feel and see the inner truth of the actors as each of them were relaxed and took on the persona of the role they were playing. The characters were so believable because each actor portrayed their character with an accent or with specific movements. Even though many different characters were played by the same actor, each actor took on each role differently. Perhaps casting more people would benefit the play so each cast member did not have to take on as many roles and would add a bit more variety to the play.
The scenic design was tremendous as there were projected images of where Edgar Lee Masters lived and where he modeled Spoon River Anthology. It made the play feel realistic and the audience could get a sense of what Spoon River could actually look like. At the end of the play, the projected images of the Spoon River characters turned into images of the cast and connected to each individual to show how the play “Spoon River” can connect to ordinary people which shows the relevance of the story.
Overall, this play was worth attending with it making the audience feel many different emotions ranging from sadness to laughter. The actors fit their roles very well, and the scenic design was convincing. There were no noticeable mistakes by the actors and each sang very well in tune. Tom Isbell took on a challenging, yet successful task turning the beloved story into an incredible stage performance.
Lauren Shomion
Directed by Tom Isbell and Andy Kust, the University of Minnesota Duluth’s version of Spoon River went really well. The play came from many poems from a book by Edgar Lee Masters that the actors announced in the beginning of the play. What was interesting about this play is the story that the actors were able to tell thought the beginning to the end. Every actor was able to tell most of the character’s stories without having a problem which is what made the play fantastic. With many different stories of the characters by different actors, the only issue was remembering who was who. With pictures of places, characters and names, it helped solved the problem. When an actor plays as a new character in a play, it feels realistic even though it was by the same person with accent change and minimal costume difference from their previous character. The singing and dancing went really well, especially when the actors were making animal sounds. The audience really enjoyed the play and were laughing during comical moments. Only issue I had with the audience was when the actors were trying to get them to clap in one of their songs, the audience did not respond well and only partial of them participated in the activity. The ending went really emotional but it was a great transition to end Spoon River. This play would be highly recommended if someone is interested in learning about the story of Spoon River and what the characters contributed throughout their lifetime. In the end, University of Minnesota Duluth’s version of Spoon River is enjoyable and people should give it a chance to watch it and experience the play.
ReplyDeleteThe centennial anniversary of Edgar Lee Masters’ groundbreaking collection of poems, Spoon River Anthology, was this year and the University of Minnesota Duluth’s decision to produce their own play adaptation of the book beautifully celebrated Masters’ literary masterpiece.
ReplyDeleteThe choices made by director Tom Isbell generated a charming and captivating 90 minute production filled to the brim with emotion, humor, song, and dance. Isbell’s adaptation provided a fast-paced and distinctive presentation of various characters that made the show seemingly fly by even without an intermission. The research Isbell did while in Masters’ two hometowns this past summer could be seen in nearly all aspects of the play, pulling the audience much deeper into the experience than many individuals might have expected from a college theatre production.
Isbell’s research was most likely what allowed him to have taken the audience on such a realistic and successful poetic journey that celebrated Masters’ book so well. It was well worth Isbell’s time and effort to have produced Spoon River Anthology.
Music director Andy Kust’s piano accompaniment on stage was a particular compliment to the show. Kust enhanced many moments whether they were dramatic, humorous or anything in between. Some of the play’s more serious characters, such as the rape victim, may have created an uncomfortable environment that, without Kust’s music in the background, might have otherwise generated a negative experience for some members of the audience. The music supported the production’s style through its small town American period sounds and songs, and audibly transported the audience to that time.
Of the 244 in Masters’ book, somewhere around 60 characters were carefully presented in the adaptation. The cast of 4 women and 5 men each had to portray multiple characters, each with their own unique personality and story. With a variety of personas to take on throughout the show, each actor needed to make choices that involved the use of accents, mannerisms, and other specific characteristics that distinguished each character from the next. Many of the actors excelled at this skill more than others, but overall, the actors kept their lines straight throughout the show and committed to each of their various characters with gusto and focus. The actors weren’t over the top other than to distinguish an important characteristic of the character, and even so, the characters were realistic and believable.
There’s a part of me that went into this wanting the show to end as quickly as possible so I could go home, but within 15 minutes I changed my mind. I like to believe there’s a poetic part of everyone’s soul that, whether they are willing to admit it or not, UMD’s production of Spoon River Anthology can touch and inspire. I will be the first to admit that I was inspired.
Allison Muehlbauer
Thursday, October 21st, Spoon River opened at the University of Minnesota Duluth Theatre. Spoon River is a play based on Spoon River Anthology written by Edgar Lee Masters. The play came in a shortened version of the actual writings and formed into the stories of a select few characters in the anthology.
ReplyDeleteThere were nine actors in total, and each of them played different characters from scene to scene. Although this had the potential to become extremely confusing, it was put together well so that the transition between characters was obvious and actually quite impressive work from the actors. They switched from characters filled with joy to characters filled with intense sorrow in a very fluid transition.
The play was filled with a strong sense of nostalgia throughout the entire performance. The audience watched as the actors outstandingly portrayed the best, and sometimes worst, memories of their character’s lives. You personally could feel the anger and regret of characters that felt they lost their lives too soon, and feel the contentment of others that were ready to go. The whole performance was very moving. Watching characters speak of how they were hung up on failed marriages and careers, while others spoke of their life fondly. Also seeing how the character’s lives intertwined. Bosses, mistresses, and ex-lovers all “sleeping” on the hill.
Another unique thing about this play was how personalized it was for both the director and the audience. At the back of the stage there were three screens, each of which were displaying pictures that the director had taken in the town Edgar Lee Masters wrote the play. They were beautiful pictures and shown in an order that was very relevant to what was going on in the play. At the end of the performance there was also a special surprise for the audience that brought tears to many eyes.
Overall, Spoon River was a very moving performance and definitely worth taking the time to go see. The time and effort put into this play proves how much this performance was cared for and that alone makes it worth seeing, let alone seeing it for the fact that it was beautifully performed.
University of Minnesota Duluth’s theatre production of Spoon River went well beyond all expectations. The directors, Tom Isbell and Andy Kust, creatively adapted this work of art to fit the social appropriateness of the time period of the 100-year-old poetry collection of 244 epitaphs written by Edgar Lee Master.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing noticed was that each actor or actress played the roles of at least 60 different characters, respectively. What was difficult for one to understand at some points was when one actor would be playing one role, then less than two minutes later they would be a completely different character. While it took some time to get used to, the 90-minute production required the audience to focus on the story of each character while keeping them all in an organized order. Each of the actors in this play soulfully portrayed each role as if they really studied and took the time to accumulate themselves to each role of being born blind, falling in love, and even characters who were insanely rich and travelled the world.
What one might find interesting about this play is that they explored many of the comical, honest, and heartbreaking stories of the people of Spoon River. Keeping the audience laughing and intrigued is an important aspect of a production as such. During the dance performances and also during the singing moments, the actors had a lot of enthusiasm which seeped into the audience with clapping along to the songs. The format in which the stage was designed helped tremendously with these scenes. The use of the chairs in each performance was critical, and the actors flawlessly flew around the stage with all of the props. Perhaps the background pictures could have been used for all of the characters, as I thoroughly enjoyed putting real faces to the characters when they were used.
As someone who had no clue what to expect going into Spoon River, it was a fantastic surprise and wonderful ending to my night. I would most definitely recommend seeing this production to anyone who is looking for a good laugh, without taking too much time out of their schedule. Although I could not relate with most any of these characters, I thought the way the portrayed them in such a modern society that we live in now really captured the unfulfilled dreams the characters had, and most can relate to having some unfulfilled dreams of their own.
Thursday, October 1st, the centennial anniversary of Edgar Lee Masters’ collection of poems, Spoon River Anthology, opened on University of Minnesota Duluth’s main stage. Of the 244 poems of the original book, about 60 were performed by UMD’s cast of four women and five men. Each of the stories told were about their lives, whether it be jealousy or pride. They were told from the grave.
ReplyDeleteIn the 90 minute, without intermission, production, there were many different emotions that were evoked with each story. Each of them was enhanced by the music director, Andy Kust, works onstage playing live music on piano and percussion. While the play was not a musical, it definitely evokes the emotions that the actors are portraying on stage.
Stage scene director, Jenna Mady, worked well with the shape of the stage. With the wooden, “thrust” position, the minimal set worked well with every single one of the scenes in the production. Between singing, dancing, or just moving around, the set added to the acting, but did not distract or pull away from it. The lighting designer did a wonderful job setting the mood with the bright lights on the happy parts and on the song and dance, and the lower lighting for the darker and more emotional parts.
The projections on the set added a little something different and made UMDs production unique from others. Tom Isbell’s original photos from the fictitious Spoon River area made the emotions rise and enhanced the set.
Each of the actors and actresses brought a different personality to each character played and seemed to have their own personality shine through. They pretty clearly distinguished each different character they played since they played many during the performance, with a little bit of a different costume, to a little bit of a different accent Ryan James Fargo with his confidence and booming presence and Kayla Peters with her motherly figure made for very believable characters on stage.
The few music numbers that were performed on stage were done very well and each actor on stage could be heard with the different parts they sang. The songs enhanced the mood of the performance as well as the square dancing scene that was choreographed wonderfully by Rebecca Katz Harwood.
Overall, it was a “must-see” play, everybody involved was really dedicated and the performance definitely made that obvious.
Sydney Davies
On Thursday October 1st, directors Tom Isbell and Andy Kust put on a rendition of Spoon River originally written by Edgar Lee Master as poems about the deaths of people in the small town. The play was well done where all the actors seemed to put on a solid performance of about 50 or 60 people of the town. The cast consisted of 4 women and five men.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the entire play the actors seemed to be realistic as each actor got into the roles of their characters and it appeared that they had fun while doing so. For example, when the character was to be portrayed as a snobby rich woman, the actor then would act as if that were his/her personality. The actors had to become many different characters throughout the play, yet they still seemed to be very realistic with every role they had to become.
Spoon River’s script well represented both Kust’s and Isbell’s approach to the play which was the remembrance of our past and history. By the the director’s using this as their approach, the script emphasized the meaning of our history and honoring the people who have died. The play was well directed as a whole by having it seem very rehearsed and very professional overall.
The design of the play was also put on very well because the costumes were well within the time frame of the play and also the scenic production was well put together. Throughout the different scenes the directors used different pictures from the actual town and different props to create a different setting throughout the play. The lighting that was used during the play also gave the play a sad feel which seemed to be what Kust and Isbell were going for.
Overall, the play was worth attending as it was a great rendition of Master’s 244 poems about the deaths of people from the small town of Spoon River. If anyone were to attend this play one would be disappointed because of the great work of Kust’s and Isbell’s directing.
Ben Bookey
On Thursday October 1st, The University of Minnesota Duluth’s main stage opened with their first performance of Spoon River directed by Tom Isbell and Andy Kust. Spoon River is an anthology written by Edgar Lee Masters one hundred years ago. It’s consisted of over 244 short poems, in which about 60 were performed in the production by UMD. The nine performers miraculously performed this anthology, capturing the audience through the lives of the people who were all “sleeping on the hill”.
ReplyDeleteThe artistic performance of spoon river was favorable. The directors choice of casting for Spoon river was outstanding. Every performer was engaged and performed their characters, wonderfully. The audience could feel their emotion and almost understood exactly what they were going through. Considering every performer had to play about seven different characters, they pulled it off respectfully. At times it was confusing as to who was playing who, but beyond that point extraordinary was the word for the performers of the anthology. Perhaps the only critic with the performers, is that Kust and Isbell could have had casted more actors and actresses to help distinguish the characters better.
The unique design that Isbell and Kust portrayed, was a huge part of the performance. The term “simple is more,” served a huge part in this performance. The setting never changed throughout the performance, only some props moved around here and there. One of the unique things was that their were hardly any props used, mainly just chairs. The performers used imaginary probs throughout the whole play, like reading a book and turning imaginary pages. This made the audience have to become more engaged and have a different outlook on the play. It seemed that it could be hard to imagine and become engaged in some of the scenes, due to lack of props. So maybe the attempt of having more props would have helped viewers understand scenes more. Another touching and unique touch they added to the design were the pictures they showed on the screens and how they informed the viewer of what poem they were doing and what people were involved with that certain poem.
Tom isbell respectively made this anthology into a fun, emotional experience that most audience wouldn’t have expected. His perspective he put on this play made it interesting and unique for having 60 poems crunched into a 90 minute play. Isbells demonstration of the high pace storytelling, was a very thought out process. The studies he did, payed off in the end and showed very clearly throughout the play. For example, all of the pictures from the characters graves and places mentioned within the poems on the screen on the back gave more impact and understanding of the audience.
Spoon River put on by University of Minnesota Duluth was an exhilarating experience. Through the beautiful performance put on by the actors, to the thought put into the design and presentation by Isbell and Kust, it is a performance worth seeing.
Sarah Halbakken
UMD theatre put on the fast paced and heartbreaking staging of the play Spoon River Anthology with Director Tom Isbell at the helm. This play depicts the one hundred year old poem of a multitude of deceased men and women from the small town called Spoon River. Jumping from character to character throughout the performance the acting crew made the audience grow a short lived connection with each of the “resurrected” characters.
ReplyDeleteWith such a depressing theme of people giving their own epitaphs, the play was still able to keep the crowd laughing with the brilliantly intertwined humor. With the exception of the deceitful and unfaithful characters, one could not help but feel remorse as the audience was given a small snippet of the different personas after they had already passed away. The use of humor, joyous dancing, and in-tune singing helped keep this depressing storyline interesting.
The lack of funding was noticeable occasionally with the shortage of a few props, however, the cast created these visuals with the interaction with these non-existent props. Some specific moments that stand in my memory as if it was better the prop was not there were the man petting and interacting with his dog and in the introduction with the entire cast standing around a coffin. Another deficit I believe the play had was the actors and actresses switching through different characters so swiftly. The cast tried to produce an imaginary barrier from their last persona by using different emotions or accents, but at times this barrier did not feel like enough.
Although the Marshall Performing Arts Center was holding a nearly sold out audience, the theatre space was utilized very well. The characters were consistently talking outward as if they were having the conversation with the audience and trying to create a bond. The projectors also were very helpful in showing each character’s name as they spoke. In the end, the most emotional scene in my opinion, the projectors showed some of the actors and actresses with their loved ones that had also passed away.
Taking everything into account, the play Spoon River Anthology was an emotional roller coaster that would have the spectators laughing one moment to feeling sorrow for individuals of the town. The play kept the audience attentive by telling the stories of each inhabitant with a twist of humor. It is definitely worth recommending to go see as UMD theatre did a stellar job depicting Spoon River Anthology.
UMD’s production of Spoon River depicted characters from a fictitious small town in Illinois. While the cast had few actors, the play had many characters. The set was merely made of a few wooden chairs, yet the storyline took place in a variety of settings.
ReplyDeleteOn set were screens that displayed a name when a new character was introduced. The play had a fast pace and was difficult to follow if a new character had arrived or if another character was joining the story. Few set changes happened and multiple characters shared their story per set. The lack of changes with lack of actors made Spoon River difficult to follow.
Actors themselves showed their skill and range by each depicting many different characters. They went from playing someone poor to wealthy, happy to depressed, and young to old. There were few cues to let the audience know a new character had arrived. No set, costume, or actor change let the audience know and it was up the the actor to adjust their character into someone convincingly new. While it was at times hard to follow the story, the emotion of each character was clear. Joy, sorrow, love, regret, anger, and all other of life’s emotions were strongly displayed.
Spoon River had two intermissions of sorts when the stories stopped and the audience received a glance into everyday life of the town. The first featured a square dance where the audience watched as the town’s young adults gathered to relax and have fun. The audience watched as two young people met, fell in love, and married. The second intermission showed the town’s young children singing a funny song. With the play’s fast pace and many emotions the intermissions created a way for the audience to recall while life is quick and hard it’s necessary to take a step back to enjoy.
At the end of the production photos of the actor’s families were displayed. The ending brought the audience back to the present with the message of everyone has stories filled with fun and hardship. While the characters and their stories were hard to follow with their fast pace, so too is life. We come across many characters each with their own branch of stories. To fit it all into a play would be difficult and Spoon River showed a quick glimpse into the lives of it’s residents.
Jeremy Gonnerman
Spoon River was a very tragic/emotional play based off of a fictional town. The play told many stories of how people died and what their lives were like. There wasn’t a story line like normal plays have but it was a good twist on a book full of poems. The play had many musical numbers that were upbeat and caught the audience’s attention. I felt that the play should have had more of a direct story. I felt the same way watching the play the same way I read the Game of Thrones. It talks about many people in the play. The only thing different in the play is that the play didn’t have a story to it where the Game of Thrones did.
ReplyDeleteThe actors took on the roles of their characters exactly how they should have. The director of this play chose the actors personality right. The actors took on their roles the way they should have. I wanted the play to have more of a story to it. The sections had a story but the overall play didn’t have a plot to it. I would have been more interested in it if the characters interacted with each other. I didn’t see much interaction between the characters that weren’t in their sections. I only saw interactions with the characters that were in the same stage. They never talked to each other when they were on the stage, they talked only to the audience. I didn’t know what I was going to expect when I walked into the theater I was intrigued by the way the play went. They each described when they lived and when they died. They Described what they wanted in life and who they interacted with, and why they interacted with them.
Overall the play was interesting. The only thing I wish would have happened in the play was that there was a story to it. A story could have made the play much better than it was. I get that the play was based off of a book of poems. If it didn’t have a story then it isn’t as interesting as it could be. My honest opinion is that some things shouldn’t be made plays. The play could have been made much more interesting with a story attached to it.
University of Minnesota Duluth Theatre presents the beautifully and unforgettable play, "Spoon River" base on Edgar Lee Masters’ book of poems, "Spoon River Anthology". The audience at this production received an exceptional insight into the life of many spirits, through laughter and grief from vignettes and songs from the mid-nineteenth century.
ReplyDeleteEach actors took turns taking part in the diverse range of characters and created a sad, amusing, and sentimental monologues. The story of their lives were presented by the spirits themselves, each giving the audience a look of their life before being buried on the hill of the town Spoon River. The performance was energetic and entertaining but with its emotional moments it kept the audience looking forward to the next glimpse of life.
The nine actors each had multiple roles and had to perform a persuasive and smooth transition. The actors had to quickly adjust to their new character and portray the new role, some delivered better than others.
A standout was Glee Schultz, who played characters from a various murdering wife, to a mother watching her family be torn apart. She expressed with passion to each individual character and managed to bring out each characters distinctive personality.
The director Tom Isbell was able to pace the action and the staging gracefully that it never felt boring for a second. The set and costumes, credited to Jenna Mady and Heather Olson, also added to the show’s atmosphere. The minimal set suggested simplicity while the costumes reflected the setting of the nineteenth century. The light designer Wesley Darton, was able to keep the actors in pools of light base on the mood, which was quickly matched to the changing characters.
The folk songs and hymns helped the audience to emotionally relate and correlate with the spirits lives. Having the music director Andy Kust onstage playing the piano, approved the show by letting the casts interact with it.
"Spoon River" was a humorous and compelling production about the many different lives of citizens of the town Spoon River. Base on the performance of the cast and effective music put on by the University of Minnesota Duluth theatre this is a show worth seeing.
Gevashia Yang
On October 7, the Marshall Performing Arts Center brought a whirl of imagination to their stage. A rendition of "Spoon River Anthology" was created to fit the theater and was performed by 5 woman and 4 men to great appeal. These 9 actors took on the personas of almost 60 deceased people of the fictional town, Spoon River.
ReplyDeleteIt was quite clear a lot of thought had gone into the personality of each character. Each actor changed his or her personality completely as they quickly jumped from character to character. Beyond the personality differences, each character had their own story of how they lived (and died). Each story sparked the audience's imagination and drew the audience closer to the time-setting of the play. The actors' and actresses' wide ranges of talent are to credit for correctly relaying to the audience which character, personality, and story to portray at which time.
The set was quite simple: a wooden stage slanted toward the audience, a piano and its pianist, wooden chairs, and a few wooden boxes. This may be because the play aims to focus on the dialogue - not the setting, and also because a more complex setting could not be built for every story. The lack of complexity on the stage allowed for the audience to unconsciously listen deeply to what each person was saying. This gave a great advantage to the play because the focus was never shifted from a characters story. Lighting was also simply used to allow the focus to be in the correct place at the correct time. In some unique circumstances, the lighting would darken to imply night time or changed to accompany warmth or cold.
Although the play was centered around death, the play was not sad. Through the use of satire and humor, the play gave the audience the message to celebrate life and enjoy what they have while they have it because one random moment could take everything. It is quite odd that the play allows the audience to experience death to teach them how to live. The production also gives the audience a light sense to celebrate the lives that have passed but have touched them. The ending of the play provides personal pictures of passed people dear to those who have provided the pictures. While these pictures were presented, the cast was singing a song which repetitively said "I feel like traveling on". This was not the only song in the play, but the most emotion arose from it. This climatic ending left the audience in euphoric tears.
If one wishes to experience entertainment involving comedy, tragedy, and drama. The play "Spoon River" is worth attending.
Ryan Sherden
The UMD Theater Department recently began taking its audience members back in time through its adaptation of Edgar Lee Masters’ collection of commemorations, entitled Spoon River Anthology. Director Tom Isbell successfully brought the past to life in his rendition of Spoon River through the use of only nine actors, musical director Andy Kust, and just a few props and stage pieces. In just a short ninety minutes, this crew was able to relay brief life stories of almost sixty different fictional residents of the non existent Illinois town of Spoon River from the early 1900’s; they not only succeeded in doing this, they succeeded in astounding the audience through the entirety of their performance.
ReplyDeleteA collection of different factors added together to help boost the overall appeal of the show to the audience. Altogether, the UMD Theatre Members did a wonderful job at exhibiting their versatility onstage. Their ability to transition from theme to theme and portray multiple different emotions throughout the course of the show. The actors seamlessly depicted humor and shifted to tragedy and solemness. From evoking farm animal noises, to mourning the loss of loved ones, the cast of Spoon River definitely succeeded in covering a wide range of ways to appeal to everyone within the audience.
Versatility wasn’t only shown within the varying themes of the show. The actors also successfully managed to hold multiple different character roles each. Through changes in costuming, voicing, and body language, each actor wowed the crowd as they jumped from one persona to the next in such a short fraction of time. The simple fact that we as an audience were treated to a performance with such a large number of characters was absolutely a bit perplexing, but thrilling nonetheless. The cast’s enthusiasm certainly attributed to the majority of that excitement.
In addition to the talents of the cast’s acting skills, the performance of Spoon River also featured a variety of musical numbers, accompanied solely by Andy Kust on the piano. Even with little resources, the show delighted with a range of different songs, from soft hymns to upbeat folk tunes accompanied by light hearted dancing. The use of music within the show was incredibly effective in connecting to the audience on a whole new level. Again, this played on several different emotions, which only increased those feelings as they were emulated from the stage. It could be seen plainly through the faces and body language of those within the audience as they mirrored what we were watching.
Altogether, the university’s theater department succeeded in entertaining its crowd. Through countless factors and the immeasurable talent of those involved, Spoon River touched the hearts of many. More than anything, the show impressed. It impressed through seemingly ineffective singular characteristics. However, when everything was combined, the performance shined.
Jonathan Cukla
Spoon River made an appearance at the Marshall Performing Arts Center staring nine actors and actresses, to make up the caste was Ryan Fargo, Luke Harger, Phil Hoelscher, Erik Meixelsperger, Rebekah Meyer, Kayla Peters, Brain Saice, Lauren Schulke and Glee Schultz which deserved a well round of applause. Each member of the play is a student at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. It was surprising at the talent these individuals brought fourth while battling a low budget for the production.
ReplyDeleteThe play, Spoon River, is the only of its kind. Its unique manner makes it intriguing as the stories of many people’s lives get depicted in front of the audience. The rationale and personalities of the deceased come back to life as the sour misfortunes of an individual’s life can be felt, while the prosperity of another can emerge through the story line.
Fifty plus narratives were unraveled in Spoon River with only nine actors and actresses able to portray each unrelated storyline. With that being said some transitions were weak and unable to tell if the individual’s history was related to the persons told before their own. Various lighting techniques fell absent that could have helped more noticeable transitions. Also the same nine actors and actresses rarely changed costumes which made it confusing to what character’s poem they had moved onto. This was due to the low budget and materials the various designers, managers and director had available at their disposal. This was seen at the lack of props as in multiple scenes prop guns, pets, and other items were missing and had to be imaged in one’s own perspective.
The acting presented was enlightening with such young talent on stage. Blocking and stage pictures were used to focus the audience to particular points of the stage which made the performance all the more interesting. The music added a jolly feel to the lighter stories in the play as well and was noticeable when a darker character in the play had arrived to tell their fable.
With the low budget the play suffered and would have been promoted to the next level with more props and material. With the resources available the entertainment was worthwhile but if given the chance it would enhance the visual to view the play at a studio with the available capital to withstand the amount of physical object needed to bring this play to the next tier.
On October first, University of Minnesota Duluth performed the opener of Spoon River on main stage. Spoon River is an anthology that was written by Edgar Lee Masters one hundred years ago. Ton Isbell and Andy Kust adapted and directed this performance at UMD. It originally contained 244 short poems, but the play that was performed at UMD consisted of 60 of these short poems. Each of the nine cast members smoothly took the place of many people’s lives that were all “sleeping on the hill” in the play.
ReplyDeleteThe way the stage was blocked was an appropriate use of space intended to be similar to that of a cemetery. Cemeteries sometimes have random tombstones facing different ways; which related to the direction the chairs were placed during the majority of the play. The stage moved its scenery of the graveyard for the square dancing, which was an energetic change in mood from the epitaphs. While, the actors were square dancing, there were also square dancing calls be yelled out that added to the humor and entertainment of this scene in the play. The mood keeps up during the wedding soon after the square dancing.
There were many serious and sad stories being told throughout the play, but they were broken up nicely. Besides the dancing and wedding there was a little bit of singing that added to the beauty of the play, along with the hymns. The hymns that were played were an addition to the original play, which really made one feel even more connected to the play. It seems most people have a familiar background with some of the hymns that were played, especially “This Little Light of Mine”. That was a beautiful and upbeat song for the audience to leave remembering.
Each character that had “passed” told their story as it was, with meaningful emotion behind each one. The cast was appropriately selected for each part for their passion and talent to be able to take on the act of another person. That being said, there could’ve been a few more characters on cast so each person didn’t have to take on multiple roles, and it’d be easier for the audience to follow along to. Although they did well with little change in their outfits to be able to tell the audience they were a new person by the change in their voice and attitude.
Although the audience may not have been able to relate to the play very much, death is something everyone can relate to in one way or another, which makes for an interested audience. Everything ran pretty smoothly. The lighting was spot on for the attention of each member to be at a maximum. The music of the hymns were an effective to way for the audience to connect, along with having the audience in the middle of the theatre and not having the seats open off to the side. It also ran nicely having it in a single 90 minute time frame without intermission interrupting the story.
Overall, Spoon River was a phenomenal play that involved lots of tragic emotions, yet a relieving amount of excitement and humor with dancing and yelling of animal noises that turned into singing. This play was pretty inspiring to listen to these believable stories; I’d suggest it to anyone whom asks.
It is a strange thing how one can take such a tragic anthology of death and darkness and utilize the sadness of it to create something so spectacularly entertaining. Tom Isbell and Andy Kust balanced this element of combining both despondency and humor in the production of Spoon River, a play based around the poems of Edgar Lee Masters, to depict a 90 minute tale of around 60 characters speaking from their graves.
ReplyDeleteThese characters were played by only 9 people, who flitted on and off stage at different times to change around their costumes and positions on the Marshall Performing Arts stage. Yes, there were mistakes, the actors bumped into each other and came in with their clothes hanging off balance from time to time, yet their style, wit, and interchangeability somewhat forgave this. Highly talented and well-rehearsed, this cast was particularly talented with character flexibility. They constantly changed their body language and accents based on the people they were playing, despite some minor line slip ups and the fact that it was sometimes difficult to follow along.
The way in which the characters transitioned seemed to support the director’s method of creating a blend of despondency and fun; there would be a tale of sorrow one moment and the next a whirlwind of amusement that would cause the actors to crack up laughing. It seemed as though the goal was almost to mess with the audience’s feelings to create an outcome of strange inspiration.
The costumes and stage were set up in a way that depicted Edgar Lee Master’s poetry- old fashioned, taking place around the early 20th century. Large overhead screens displayed different images describing the characters as they got up and spoke. Each character spoke the language of the time- even the piano player in the background played the classical music as each of the characters got up and spoke. This helped the audience both understand the characters and the time period as a whole.
This touching though intermission-less act ended off with a presentation of the both living and dead relatives of the cast members. This displayed a mechanism that Isbell and Kust used to draw the cast’s emotion into the performance. This presentation, only about three minutes long, gave more meaning to both the audience and the cast.
Overall, Spoon River used a plethora of emotions to capture the attention of the audience, taking an anthology of poetry and turning into a giant blend of stories performed by only a small group of rather talented actors. The mistakes were clear, yet the talent disguised this to some extent. Though somewhat hard to sit through, Tom Isbell and Andy Kust’s play is definitely worth seeing.
Wednesday October 7th UMD’s Marshal Performing Arts Center performed the production of “Spoon River”. Directed by Tom Isbell, the play was an amazing rendition of the book of poems, Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters. Based on the stories of the lives of people who have passed away, the director and actors had an emotional, passionate, fun, and humorous performance.
ReplyDeleteOne way this play was successful was the ability of the actors to take on multiple roles but also to engage and connect with audience through every character. Each story was believable, the actors were great at making the audience feel the stories as if it was their own. The director was also very smart at transition and emotion. Isbell knew how to go from serious and intense, to humorous and fun, then switch it up with some romance; the audience was always on their toes. One great example of this was the hoe-down scene where for a good three minutes it was just the cast dancing and singing, transitioning into two of the characters falling in love, and then their wedding; very powerful scene. The hymns as well we’re a great addition to the production. Besides the fact that the actors were powerful and harmonious singers, it was a great way to tie everything together and comfort the audience.
The overall message of Spoon River was also very effective. At the end of the play when the pictures of the lost loved ones were showed, and the actors sang one final hymn; it was so beautiful and touching. That really tied everything together, explaining why they just spent the last two hours acting about dead people; to honor them. The stories could no longer be told by those people because they are gone, so this play gave a voice to the voiceless.
Spoon River was worth seeing because it was full of emotion, strategic directing, passionate actors and beautiful hymns.
The ability to tell the stories of over 30 people who have passed away and keep the audience interested; hats off to these people. The name Spoon River may seem a little weird, and no it was not about a giant spoon full of people going down the Mississippi (as interesting as that sounds), it was a beautiful production with stories full of all the emotions one can think of, artful directing and fantastic acting.
Nine chairs were set on the stage, with a picket fence lined around the perimeter. Above the stage three screens displayed images of gravestones on a hill taken from the actual town called Spoon River. An adaptation of Edgar Lee Masters’ book, Spoon River Anthology, the production of Spoon River at UMD’s Marshall Performing Arts Center told his stories in a rendition based on song and poem. Directed by Tom Isbell, Spoon River took a look at small town America in the early 1900s.
ReplyDeleteEach poem was an epitaph of a citizen of Spoon River, who was deceased. The poems were delivered brilliantly and without hesitation, beginning the show with a powerful poem that introduces many characters stating, “all, all are sleeping on the hill.” By characters being mentioned in this way, it made a connection between the chairs on stage and the gravestones on the screen behind the actors. Collective viewpoints of each character and attitudes involved when the poems were recited placed more focus on the outlook the deceased had on life.
Characters in the performance each played many others. There was little transition between each poem, and characters often switched to another within seconds, yet the momentum was smooth and clear that the scene had changed. The addition of hymns helped the performance progress and hold attention. Without the combination of song and poem, the play may have been dull, but instead it was an artistic show of intrigue.
The addition of names on the screens as each character spoke really helped tie together the quick momentum of scene changes without disrupting natural movements. It also added an extra characteristic to connect with. As each told their story, they became very personable. Some characters had resentment, some had pride, but all of these characteristics made them unique and some conflicting. Research of the actual Spoon River was also included in this rendition by including images taken prior to the show and portrayed on the screens. Images added to the personality of this place so that the audience could connect to the place, time, and characters easily.
Spoon River was a very moving production, portraying small town America in a timely, imaginative fashion. The addition of the piano played on stage, identities placed on the screen, and minimal wardrobe changes, all made this adaptation more successful. The way that scene changes were done without movement of an entire set, and characters changed identity without changing outfits added to the show as well.
Without previously knowing anything about Spoon River, this adaptation surprised me. The simplicity of the set satisfied my love for detail with the opportunity to make connections with characters through their beautiful stories. UMD’s production turned that small town into a celebration of each story through their differences, failures, and outlooks.
The Marshall Performing Arts Center recently put on the production of "Spoon River". A show based on the the book "Spoon River Anthology" by writer, Edgar Lee Masters. Director Tom Isbell went above and beyond when he created an adaption of what has been considered "one of the greatest books of the present century". Isbell worked with a team of designers, builders and actors to extract a small portion of these stories and put them together to create something beautiful.
ReplyDelete"Spoon River Anthology" was a book of 244 epitaphs, written about citizen of the town Spoon River. The story takes place in the cemetery where these characters are supposedly buried. The actors were stationed in chairs that symbolized their tombstones and grave sites, they told stories and gave you a glance into their past lives through monologues and small scenes. The transitions between the scenes were smooth and worked well within the show. Every so often, the actors would move the chairs, this symbolized that a new set of graves and that a fresh group of characters was about to be introduced. Each actor portrayed a variety of characters throughout the performance, there were few costume changes, mostly consisting of handheld props or simple articles of clothing that could easily be added or removed.
The music in the show was a very nice fit and it would be difficult to imagine the show without it. They did a really nice job of drawing the audience back in when the show was at it's slower parts, songs like "This Little Light of mine" and "The Water Is Wide" are well known and made it easy for the audience to stay interested in the story. It wasn't difficult to tell that the director was going for a more community tone with the hymns because the actors weren't singing to their fullest extent. The blending of the voices was uneven which is understandable because its tough to sound perfectly blended when there is only a chorus of only nine, though the balance was off, the cast still sounded wonderful. The music definitely gave the show a beautiful side that it wouldn't have been able to achieve otherwise.
There was a connection made between the audience and the actors that is really rare to come by. But there was also a very noticeable stage chemistry between the actors themselves. They blended well together and they played off of each others emotions in a way that touched the audience. The presence was very welcoming, even in times of grief and anger, the actors found a way to make the audience feel as though they belonged. Actress Kayla Peters stood out for her outstanding performance, Peters had a way of grabbing the audience and pulling them into her story, her acting and singing was very impressive and she did a magnificent job leading the audience through a wide range of emotions.
The scenes between the monologues were very important because they kept the show moving. In particular, the barnyard animals scene was very humorous and fun to watch, it was a good way to pick the show back up after a darker monologue. Another example of this was the square dance scene because it was really enjoyable for the audience and the actors looked like they were having a great time themselves. Two characters caught each others eyes during this scene, this simple action led into a beautiful wedding scene between the two characters. It was a perfect transitions and it really added to the emotion of the show.
The show ended with a beautiful medley of the hymns that were sung throughout the show, it was a wonderful way to wrap up all of the feelings and emotions that the audience felt. Isbell has really outdone himself, "Spoon River" was a magnificent show put together by a very talented group of people. It was inspiring to watch, the actors built a strong bond with the audience and they delivered a great performance. The Marshall Preforming Arts Center will continue to be an outlet for wonderful actors, new ideas and a chance to create something truly wonderful.
Spoon River Anthology, a book of 244 poems by Edgar Lee Masters, is in itself is a feat, but when seen performed as a play, the many stories come alive. The University of Minnesota Duluth’s production of “Spoon River” really takes the audience to a different time and place as each poem is recited and the character’s story told. Director Tom Isbell beautifully created 90 minutes where the audience could escape from their life and enter into the fictional town of Spoon River, where many of the deceased members told their stories from beyond the grave. Through death they shared their tales with feeling, whether happy, sad, jealous, confused, or just about any emotion imaginable.
ReplyDeleteOnly having 9 actors, it seemed like there were too many poems, as well as characters, to keep track of, but through the clever use of projections in the background a new name appeared whenever there was a change in character and story. These projections also gave the impression of an elaborate set within this small town of Spoon River, yet it was very simplistic and still made the town a real place. The way the actors easily transitioned into each story was flawless. They were either sitting on the stage, moving up and down the ramps at the sides of the stage, moving chairs around (without running into one another), or even square dancing.
The brilliant method of combining the serious, yet incorporating some humor and fun into the story as well gives just the right amount of comic relief to leave the audience prepared for the next emotional story. Moving from an elaborately choreographed square dance into a more emotional wedding, or from a song about animal noises to the tale of a women who died, the audience is taken on a ride from low to high excitement, a deep breath the only response when the ride slows down again.
The delivery of the each poem was also performed without hesitation. The actors committed to every character they portrayed, allowing the audience to really understand the characters emotions. The momentum of the flow between each character moved smoothly and within seconds the story had ended and a new one began. All 9 actors did a wonderful job in portraying what each character had to say whether praising or diminishing their own life after death.
The addition of hymns throughout the play also gave the story more emotion. The way the melody fluttered or if it sounded melancholy gave the audience the same feelings and emotions of what the character was feeling in the moment as well. It also added a unique piece in the middle with the song with animal noises, reminding the audience that Spoon River could be a happy place too (not just full of dead people).
UMD’s production of “Spoon River” brought every audience member to their own “special little town” with many people who have died but still have a story to tell. They displayed the messages of Edgar Lee Masters with elegant flair, and in a way that moved the audience to really think about and make their own connections to each character’s story within the poems.
Theatregoers must remain on their toes when enjoying the complex production that is Spoon River. Officially classified as “a theatre piece with music,” Spoon River captures the interest of the audience at the start and never lets go. This is not a show for the superficial audience member. The show was difficult to follow at times, as it surveys over fifty short poems. For those who were able to follow along or read the poems after, this show contained a superb story.
ReplyDeleteThe piece included about 50 of the 244 poems written in “Spoon River Anthology” by Edgar Lee Masters. The UMD production divided over fifty characters into nine actors. The actors did a marvelous job differentiating themselves between other characters they were also playing. They didn’t have much time between character switches, so apart from minor wardrobe changes the convincing was left up to their own ability to act. Another test to these actor’s abilities were the sudden and drastic mood changes signified by re-arranging the set. Cheerful songs were peppered in when the play was seeming too gloom, and it is assumed this was not an easy change of pace for the actors to accomplish; though the audience would never know as it was executed masterfully. Each actor turned in a stunning performance and set a high bar for the rest of the UMD theatre season.
The UMD production of Spoon River did a lot with a small amount of props. Between the nine chairs, the pile of boxes in the corner, and three projection screens, the main stage was transformed into a small town in Illinois known as Spoon River. The lack of stage scenery came as a welcomed surprise that allowed the audience to let their imaginations create their own versions of the play. This effort was aided by the spectacular lighting and subtle smoke filling the stage space.
Ambitious audience members went home after the show and looked up the “Spoon River Anthology” and read all of the poems included in the masterpiece. For those who did not, understanding everything that went on in the 90-minute production could prove difficult. The UMD theatre accomplished a feat by fitting those fifty poems into a 90-minute show, but that does not change the fact that the production was difficult to follow. The messages that needed to sink in were crisp, but the more topical pieces of the story sometimes flew by too quickly for the audience to internalize them. The main point was still well driven, and the closing scene returning to the people sleeping on the hill brought everything back together.
The University of Minnesota Duluth’s fall production of Spoon River was a moving piece about the deceased residents of a fictional Illinois town. Based on the collection of poems Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters, the play features a series of epitaphs delivered by the departed themselves.
ReplyDeleteEach actor in the cast showed exceptional talent in the way that they portrayed multiple characters believably and with their own distinct personalities. By using simple accessory changes and moving the chairs on set, they created many different moods and settings. From a cheerful rendition of “This Little Light of Mine” to the somber memories of an elementary school teacher, the characters explore the many sides of life in a small town.
One of the highlights of the play was the square dance scene. After a fun evening of dancing, two of the characters fall in love and eventually marry. Even with very little speech, the couple’s love story is beautifully played out for the audience. Despite the many dark situations characters are found in throughout the play, there are many touching moments interspersed between.
The hymns in the play felt so essential that it’s shocking to find out that they were a new addition by the director, Tom Isbell. They were a great tool both for transitions and for key emotional moments. The songs that opened and closed the production were especially powerful. By the end of the play, you really felt like the actors and their many characters were real people from your hometown.
The set for the play is very simple, but effective. Through the use of only chairs and projections, the characters’ stories really took center stage, allowing the audience to imagine them anywhere. The way the chairs and cast were arranged created different atmospheres that reflected what the series of characters had experienced in their lives. They moved all around the stage, from being huddled together to distantly apart. The projections were really powerful, especially at then end when they showed the loved ones of those involved in the production.
Overall, this play was a beautiful compilation of works from the Spoon River Anthology that brings it to a new audience for its 100th anniversary. Whether from a small town or a metropolis, many of the characters’ honest tales relate to us on a personal level. Their triumphs and struggles, their loves and losses, their memories and regrets, are all reflective of ourselves. Upon leaving the play, a seed is planted within each member of the audience that shines just a little brighter light on the path we are all walking down, towards our sleeping places on the hill.
“All, all are sleeping on the hill.” This famous line repeated throughout the show taunted the audience, leaving them with goosebumps on their arms, and a hollow feeling in their heart. Talking about the deceased is typically an uncomfortable topic for the general population, but Tom Isbell and Andy Kust did a great job alleviating the tension with their directing styles. The Spoon River Anthology, originally derived from the works of Edgar Lee Masters, has been modified for an onstage performance put on by The University of Minnesota Duluth theater department. Although it is unnecessary, seeing the show twice allows audience members to grasp the morals and understand the content of each character thoroughly. Nine actors portrayed numerous characters, some sharing stories of their death, others the story of their lives. The adaptation of one of the greatest poetry books in American history was brought to the attention to a generally younger audience, and it was done effectively.
ReplyDeleteEach role portrayed in the show differed from one another, and although the audience would expect an actor to have one definite role, the cast surprised them by putting their experience to fantastic use. Though there were only small costumes changes, the audience could easily tell when an actor was taking on another character, by their mechanisms and vocal variety. What people in our generation may find boring, Isbell and Kust exposed a new meaning to poetry by creating a visual story and bringing life to each poem.
On set, the pictures displayed on the screens brought new meaning to each character, and the audience felt the presence of the ugly dog, the villainous banker, and the cedar tree. It was confusing not having props at times, like when the gravestone was substituted by a chair. But if the audience was attentive, they could quickly realize the new meaning of the object. It was harder to focus on the poetry, because you had to analyze and subject a new meaning to a prop.
The live music was a great subtle touch, and the hymns gave the play more depth. The audience enjoyed the square dancing and animal scene - it brought comedic relief to the somber tone of the play. The use of lighting was effective, especially at the end of the play, where the sun was rising, reminding the audience of the rebirth that follows death.
Being that there is 200 plus poems in the book, did the directors choose selective characters they thought the actors could portray? With a recent group discussion, Isbell explained that they did indeed choose certain poems, and some were even cut from the script. They casted this show based on the well-roundedness of the actors, and if they were capable of getting along with other cast mates.
Seeing the show from the main audience brings you into the characters’ lives, but being in the balcony allowed the audience to see them as “ghosts.”
Although it is not required to see the show twice, it should be highly recommended. You grasp the content more easily, and it alleviates the guess work done when seeing it the first time. It may be harder for younger audiences to appreciate the works of Masters’ poems, but the actors did a phenomenal job giving each character importance.
The audience is ready for the next UMD Theatre production; can’t wait to see what is next in store!
A piano, a few chairs, and nine very skilled actors was all it took for the UMD theatre department to accurately recreate Edgar Lee Masters emotionally charged novel “Spoon River Anthology”. The vivid narrative of the small town of Spoon River, Illinois and its residence is a simple reminder that death is inevitable, but does not have to be a somber reality. Throughout the play, the monologues of each of the characters has a strong message of how the beauty of life itself can bring eternal happiness. The characters were very realistic in every aspect of their performance. They did a great job of fully sinking into the emotions and personalities of each of their characters. Every actors performance made the audience feel like they were really meeting and observing natives of Spoon River. It was extremely impressive how each actor was able to portray a number of characters without making it confusing to the audience. Every message of every scene, monologue, and choreographed sequence was fully delivered solely on the passion and authenticity of the actors and direction of the play.
ReplyDeleteThe play was very versatile in how it presented its message: energy, happiness, humor, sadness, and content. These are all experienced emotions in life and it seemed like it was the directors goal to connect the audience with the emotions of the characters, which he did very successfully. There was a strong sense of trueness and reality to the ups and downs of the characters monologues that represented their lives. In life, there will be good times and equally bad times, and this play demonstrated this with ease. The blocking and choreography of the musical scenes was entertaining to say the least. The dance scene was choreographed and performed so well that it made the audience wonder if they had been practicing it for their entire lives; much like the residence of Spoon River would do. The blocking of the characters was done with very apparent precision and thoughtfulness. At no point was the audience distracted from the speaker by a movement or hiccup from one of the surrounding actors. The entire play seemed to flow very naturally, which made the viewing and comprehension of the play much easier.
The UMD theatre department should be very proud of their production of “Spoon River”. Pulling at the heartstrings of the audience and making them laugh and smile in one sitting, the message of finding the beauty in everything was gracefully displayed to the audience in a way that there were many parallels formed with the characters and the audience members. The production was simple, yet unique. There is no doubt that the way the UMD theatre department depicted “Spoon River” was very special and will not be able to be recreated in exact form. It was truly a remarkable performance of a wonderful story.
-Peter Glanville
After one hundred years of Edgar Lee Master’s collection of poems being read and loved by so many, the University of Minnesota, Duluth decided to commemorate his work with unique takes on true love, pure joy, and painful heartbreak in their production of Spoon River. Director Tom Isabell and Music Director Tom Kust brought various selections from Spoon River Anthology to life in unique and innovative ways that did justice to Masters’ work.
ReplyDeleteBecause Spoon River Anthology is simply a collection of poems that do not all necessarily link together and were not written to be a play, the chances that an audience will be confused or become lost during a show are high. Thankfully, Isabell recognized this and was able to tie the poems he selected together rather well so that the story of one person from Masters’ book directly impacted the next story. Often, Isabell would arrange the selections so the story of a father, mother and child would all come one after the other. This way the audience was able to follow the chain of events instead of becoming lost in the quick changes in character and story.
One of the most unique additions to this production was the use of large projection screens. Thanks to the screens, the set was very minimal, allowing the focus of the play to be on the poetry instead of props and large pieces of scenery. For the most part, the screens were used to introduce the next character; the name of the character appeared on the screen when the actor began their piece. This was another excellent way for Isabell to make sure his audience was not getting lost in the constant change of characters. Pictures of antiquated buildings and homes also graced the screens, adding some scenery to the minimal set on stage. The most effective images, however, were probably those of the aged headstones in cemeteries. Not only did the images appropriately compliment the scenery on stage, they also tied in perfectly with Masters’ entire theme of his collection of poetry: speaking beyond the grave. The imagery of the graves taken by Isabell suitably fit the production.
Isabell and Kust made some very unique choices regarding sound when creating this production. For example, the instrumental and vocal music that was incorporated into the play was not written into Spoon River Anthology, but was completely original from the directors. Before the play began, the audience could hear rich, gospel music and hymns with a southern drawl being sung over the speakers. The first thing the audience heard from the whole cast was a hymn, sung very beautifully. Throughout the entire play, a live musician played instruments while concealed by a wooden fence on stage; he accompanied the cast for all songs, from the adorable children’s song to the energetic square dance. Without the music, the play would perhaps not have been as full of life as it was. The music that Isabell and Kust so intelligently decided to incorporate into the production made The University of Minnesota, Duluth’s production of Spoon River a truly unique experience.
There was only one choice made by Isabell regarding the projection screen that may have interfered with the overall flow and professionalism of the production. While some may have enjoyed the informal and humorous addition of the Internet sensation Grumpy Cat on the projection screen during the animal song, it perhaps interrupted the accuracy of the time-period they were acting in. Up to that point, the actors’ costumes and performances were very formal and accurate. Other than that odd addition to the screen, the entire production seemed to go off without a hitch.
The poetry of Edgar Lee Masters thankfully lives on today. Thanks to directors like Isabell and Kust and cast and crew members as dedicated as those at UMD, works like Masters’ will continue to survive and evolve in unique and inventive ways.
Spoon River
ReplyDeleteThe Marshal Art Center at UMD was the venue for the play Spoon River Anthology based off of a collection of poems written in 1915 by Edgar Lee Masters and adapted by Director Tom Isbell and Music director Andy Kust. The play was a progression of monologs that are by turns humorous, tragic, and bawdy and which is also detailed the lives of the residents of a little mid-western town's burial ground. The memory of their lives are identified to the audience by their shadow from afterlife. Nearly sixty poems performed in the play, each told by different person and each with each one with its own style and identity. The poem had variety of mood and tone, from funny, deplorable to dry.
With almost 54 person’s life being portrayed in the play, occasional song and dance are helpful in keeping the progressive monologue from overwhelming the audience. The show steady parade of characters allows a wide range of perspectives to be represented, whether through bragging, crying, in retribution or jokingly.
Throughout the play, the seating arrangement helped the audience get into the production and feel as though they were part of it. By being so close, it felt as though one could leap up from the audience and touch the actors as they performed on stage. Also, some actors looked straight into the audience as they spoke, which made the audience feel as though they were being talked to. This technique used by the director was a bit like breaking the fourth wall but it was not a direct communication to the audience.
Tom Isbell, the director had an extremely intriguing concept and idea in mind, but his vision may have been a bit overwhelming for the audience, the characters were bold and the lines they conveyed were even much bolder, making hard for some audience members to listen to.
The whole play was performed without single intermission. these may have some negative effect on the audience since it is not that easy for some people to concentrate more that an hour. Also the audience needs time for refreshment and for this particular play it was not possible, and if one decides to take break they will surely miss a crucial part of the play. Also If one had come to the performance without some background knowledge, it might have been a hard time following and engaging into the play.
The highlight part of the night was Glee Schultz as Dora Williams, who marry multiple husbands for their money and then she kills them, she said a guy she loved rejected her and because of that she grew up ruthless and cunning. She didn’t care less if they felt love for her; all she needed was money and that what she got until her death. she died same way as her former husbands.
Overall the play was interesting and kept the audience at the edge of their seats throughout the whole play.
By: Abdillahi Mohamed
Taking on a play without a linear plot is a difficult task for even the most experienced director. To keep the audience's attention on what is happening currently, rather than being left in the dust each time a new story begins, can be a huge problem. But UMD's production of Spoon River certainly overcame this and many other potential problems beautifully. Though most of the production consisted of monologues, at no point did it become boring. Having rejected the original script adaption of the book of poems, Tom Isbell had the enormous task of arranging it himself. It was certainly a good idea to include the actors in the script-making process, as they must have had valuable input. It shows a lot about a director when they are willing to let their actors be such a crucial part of the decision making process.
ReplyDeleteScratching the original idea of a graveyard and replacing it with a traditional wooden floor was such an important move. Had it been kept, the audience may have contrived a spookier feeling that this play was not trying to convey. The hardwood floor kept it more homey and relatable. It also served well whenever the stage became a church or a dance floor, keeping true to what would have been in such areas at the time. Difficulty blocking must have been encountered with the very mobile set of only a few wooden chairs, but it was overcome nevertheless. Live music from the piano was also a valuable addition. All of the music being played over loudspeakers would have been a mistake and would have messed with the authentic feel of everything.
Speaking of the music, adding the hymns was pure genius. Music is the voice of a culture, of a generation. Themes that could otherwise have gone unexpressed were made possible due to the melodies of the time and were often enjoyable as well. They also made beautiful transitions from one subject to another. It truly would not have been such an enjoyable, engaging production without the choice tunes.
All that considered, there may still have been some ways to improve the production. Perhaps the civil war scene could have been conducted a bit differently. Maybe a bit more time spent on the subject, since it was such a crucial era. As it was, the fleeting representation left a bit to be desired.
The acting was simply marvelous. Playing so many different people in such a short period of time and making them so different to one another is a phenomenal feat. In each and every bittersweet story, you could taste the sorrow always tinging in the actor's tones. Every tentative or awkward moment, such as when the girl forgot her part to the animal song, was so spectacularly portrayed that at times the audience wondered if it was not a true mistake on the actor’s part. As a whole, whomever picked which poems to be included in the production did a fantastic job of not picking strictly happy stories. The actors and actresses were given a whole spectrum of emotions to play with and they did so masterfully.
Spoon River was a production embedded with potential problems, but with true skill and hard work these were overcome. It is quite the unique production of the likes that is not often seen. Through each individual sonnet, many completely unrelated, the play told the story of life in all its ups and downs and did not hold back. Everyone in the production gave everything they had, and that kind of dedication really shows through in performance. UMD turned a challenge into a masterpiece.
-Isabel Rossi
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ReplyDeleteWhen I watched this pay I saw it from a very unique view. I watched it from the balcony It was quite a unique view in this place. a large amount of pictures and slides were used as Segway’s throughout the different parts. Although the pictures were not used in the original adaptation this was a good call on the This undoubtedly made it easer on the lighting crew which normally has a overwhelming job but this time is seamed pretty steright forward. The actors had a rocky start with their lines but very quickly fixed their decrepencys . as the play continued on we saw the same actors take on a variety of roils. The stage was was sparsly decorated with a couple chairs boxes and a panio. This play brilliant displayed The style of theater used for this play was a thrust stage where the orchestra pit had been converted which seemed to have worked well for this spyfic play I think that with all of the movement that was used an arena would have been a poor choice for this selection. The blocking for this spfic play was well done none of the characters appeared to have gotten trued around as well as that all movements looked fluid and natural. The singing in this play at the beginning and end was a nice surprise and a very creative way to open and close such a solace play.one of the most moving moments came during a time in the civil war where a woman went to the white house to ask the president Lincon to help her son who was sick. But by far one of the best parts was when the actors had a square dancing line and even had a caller over all This was a verry well done production.- Alex Diamond
ReplyDeleteI attended Spoon River on Wednesday October 7th. I knew little about this play before attending, and I was surprised at how fast I adapted to the storyline and understood it. Although I didn't really enjoy the storyline, the actors did a phenomenal job at making the play come alive.
ReplyDeleteThe actors made the show come alive by using emotion to draw their audience in. When the actors were enthusiastic and happy, it radiated and was almost contagious because I found myself smiling and laughing along with them. Two specific scenes that I noticed this was, first, during the swing dance that took place. Another time was when the actors were all sitting in a row and started singing about different animal noises. It was silly and that made the audience laugh, which I assume was what the director had intended for.
Throughout the entire play the actors were very committed to their roles and enhanced the play with their reactions and enthusiasm. In the play, the four women and fie men, were expected to explain the stories of about 56 townspeople. The design of the play was also very impressive. The girls did a great job at making their hair and costumes fit the role that they were portraying, and overall fit the time frame. There weren't many props, but the actors made good use of the simple props, like the chairs they sat in throughout the play.
With the difficult storyline and the low budget, Spoon River was great entertainment. The audience was aware of the emotional and tragic situations that the townspeople endured and the point that they were trying to get across was received by the audience. I would say that overall it was a successful and entertaining play that I would recommend.
Lily Arvidson
University of Minnesota Duluth performed Spoon River from October 1st to the 10th in the Mainstage Theater on campus. Spoon River was a book of poems written by Edgar Lee Masters and was published about 100 years ago. This was adapted by Tom Isbell and Andy Kurst and they made the poems come to life.
ReplyDeleteWith only a few sets, props, and cast, the performers transitioned the stories in an interesting way. The play used chairs to make the audience feel as if they were in a cemetery. All the poems had the audience feeling sad, sympathetic, happy, and amused at one point or another. Director, Tom Isbell did an outstanding job when choosing which of the 244 poems would be presented in the play. The cast consist of nine talented individuals. There was just about sixty characters in the play and was divided between the nine performers. Each performers were quick to make the transition from being one character to another.
The performers did however have a few notable mess ups. It could be anywhere from slipping up on lines to falling during a dance number. It is to be expected for performers to have a mess up here and there. The performers let their mistakes to roll off their shoulders and go on performing. The mess ups did so happen to fit well with the scene. For example, during the dance scene, one of the actors messed up his footing which caused him to fall on the floor. This caused the audience to erupt in laughter. This individual limped the rest of the scene but pushed through it to keep the show from stopping. Little aspects like that shows that the show must go on.
Scenic director, Jenna Mady, did a phenomenal job using the space she was given. The stage was slanted in reference to the line “sleeping on the hill.” This play did not need a lot of props or sets to keep the story interesting. Each performer had the audience interested with how well they gave each character their own personalities. The performers changed the sound of their voice, their outfits, the way they stood and acted, each time they became a new character. By them doing this it informed the audience when a new story was about to be told. The performers did an outstanding job when trying to accomplish this.
By the end of the play the performers had the audience clapping along with them to the music. The performers had the audience engaged the entire time Despite the mess ups this rendition of Spoon River was a must see.
“Spoon River” based on the Spoon River Anthology written by Edgar Lee Masters, is a collection of short free-form poems that collectively narrates the epitaphs of the residents of a fictional small town of Spoon River. Due to the fact that the Spoon River Anthology has over two hundred poems the University of Minnesota Duluth’s version only shared sixty poems of the book.
ReplyDeleteThe play Spoon River had more than twenty to thirty characters and yet the play only had nine actors. The director, Tom Isbell did a wonderful job in choosing his actors for the play. The actors not only must be able to sing and act, but they must be able to change into a different character every five to ten minutes of the play. The effect that it has to the audience makes it more interesting for them to watch because they have to be very focus to understand which actors are playing what character. But the downside of making the actors change into different character occasionally is that watching the play for the first thirty minutes could be confusing for them.
Although I thought that having the actors and actress play five or six different characters made the play more unique. I was very disappointed in the brochure that was given to the audience. Most of the audience that came to see Spoon Rivers was UMD students and just like me, they came to watch it due to their classes. Since the play had no main character, knowing which actors/actress play who was confusing. So I went and look at the brochure to see the cast and was hoping to see pictures of them, but all it showed was the actors name and all the characters he/she played. Because of this error that the play had, the audience and I cannot distinguish the actors.
Spoon River had their ups and their downs, but overall the production was able to achieve their goal to the audience by giving the real life experience of what the people in Spoon River and making it memorable. In my opinion, the play was a marvelous performance and I would recommend my fellow friends to watch it.
Calvin Dao
On October 9, 2015 I saw the show Spoon River written be Edgar Lee Masters, adapted by Tom Isbell and Andy Kust. The show itself really took me by surprise; it was not what was expected – at all. The way the stage was presented gave a different feel and emotion to the show rather than if it was set up like an average stage, the actors and actresses were able to portray each of their characters like such, and the music was enjoyable to listen to and sing along to. There was obviously a good amount of time put into the production of this show.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the stage was set to be leaning into the audience. This added life into the show because the audience could become more interactive and be active participants, especially when there was singing. Setting the stage up like that was also helpful because the upper stage would represent a different area than the lower stage; having the stage tilt really helped to show those differences. It was a very interesting approach that isn’t used very often in the theatre.
Like expected, the actors and actresses were marvelous and appealing. Every actor was able to interpret all of the characters they had been assigned. While there were many lovely parts of the show there were a few mistakes, that were not exceedingly prominent. For instance, in one part of the show everyone was dancing in a bar, and one of the actors fell down;the crowd was not sure if that was purposeful or not, but if not they all laughed, as necessary, and continued on as usual. When problems arise, it is important to not let the audience notice those mistakes, and that’s just what they did. Seeing such young, talented individuals represent numerous characters and give each character that certain “touch”, that they deserve was refreshing. Such as, Phil Hoelscher, who played six characters, barked and acted like a dog in two completely different scenes as two completely different characters. His acting is the perfect example of adding a “touch” while still tying the scenes into one show. It isn’t very often that you see 18-22 year olds being able to pull off such a difficult show; that itself is something to be proud of. It’s obvious that the time put into practicing for the show paid off.
The music in this show was such an entertaining part of the production. Most of the songs played were folk songs that audience members had heard. This made it pleasurable because the spectators were able to sing along and get into the beats and rhythms of the actors. An audience favorite was “This Little Light of Mine”, which in the show was very upbeat and had a good deal of syncopation; the audience enjoyed this piece because the crowd was a tad bit elderly and probably had grown up singing this song in church. The director and musical director made a good choice with their selection of music.
Overall, this performance was splendid and entertaining. Ranging from the setting of the stage, to the talent of the performers, and the choice of music. Kudos to everyone who put the time into this marvelous show, because it truly paid off.
Serena Nebel
On October 1st, UMD put on the production Spoon River Anthology. This play is based off of the book of poems written by Edgar Lee Masters. The play itself was not as long as the book but the director picked out certain poems to be performed in the actual play. It would seem to one that this could get confusing because of the different stories and the fact that there were nine actors.
ReplyDeleteEach actor had many characters to play and with different scenes the characters would change. One would think that this could get confusing but the actors transitioned well from one character to another. Some characters would be joyous and happy and then in an instant if they needed to change character they could be filled with sadness. Another impressive thing is that when a character was talking or the focus was on them that the rest of the cast stayed completely still and made sure the attention would be on the actor talking.
Throughout the play the characters were talking about their lives and the actors portrayed their characters well. The emotion the actors used looked real and was very convincing. It was moving because the audience could relate with some of the stories of marriages, careers that didn’t go as planned, loss and all the happiness as well.
Some unique things about this play were that they had set up three screens in the back of the stage and on the screens projections would flash that would go along with the storyline of the play. This really helped keeping track of the story lines throughout the play and it was also pleasant to look at. At the end of the show they personalized it for the director and the actors by showing pictures of them and their loved ones as well. This hit home for some people and made the show a bit more sentimental and even motional. Having the three screens in the back really contributed to the play. The other unique thing about the play was that there was a piano player in the back. It helped to have live music along with some of music that was already recorded. It added a little something extra to have live music and also that the actors were singing. It was impressive that the actors could still sing well and move and dance at the same time.
There wasn’t many props in this play, just a few trunks and plenty of chairs. Even with there being little props it worked well. The actors were still able to convey the messages and emotions. The other thing is that they used the props well, like using the trunk to stand on and the chairs to arrange in a nice manner.
At the very end of the play the actors started calling out names of the people from the book. It started off slowly, going one by one but eventually the pace picked up and the actors were saying and shouting names all at once. This really contributed to the ply and it helped give it a “haunting” feeling.
Overall this play was very well produced and thought out. The time and effort put into this play showed and the acting was beautiful. The performance was moving and there was so much personality in this play.
Jadey Tersini
Spoon River, adapted by Tom Isbell and Andy Kust and performed by UMD's cast, left me surprised, happy, and every other emotion imaginable. I had no clue what was going to be witnessed. The plays story line consisted of different characters telling their life stories and how they died. At first, it seemed like a nearly impossible task to keep myself interested in the play. However, Ryan James Fargo, who played the memorable roles of: Hamilton Greene, the Village Atheist, etc. performed remarkably and kept the play upbeat and lively.
ReplyDeleteThe setup of the theater seemed ideal for the setting of the play. It was smaller and the acoustics were great for their musicals. Experiencing this play was more intimate than any movie I've ever been to. The actors were so close and everything felt surreal, I had to constantly remind myself what I was witnessing wasn't real.
There were a few flaws that caught my eye during the performance. More often than expected, the actors forgot their lines throughout. Whenever this happened it was extremely noticeable and took away a lot from the performance. The actors would either stare blankly at the ceiling until they remembered their lines or mumble something else and move along with their monologue. Other than that, all the performers did a stellar job portraying each different character. There were tragic stories, funny, and everything in between.
My favorite part about Spoon River were the constant instruments being played in the background. It made the play more lively and vivid. Also, it made transitioning from setting to setting a lot easier and more fluent. The performers would sing a musical number and dance around. While this was going on they were moving props around, changing clothes, and rearranging everything. After the song, the next setting would already be set up and it keeps the play flowing. Its amazing how those few seconds of rearranging can completely change the atmosphere in the theater. Not many people noticed this happening which makes it that much more awesome. Not only was a spectacular song being put on but the props were being set up.
Surprisingly,overall I enjoyed Spoon River. Theater hasn't been a huge part of my life but recently I've started to notice the beauty of it. No other type of media could make me feel the same way I did while watching Spoon River. Originally my expectations were set pretty low seeing as I've never been to a play before, but I was proved wrong when I left the play wanting nothing more than for it to go on. My first theater experience was a success to say the least. I now look forward to seeing plays and musicals. They're more enjoyable when one knows what to look for during the experience. Such as the setting, music, how believable the performance is, etc. Before, I would simply watch a show and base my opinion solely on the story line. But I've learned there is so much more thought that goes into everything for each performance. Spoon River with a witty and heart touching dialect changed my perspective towards fine arts. This show completely changed my opinion on theater. Highly recommended play, 9/10.
Shea Miller
Spencer Murphy
ReplyDeleteSpoon River Review
Recently, I had the pleasure of attending an adaptation of Edgar Lee Masters book “Spoon River”, at the Marshal Performing Arts Center in the University of Minnesota Duluth. The play was a shortened version of Masters book, wherein a cast of 9 portrayed a variety of characters, usually about 6-7.
This portrayal of about 60 characters is a fraction of the 260 poems from the original book, however director Tom Isbell did an excellent job of selecting characters with entertaining and interesting life stories. Most of these stories were in contrast to one another, but this created a more realistic feel. In real life we are all surrounded by many people with many different stories, but most people portray themselves how they want to be seen. In Spoon River the characters are dead, removing their need to portray themselves any other way than truthful. Whether it was a multiple widower telling the audience with glee about how she murdered each of her husbands, or a square dance which turned into a wedding, the contrast was apparent, but so where the characters truths.
The scenic designer, Jenna Mady, did an excellent job of creating an old-timey feel with the rough floorboards and mismatched wooden chairs. The chairs were continuously rearranged to create a different environment for each scene. This was a simple and easy way to make each scene unique while keeping the stage simple and uncluttered.
Overall, Spoon River is a must see play. From directing to acting, and everything in between, it makes for an entertaining 90 minutes.
Matthew Sandstrom
ReplyDeleteSpoon River Review
The play Spoon River is meant to represent the lives of the people from the town Spoon River, Illinois. Edgar Lee Masters wrote, “Spoon River Anthology” containing hundreds of poems describing the people’s lives. UMD theatre department successfully chose poems to combine together to create a play. They did it all while maintaining a low budget and making it a memorable experience for the audience. The actors did a great job making the characters come to life especially considering they played different characters. It was defiantly worth a ticket to see.
Director Tom Isbell showed off his skills with a wonderful selection of poems keeping the audience involved. He used visual composition and stage pictures. When they were telling a story, most of the actors remained on stage, but sitting down or mingling in the background. He brought the scene out towards the audience. He did a great job using rhythm going from story to story. He used rhythm and visual composition to successfully transfer from scene to scene keeping the audience interested and aware of what was going on. He also used pictures in the background to show what the local people were like.
Not only did Isbell do a great job at using visual composition, he and the cast used thought into setting up where the chairs were set in each scene. They went to cemeteries and noticed how gravestones were set up, then for each scene they used a unique alignment of chairs to represent the different organization of headstones. This shows the effort they put into this play. From how the audience responded at the end, a standing ovation, they succeeded their goal.
One of the most memorable parts of the play that stood out was when the whole cast got together and began dancing. The energy used was remarkable. The audience loved it. Energy carried throughout the play, for instance, when the actors were making animal noises everyone in the audience busted out laughing. Another instance where energy displayed was at the end of the production where the cast closed with the song “I Feel Like Traveling On”, this song spoke to the audience, it reminded us that we will keep our memories with us, and can move on to experience new ones. This play taught a life lesson, that experiences carry on, they become memories. Isbell did an outstanding job putting poems together to create a masterpiece.
Taking place on the University of Minnesota Duluth main stage, Tom Isbell and Andy Kust directed the play Spoon River. The play tells 60 short stories based on 244 poems by Edgar Lee Masters about people after their deaths. On stage the poetic stories with dance, sing, drama and sorrow. Although the play is something to be desired, the nine performers kept the energy on the stage, yet no play is done just by acting. With the help of set design, and lighting/sound the team gave the play an abstract feeling.
ReplyDeletePerformers rarely left the stage, which gave no time for costume changes. The actors and actresses were strong in each story they told. Working powerfully with one another, you could appreciate the preparation they devoted to the play. They seemed always in character, dedicated to telling the story. Even with no plot to the story the actors knew what was next. This gave the play a flow that never left the audience behind. It was the strong performance of the acting team that gave the audience an understanding of each of the poems.
Not only was the acting great, the set design stole the show. Scenic Designers Jenna Mady, gave the stage an open feel, letting a person’s imagination flow with the play. The set had projections going on in the back, giving the director an opportunity to let you know exactly what he/she wanted you to get out of the scene, including a chance for comic relief. With the open feel and projections there was no need for set to change. The cast used props chairs, boxes, or other performers by separation relationships to change the sets. The chairs resembled more than one might expect, which the director obviously intended. For example, chairs resembled different way head stones would be placed at a cemetery. The excellent set design gave the play more of a deeper, edgy feeling.
No play is complete without lighting and sound. Isbell and Kust, along with light director Wesley Darton and sound director Nick Mroze, gave the play that special touch. The lighting and sound was changed at every need for a different feeling, giving life to a play about dead people. Himes oncoming at nearly every moment, setting the emotions. Assessed by exportation in lighting concepts, prevalent lighting use was anachronism lighting. Really set the feel for the stage giving it that alone perception in the audience. Since the majority of the performers stayed on the stage. Story’s would linger on the stage giving you time to remember each person had an opinion.
Over all I would say that Spoon River was a strong and intriguing play never knowing what may be coming around the corner. Making it a pay for the books, the students and faculty did a captivating idea of plays in one large play. Spoon River wouldn’t be one I would see again but one that, you should see once.
Meg sigurdson
The University of Minnesota Duluth opened their fall season with Spoonriver, to celebrate one hundred years of Edgar Lee Master’s Spoon River Anthologies. A book that over time has become a work of art to many people. Directed by Tom Isbell, with music direction by Andy Kust, together they created a show based on the short poems in Master’s book, and they were well worth telling. The cast was very well chosen. They all portrayed many characters throughout the entire show, but with each new character came new perspectives and a deeper level of understanding to each poem. However, there were a few moments where the ensemble as a whole could have had a stronger focus. The cast was on stage for majority of all the monologues by each character. I believe the cast was to have been frozen during times in which they weren’t speaking, but occasionally I would find the cast reacting to the poems as the audience did; whether it be laughter, or nodding their heads in agreement.
ReplyDeleteThis particular production had a minimal set, with a few visuals displayed by overhead projections. It was a mix of modern pictures and real life photos that the director took during a trip to Illinois, where these poems are based. The minimal set was a very wise choice. It allowed for the audience to really focus on the poems and the characters rather than gaze at a crowded set. The best part about the show, was the decision to incorporate hymns in between sets of poems. That was not original to the script, or show. Tom decided to incorporate them, and its hard to imagine the show without them. The hymns allowed for the audience to become even more emotionally devoted to the characters. Without them, the show may have been incredibly dry. The only criticism I have in regard to the singing, is that some voices were much more audible than others. The blend between the ensemble was lacking, and it was rather distracting during times of song.
Overall, the first production at UMD was a wild success. The directors, and the cast made the show memorable, and easy to relate to. They held the attention of the entire audience throughout the whole show, and thats not an easy feat to overcome. They have set the bar high for the rest of the season, and I’m looking forward to seeing other productions.
Abria Stewart
Spoon River, a play put on by the students of the university of Minnesota Duluth theatre department was playing in early October this year. I was privileged to witness the October 7th viewing of the 1915 collection of poems by Edgar Lee Masters adapted by a dynamic duo of directors named Andy Kust and Tom Isbell. This being my first theatre production at the university and the Marshall Performing Arts center my hopes were set high for a tragic storyline full of conflict, witty humor, emotion, and lots of betrayal.
ReplyDeleteOf the nine total actors they each were cast as multiple characters. While this may sound like it could be confusing the directors did a splendid job of distinguishing each character through the use of the actor’s skills of quickly changing their personality and being amazing storytellers when describing how they lived and later died. One would think that in order for an actor to take on multiple roles they must use visual tricks like costumes to make it obvious that the actor was portraying a different character. This was not the case but I was still not left guessing as to which character was on stage. The directors also chose which actor’s would take on which roles very wisely as every character seemed realistic and well-rehearsed. One of the best things about the acting that I noticed throughout the production was their ability to connect personally with audience members and make themselves likable.
My favorite part of the production by far was the incorporation of the folk music throughout the show. After learning during class earlier this week that the music was not originally meant to be in the play and was an idea created by the directors I was even more impressed. I feel like it fit in nicely to help the audience get in the mood for different points of the stories. This was an adaption made by the two director’s which I thought was absolutely brilliant. Although I was already a small fan of certain modern folk music artists I thought this was very insightful to add in to the production. The best was the hymn that was incorporated with animal noises which made many of the audience smile, laugh, and feel joyful along with the characters of the play after more dark and emotional scenes that were viewed before this one. This was also my favorite scene of the show because of how cleverly the humor was incorporated into this scene.
With a simple setup of nine wooden chairs, some boxes, and various props the low budget of the production was painfully obvious but I expected nothing spectacular coming into the show. What I was not expecting was how the directors and actors worked flawlessly with what they did have for a setup and props and used all of them to their fullest extent throughout the course of the show. They put a great picture of the small town of Spoon River into the eyes of the audience. Of the few productions that I have witnessed many have had grand set ups, spectacular props, and special effects in huge theatres. I think that I preferred the closeness of a smaller theatre and the simplicity of the scenic design of Spoon River. They did a wonderful job of working with what they had and getting the most out of everything that was on stage.
Overall I was satisfied with the University of Minnesota Duluth’s production of Spoon River due to the ambitious actor’s, creative musical incorporation, and clever directing. All of these factors contributed to an interesting show of a little known work of art by Edgar Lee Masters. Although not perfect and under budgeted the effort and dedication was clearly shown by everyone who contributed to the production and I praise them for that. The factors that could be controlled by the directors and actors were stellar instead of just settling for a “so-so” under budgeted play that no one would have a second thought about.
-Bailey Mills
The story of life told through stories of death. I feel this was the main point of the play I saw this last Wednesday. I had the chance to see a live production of Spoon River. This production was held in the Dudly Theater and was put on but the UMD theater department. Spoon river is an adaptation of the classic novel by Edgar Lee Masters.
ReplyDeleteTo begin with I want to talk about the theme of the play and how it made me feel. I feel that the play provided contact and opened up the issue of death and the importance of what we leave behind. The play told us the story of many people who had died but we learned of their story after their death through the lens of what they left behind. This I feel showed us how important our lifes are by giving us examples of other peoples lives.
I felt that this specific production presented some things that really added to the play. To begin with I felt that the hymns added to the atmosphere of the play. The director chose hymns that fit the atmosphere of the play and I believe that they helped make the play more emotional. Especially at the end of the play when another direction choice was made. The director also made some choices with the visuals because he decided to add in projections to the play. This added a depth to the play and also allowed for some comedic relief. I think the most interesting part of this was that some of the pictures were taken from the actual town of spoon river.
Another part of this play they was very well developed was the blocking. This play had a small cast who had multiple roles. On top of this the actors were almost always on stage. This meant that blocking was important because everyone had to be in the right place at the right time. This seemed to go very well for the cast and the play had a very good flow overall.
Jacob Fawcett
How do you successfully put on a play with over sixty monologues, no main characters, and no beginning, middle, or end? The UMD theatre department managed to pull it off with grace and poise in their latest show Spoon River, which premiered October first at the Marshall Performing Arts Center.
ReplyDeleteThis year marks the 100 year anniversary of Edgar Lee Master’s Spoon River Anthology, a somber novel comprised of a plethora of epitaphs from the fictional town of Spoon River. All of these stories beyond the grave were written in short poems, each around twenty to thirty lines long. In honor of the occasion, director Tom Isbell took on the challenge of turning Master’s story of over 240 characters into a ninety minute play using only nine actors.
Although this sounds both difficult and confusing, the cast was able to overcome this by each playing seven to eight characters at different points of the night. Each of their characters were is stark difference to one another, sometimes telling stories of greed, lust, jealousy and others joy, humor and wit. All of the actors were able to switch between personas with ease, with the audience being able to easily follow along. It was apparent that they knew each one of their characters extremely well. Actor Lauren Shulke stood apart from her fellow stage members in portraying a multitude of diverse characters, such as a sassy milliner, an eccentric poetess, and a rape victim deserted by her husband.
With death being a constant throughout the play, it would be expected that Spoon River tells a woeful and depressing tale. However, it is more of a story about life than death. There is a wide variety of both happy and sad, fulfillment and regret, pain and joy. Isbell and music director Andy Kurst incorporated multiple light hearted segments to break up some of the more somber tales with music and dance. The many hymns sung throughout the play were executed beautifully, as well as the piano being played onstage by Kurst himself. Another impressive piece of this production was a lively square dance choreographed by Rebecca Katz Harwood, in which the caller would yell out complicated commands for the citizens of Spoon River to move and intertwine themselves to. The audience couldn’t help but smile at the energetic shouts and stomps as the actors danced around the stage with their partners.
The simple set design allowed for a lot of creativity and versatility, with a largely blank stage and only chairs to use as props. At times the chairs would represent tomb stones, at other times platforms or school desks. A crucial part of the set design were photographed projections on the walls, which showed pictures of the towns that Master’s grew up in when he was young. Seeing these projections gave the viewer a sense of authenticity, that Spoon River could be a real place with real people. It was easy to forget that Spoon River was actually fictional town.
Taking everything into account, Spoon River was a touching and well executed production. For the lovers of drama, poetry, and the unexpected ups and downs of life, Spoon River is must see.
Dana Langlee
Last week, the UMD theater closed their adaptation of Edgar Lee Master's, "Spoon River Anthologies". This show started as a book of 244 poems about the deceased folk of Spoon River, a fictional town based of a town near Master's home, but the actors, director and crew at UMD brought Spoon River to life.
ReplyDeleteWith only 9 actors, we learned the stories of nearly 60 people. The show was cast very well and the actors showed a great ability to change themselves and really make the difference between characters clear. The students really embodied their characters and showed emotions that seemed to be channeled from real experiences in their lives, which made the show more enjoyable. It was clear that the actors put in many hours of rehearsal because the transitions were very fluid and there was barely any lull between poem adaptations. Overall well done on the actors part.
This show had a very minimal set with only chairs and screen projections in the background. This was a very good decision on the crew's part. This set up allowed the stories to be the focus of the show and made the transitions between characters easier. If there had been a fussy set, they couldn't have done the quick changes of scenery between poems and the audience may have gotten confused. The screens displayed names and photos to guide the story like a silent narrator which the audience appreciated.
The singing brought something very interesting to the show. The audience seem to enjoy it, but, at times, it seemed out of place and random. The final song and the children's animal song were very obviously adding to the story but Rebekah Meyer's solo, although beautifully sung, didn't feel necessary.
There were a couple highly dramatic scenes that were beautifully executed and really made the show one to remember. The war scene and the wedding scene really made the show stand out. The director did a wonderful job with the blocking and allowed these adaptations to live up to their full potential. They were dramatic and brought very real emotions out of the audience.
Overall the show was wonderfully put together, and the audience did not leave disappointed, which is not unusual for a UMD show. I look forward to seeing many more as the years go on.
The UMD Mainstage production of Spoon River was a heart-wrenching adaptation of the book of poems “Spoon River Anthology”, written by Edgar Lee Masters and published in 1915, and contains 244 epitaphs from the citizens of the imaginary town of Spoon River, Illinois. Tom Isbell was the director and truly made it into something original and great. The cast consisted of nine actors (four women and five men) who shifted from character to character in a seemingly endless parade of sixty poems. Each poem represents a person who lived and died in the fictional town of Spoon River, and are now “sleeping on the hill”. It depicts politicians, housewives, apothecaries, newlyweds, even a judge. This play depicted a little of everyone, And each character was just as believable as the last.
ReplyDeleteThe use of pictures of cemeteries and surrounding towns in Illinois, the same ones that inspired Masters to write his epitaphs (taken by Isbell and his wife when they made a pilgrimage there) was a simple yet effective solution to the ever changing setting. Also unique to this production is the use of folk songs to break the stories into groups. The songs were easy to connect to and didn’t detract from the play’s familiar tone. Truly spectacular was a square dance that lasted that lasted several minutes (a rare thing in any theatre performance) and left both the caller and the dancers truly out of breath. It was a welcome relief from the somber mood of some of the poems. The wedding directly after the dance hit the heartstrings unawares. They even included a mock battle between the Confederates and Union soldiers who were buried there as they sang war songs from their respective sides at each other.
One of the things that made the play so easy to connect to were the candid thoughts of the characters, who had nothing to lose in death and thus spoke their minds, and the way the actors seemed to truly connect to each and every one of them. Especially entertaining were the times when the characters would respond to one another, such as the husbands and wives who finally got the chance to say how they really feel. It seemed as though each member of the audience had someone to connect to. I especially loved the laundress’ scene, as she let go of all the secrets she learned by doing the towns folk’s laundry.
A unique part of this production of Spoon River was the use of folk tunes. It really helped connect the play to the audience, such as “This Little Light of Mine”. A couple segways into these songs were a bit rough, but that is to be expected of a new element in a play. The square-dance added a very fun and exciting atmosphere to the play.
Chairs, symbolic of gravestones, and rapid costume changes really helped solidify the actors’ shifts between characters. When the chairs were all lined in a row, as in a graveyard, and the cast spoke of “sleeping on the hill” in turn, it created a truly sad yet heartwarming atmosphere. This occurred at the beginning and ending of the play; however, instead of pictures of gravestones, photos of family and friends of the cast who passed on were projected. Overall, the performance had the audience, myself included, crying tears of laughter and sorrow as they connect with the deceased people of Spoon River.
Julia Denlinger
The story of Spoon River is not of a typical narrative style. There are no specific characters who venture through some sort of obstacle to achieve a task. It seeks to be more outside of the box. This is done through a collection of poems which magnify different character’s lives one at a time. Some of the stories told are boring, and other stories have some aspects which make them memorable. There are certain stories which break into song or dance that become creatively interesting.
ReplyDeleteEach actor has multiple roles, yet between the roles there are no wardrobe changes. The only indication to the audience is a projector shining on a new character’s name while they start with their story. This could have been done in a more creative manner, possibly making the show less predictable for what was to come. This projection style makes it hard to want to pay attention to what is going on because a new character will soon be introduced and never has a connection to the older characters. The presentation is predictable. However, some of the stories are more creative than others. There is a great dance scene and a wonderful round sung by the cast.
Some of the actors struggle with playing multiple personalities. There is not a great enough difference from their last roles to their new roles.
Direction of the play is sporadic and stories are told in a random order making it harder to follow along. A success in the direction is found when multiple character's interact with one another in a wedding, a dance, or group song.
The set is more empty than a typical production. There are not many props used by the actors, and there are little to no objects which help to better create a scene. The items used are simple but lack effectiveness.
A piano accompanist plays on stage the entire time, hidden in a cool wooden enclave.
The actors’ singing was a good blend of voices. It was the combination of friend’s voices. The greatest song is sung at the end, “I Feel Like Traveling On.” This song is very convincing, emotional, and ends the play with a message to the audience: “We all will travel on.”
On Thursday October 1st, the University of Minnesota Duluth had their first performance of Spoon River directed by Tom Isbell and Andy Kust. Spoon River is originally an anthology consisting of over 244 poems written by Edgar Lee Masters one hundred years ago. Sixty of these poems were put into the play performed by just nine actors. Even with a small cast the actors were able to perform this anthology better than expected and captivate the audience.
ReplyDeleteThe casting was wonderfully done and all the performers did a marvelous job of portraying their characters. They really connected with the audience and were able to make you feel exactly how they felt. Every actor had to play several different roles so they had different accents or mannerisms that would show a new character was on stage. Overall it was done quite well, but with so many characters it did get confusing sometimes. It would take a while before realizing a new character was on stage played by someone who had already played someone else. Casting more actors could have possibly improved the play, but in some ways though this made it more interesting because as an audience you always had to be ready and paying attention to really understand what was going on.
One of the best parts of the performance was the design. The same setting was used throughout the play and very minimal props were used, usually just chairs. Having a more simple set made it easier to pay more attention to the actors and what they were saying to ensure nothing was missed. On the other hand more props could have possibly made some of the scenes easier to understand when it wasn’t quite clear what was going on. The pictures being shown on the screen gave a great idea of where this play was and made the audience feel more connected to the performance. Having the poem being on screen was very useful as well so the audience could pick it apart and understand it line by line while the actors performed the poem.
There were times that the play seemed to not be going anywhere, but all together it was able to keep the attention of the audience by making them laugh during one poem then sad the next. Tom Isbell’s research of the anthology and type of town it was set in made the play more authentic and interesting. After seeing the UMD theatre perform this play I would definitely recommend it to others.
Anne Winter
For 90 minutes, a small ensemble and a single musician were the spine of the story of Americana small-town life. In a show packed with as much artistry and emotion as this one, the only complaint one could walk away with was an exuberant dance sequence going on for a little too long.
ReplyDeleteSpoon River is a performance of a selection of poems from the Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Master; the show is in celebration of the book’s publication a century ago. The stage itself, designed by Jenna Mady, was simple: a chair for each member of the ensemble and a piano decorated with patriotic bunting, all in front of three projection screens. If a prop was needed, the performer simply (and without looking silly) acted it out. Each actor played numerous roles in the course of the show, with the character’s name projected to help the audience follow along. With the earnest and precise delivery of each actor, however, the house was lulled into the world of Spoon River without need of a guide.
From stories of troubled marriages to happy weddings, tragic deaths and lives well lived, the numerous changes in tone throughout the show felt comfortable rather than whiplash-inducing in the hands of these actors. One particular highlight was a performance of “This Little Light of Mine”; not only could the ensemble act, they could sing just as well, which director Tom Isbell took advantage of without drowning the original works in song. The ending, where a series of photos of (presumably) deceased family members of the cast showed on the screens as the ensemble sang a moving rendition of “I Feel Like Traveling On,” closing the show on an unexpected, bittersweet, tearful note.
Bookended with hymns, packed to burst with emotion and delivered with respect and precision, Spoon River had something every audience member could appreciate.
EB DeGross
This fall, UMD adapted Spoon River Anthology into an onstage production. Directed by Tom Isbell, the story explores a section of the 244 poems, 244 lives that Spoon River Anthology dives into. Each poem talks about the lives of a citizen of Spoon River, with a cross section of about 60 of the poems being told.
ReplyDeleteTom Isbell blended humor and sincerity together very well, and it resonated with the audience. I personally enjoyed the play on its surface. Watching the play affect those around me during the show was a great experience. The seriousness of some of the poems was offset by the musical numbers, such as the barnyard song and the swing dancing.
However, the actors didn’t seem as confident in their acting as they could have been, which affected the delivery of the poems. It took me out of the performance, and focusing upon the confidence of the actors in front of the crowd. It jarred the play, and messed with the fluidity.
Another thing that bothered me, was the barnyard song itself, and the length of the line dancing. The song was mostly unnecessary. Besides being used to try to offset the seriousness and uplift the play, I feel that the song had no real purpose. It took up a big chunk of time, longer than something like that should have taken. Purely for the purpose of uplifting, it took up at least five minutes, and it messed with the fluidity of the play.
The line dancing did the same, it went on for too long and it jarred the fluidity of the play. At least this part led into something else, and had more of a purpose than the barnyard song did.
All in all, Spoon River was a very well done play, with beautiful poetry. Some things messed with how the story flowed, and the confidence exuded left some to be desired, but I enjoyed watching it. The hymns added helped stitch everything together, and it was beautifully done and directed.
Abigail Nagy
University of Minnesota-Duluth’s adaptation of Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters brought the century old book of epitaphs to life while also providing musical and visual entertainment. Director Tom Isabell’s addition of hymns and projections from Masters’ home town made the production very unique. The play did not seem at all like fictional epitaphs of small town residents. Instead, the hymns and dance added to the play’s dynamics and fluidity, which was already present in the actor’s blocking and character portrayal.
ReplyDeleteThe casting of the production was very effective. The actors clearly had lots of skill to play a variety of characters. The transition between characters were very smooth. Each character depicted was unique and captivating due to the actors’ ability to illustrate vocally and visually a fictional character based solely on a poem.
They also all had powerful singing voices. With 9 actors in the ensemble total, there was never a lacking harmony in the musical numbers, which added loads to the play. Without the hymns, the average audience member would not be able to sit through the whole play. An evident crowd favorite was “Fiddle-I-Fee”. It provided comical relief from the seriousness of most of the play by illustrating a children’s performance, complete with visuals of Grumpy Cat, mumbling lyrics and silly butt-shaking.
Another common audience observation was the performance of “This Little Light of Mine”. Although it was vocally stunning, the timing of it in the play is questionable. The song was performed near the end of the play. The song ended with all the actors lined up at the edge of the stage, which gave a strong impression that the play was actually ended, especially since the ending of the song was strong and resounding. It just seemed like a great finale song and was confusing to hear in the middle of the play, especially since there was no dynamic hymn after.
Another false end occurred after “This Little Light of Mine”. Each actor said a name, which is assumed to be the name of someone who had passed on. The rate that the names where stated sped up until all the actors’ voices layered over each other. This also happened at the very beginning of the play so it would be logical to think that the play was coming “full circle”, or, to an end. The play did not end though. It was followed by one more character statement then ended. It was confusing to have a scene that was similar to the beginning as well as dynamic so close to the end and have it not be the end.
One of the productions’ strengths was transition. This was demonstrated in the transition between a fast-paced, energetic dance number and a couple’s wedding. There were four couples dancing and when the dancing ended, there was one couple that stood out. They’re nonverbal cues, like staying together slightly longer than the other couples, told the audience that they were in love without either actor having to say anything. When they did depart, the man put on a suitcoat and the woman wore a flower crown and a white lace. This was a genius way to use the power of the audience’s cultural and universal understanding of what a wedding is without any dialogue. Although a simple “I do” from either actor would’ve painted an effective picture, it would have violated the purity of the script, which was all from Masters’ book.
Although the character statements can be heavy and static at times, it really challenges the mind to think of all the possible lives that could’ve lived in a rural, small American town. This production was definitely worth going to, even if it felt like it went on a little long. It is well rehearsed and dynamic as well as though-invoking and historical.
-Nicole Hashimoto
The UMD theater production of Spoon River, directed by Tom Isbell and Andy Kust, was a very well performed adaptation of the book Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters; which is a collection of short poems. About 60 of the over 200 poems were acted out by the cast.
ReplyDeleteThe director made some decisions which I think really added to the play. The biggest of these changes was adding cut away songs, dances, and scenes without narration. These scenes for the most part added to the play each in its own way. Some of them added humor to a story while others brought the characters backstory alive right before your eyes. Overall any choices made by the directors were very positive.
The casting for this play was an incredibly important aspect because of the setting, and because of some of the directors’ additions to the stories. A small town in Illinois is not likely going to have a great deal of diversity, this greatly limits the casting choices. On top of that, due to the added hymns the actors need to be able to sing. Given these restrictions, the casting was great. When paired with the right costume, each of the actors seemed to actually be from the time period of each person they portrayed.
The actors themselves were wonderful. Each of the five men and four women did a fantastic job portraying each person. I must applaud each of them for their ability to jump from character to character without missing a beat. Also, although it was usually only one character in focus at any given time, the actors contributed to each other’s performances with background action. This added atmosphere to play which had little scenery other than a few backdrop picture and nine wooden chairs.
Props and scenery were very limited; however, what they had always added to the story, that is to say few things were there just for aesthetic purposes. Lighting and the three projector screens were the greatest help. The lights were always focused on the actor currently speaking. The only other extremely visible things on stage were the three screens. The screens projected a variety of things from backdrops to important information, and in some cases a funny photo to get a laugh from the crowd. The play was aimed towards the college and young adult age group. The comedic photographs were a perfect addition for the target audience.
Overall this adaptation of Spoon River was expertly done. There is always room for improvement, but the actors and directors made sure they did not leave a lot of it. If this play comes around again I would gladly see it again to see how different actors would change the play, and for the wonderful stories of Spoon River.
-Connor Larson
On October 7th, the UMD theatre presented their version of Spoon River directed by Tom Isbell and Andy Kust. Spoon River Anthology was originally written by Edgar Lee Masters and consisted of over 244 poems, each poem representing a different person and their story. The nine cast members played out 60 of these diverse and riveting characters all in 90 minutes.
ReplyDeleteThe play consisted on a small stage that came out into the audience giving the cast members more clarity and room to move. The only background noise that went on throughout the play was a single musician who spent most of his time playing the piano, but fit the mood perfectly. Because the cast wasn't given much time for each story they did a phenomenal job on giving the audience what they needed to know for each character and made it feel like they were standing right there. The names being projected onto the back walls helped clarify when a different character was being brought up. As the show came to an end, pictures of those who were related to the characters in the play were being shown and it added a tremendous amount of realism.
The play was well performed but also not perfect. An example being the two dance scenes that help kept the pace of the play that were quite humorous but lasted a slight bit too long. The use of more props or costumes could of had more of an effect on defining each independent character. The only question to be brought up about from the directing standpoint that came to mind was what made Tom Isbell and Andy Kust select the poems they did.
Overall it was a delightful production, the cast did a much better job than expected and made me want to come back again. Spoon River was a thrilling, beautiful, and bittersweet show from start to finish.
Culley Fairchild
Spoon River is a haunting play about a little discussed period of American history. The play touches on the most comical and serious events imaginable in such a seamless fashion that it is almost incomparable to any movie or documentary created yet. Spoon River opened with the entire cast sitting in chairs on the apron style stage leaving the door open for many possibilities. The floor for was made from planks to even further draw the viewer into the industrial revolution era setting. The costumes worn by the cast members were impressively realistic and were worn in such a relaxed manner so all the movements and actions carried out by the actors was preformed with such elegance that it drastically removed all distractions around. The actors themselves were simply stunning, all lines were given in accents that were spot on, singing was loud, harmonious, and clear, and the movements and gestures themselves were extremely confident and professional. Unfortunately, the only weak points in the Spoon River (as performed at UMD.) were a result of the story itself. Towards the end of the performance it immediately became clear that there were multiple ideas at work behind the scenes and that both had been included only partially. The first idea revolved around the projectors, which cleverly displayed names and scenery in the background during each character’s monolog. The pace set by the projectors and cast at the beginning of the play seemed to focus for maybe 3-5 minutes per story and setting then move on to another. The play could have used this theme more extensively throughout the second half were things seemed to get unnecessarily focused and specific. This first idea or theme reappeared at the end of the play when the names were once again shown in a rapid fashion to illustrate the sheer volume of characters within the world of Spoon River. The second theme in Spoon River revolves around the more specific lives of each character, which would have made for a much slower pace play, which is most likely the reason it wasn’t incorporated as the main and single theme for the play. As far as the two intertwined themes are concerned, the performance could have benefited if the first, broad, fast paced theme was used solely. The director used many different techniques to prevent monotony within the play, the most effective being singing. When the animal song was preformed, it immediately brought the play to life in an energetic and creative way and brought the audience in. The story of Spoon River is inherently a slow paced story since it has to match the slower paced lives of the characters within it, however it is not a boring story by any means, it is full of exciting tales, passion, and creativity. The slower pace of the play is rooted in its script and setting which is most defined by its emphasis on crisis rather than climax. Each of the character's within Spoon River experiences their own troubles and trials that they must struggle through, the collection of all of these make up Spoon River rather than one specific climactic point. Overall, Spoon River, (as performed at UMD) was a very professional production that took a rather slow paced story and turned it into a smooth, interesting, and emotional series of tales. Hopefully, the legacy left behind by 19th century American’s will continue to live on in such an excellent form for many years to come.
ReplyDeleteJohn Fisher
The Spoon River Adaptation
ReplyDeleteKassie Haedtke
The arrival of the UMD theatre’s take on Edgar Lee Master’s popular book Spoon River Anthology has spiked much interest in fans of American history and theatre. The play, based off of nearly 60 poems describing the lives of people in the early 1900’s attempted to bring those lives to life on the mainstage theatre at UMD. This adaptation by Tom Isbell and Andy Kust took place in mid October.
Published nearly 100 years ago, Spoon River Anthology is a book of poems spoken by 244 people explaining their lives bluntly and honestly. This type of book was not common during this period in time and became quite popular because of its honesty. It was even considered one of the greatest books of that century.
The play took off fast paced, which could confuse many who are unfamiliar with Spoon River Anthology. However, it is easy to catch on to the concept of the play after 20 minutes or so. The performers did a decent job at portraying their characters, considering that each actor had on average ten characters to play, although the lack of clear distinction in the costumes made it more difficult to separate each actor’s character.
In regards to the lighting and sound, Wesley Darton and Nick Mrozek did a superb job. The music choices were suitable to the play and the lighting added to the costumes. Heather Olson did a decent job as well in regards to the design of the costumes in relation to the time period, but as previously mentioned the lack in variety of the costumes made it difficult to separate each character.
Tom Isbell stated in his director notes that the main purpose of the adaptation was to bring the past lives of these people to life while showing the relation they have to each of us today. Overall, Isbell achieved his goal. Each one of the reenacted characters were brought back to life through the UMD actors. Curtis Philips, the projection designer, assisted Isbell in achieving his goal of relating the lives of these long deceased people to the lives of the people today by adding in projections of family members and friends of people still alive. Spoon River was an interesting adaptation that shows the value in the past. Thumbs up to the UMD department of theatre.
Based on a collection of poems written by Edgar Lee Masters, Spoon River was a play that could hit you everywhere on the emotional spectrum. One scene you could be laughing until your socks fell off and then the very next scene would be a depressing tale about a tragic death. Never had I heard of a show that would bounce around to so many different little stories and change your mood so many times during its performance.
ReplyDeleteEverything is this play was rather impressive. The lighting went well with the scenes, the sound effects sounded realistic and they added the nice touch by having the TV screens in the back to help portray the scene. The TV screens were a big part of the performance and were rather interesting. The play started with a funeral scene so they put a picture of the cemetery from the author's hometown, which the collection of poems was loosely based after. This allowed the chairs in the scene to be symbolized as tombstones in the cemetery.
Jumping in between different characters must’ve been tough for these actors. They had to know when each character was after which and who they were but these actors in the play knew what they were doing. There were several actors who seemed to be on another level compared to the others, so they seemed to hold more “important” and bigger parts in the show. These actors, who did indeed not disappoint when it came to their parts, were the woman from the beginning who spoke about what exactly the show was going to be about, the man who was the square dance caller, the rich husband, and the woman who did the very last scene. They seemed to have more of the frontline duties to the show as they probably fit right with the casting for those parts. Even with all of these actors being the main ones we saw, there was one who got the crowd laughing no matter how depressing the scene before was, and that was the fiddler.
The addition of songs during the show was very unexpected for me because based on what I had read about it, I thought it was just going to be people talking throughout it but I was wrong and I was glad I was. The square dance scene was entertaining and the children’s animal song was truly something on its own. They brought the show to life when it’s all about death and it was perfect for them to do that.
They pulled off these stories that they had hand-picked off and made the most of it, giving the audience a special show I’m sure every night. The very ending of the show before the final bow, they put up pictures of people up on the television screens that made everyone on stage emotional. I wasn’t entirely sure what they were of but I was assuming it was pictures of them as kids or loved ones and I thought it was nice that they did that.
The Spoon River production by UMD directed by Tom Isbell and Andy Kust was very well. The play was all based on a book of poems published by Edgar Lee Masters. I felt like this play could have worked more on their performance. What I did enjoy from the play was their ability to tell a story. Getting the story across was what I found very interesting with all the characters. It was amusing knowing that the actors stayed consistent while characters from the play kept changing. They were able to get the story across and made me really fascinated with theater. Other than The Crucible that I watched with my school this was my first play that I went to individually. After I was done watching this play, I wanted to do some acting myself. I enjoyed the way the play was set. This production was very interesting because I like the way they did animal noises. In the audience we were very helpful in laughing at the parts that were humorous and also setting the mood well that seemed to have helped the actors out a lot. I would definitely recommend this product to anyone who haven't seen Spoon River also if you never went to a play like myself.
ReplyDeleteThe production of Spoon River by the UMD theater was a well done play. This play directed by Tom Isbell and Andy Kust was based on the poems from Spoon River Anthology written by Edgr Lee Masters. There where 244 poems 60 of them where preformed. There were only 9 actors in this play. Which meant they had to play many different roles. This made the performance interesting seeing a single actor in many different roles. They had to change their voices how they acted and how they were dressed many times throughout the play. Every actor did a good job of switch roles and throughout the play i couldn't tell who was playing who. All of the actors did a good job of making the play interesting. They did everything from making the audience sad to making them laugh. They were able to do this through how blunt and straight forward the poems were. Most of the poems were thoughts of a character in the scene so you knew how people were thinking. Some scenes were very dark and sad while others were warm and funny. Like the square dance scene where they did a lot of dancing and singing. along with the 9 actors they had a single musician for music who did a great job of setting the vibe. Also there wasn't a lot of props or scenery which kept the focus on the actors. They did use projector screens on the back wall. These were used for pictures of cemetery and the occasional joke picture to make people laugh. Overall they did a wonderful job producing this play. There are always things you can do better but they did a good job doing close to perfect.
ReplyDelete-Matt Wacker
The production of Spoon River by the UMD theater was a well done play. This play directed by Tom Isbell and Andy Kust was based on the poems from Spoon River Anthology written by Edgr Lee Masters. There where 244 poems 60 of them where preformed. There were only 9 actors in this play. Which meant they had to play many different roles. This made the performance interesting seeing a single actor in many different roles. They had to change their voices how they acted and how they were dressed many times throughout the play. Every actor did a good job of switch roles and throughout the play i couldn't tell who was playing who. All of the actors did a good job of making the play interesting. They did everything from making the audience sad to making them laugh. They were able to do this through how blunt and straight forward the poems were. Most of the poems were thoughts of a character in the scene so you knew how people were thinking. Some scenes were very dark and sad while others were warm and funny. Like the square dance scene where they did a lot of dancing and singing. along with the 9 actors they had a single musician for music who did a great job of setting the vibe. Also there wasn't a lot of props or scenery which kept the focus on the actors. They did use projector screens on the back wall. These were used for pictures of cemetery and the occasional joke picture to make people laugh. Overall they did a wonderful job producing this play. There are always things you can do better but they did a good job doing close to perfect.
ReplyDelete-Matt Wacker