AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) - The AU Theatre Department has officially begun their spring semester with their performance of "Orlando," a play adapted from the novel by Virginia Woolf and directed by Ashley Butler from the Auburn University Theatre and Dance Department.
The performance is being held from February 20-March 1 in the Telfair Peet Theatre Black Box.
The Black Box is a different theater setting from a conventional stage. It is an entire room, walls painted black, complete with balconies and overhead lights. Performers use the entirety of the space during the show, giving a more intimate feel with the audience-almost as if they too are part of it.
"Orlando" follows a young nobleman named Orlando through the span of five hundred years, from the Elizabethan Age to present day. The primary focus of the play is on how gender roles change throughout the centuries. It examines the social stereotypes, as well as the privileges that come with them, creating a thought provoking experience.
The performance makes masterful use of the space provided by the Black Box. Performers use the balcony as part of the play, and exit from one part of the stage only to re-enter from another. Pieces of the set are also reused in a convincing way. In one scene, a spiral staircase is an oak tree, and in another it is the crow’s nest of a ship. Props are minimalist, yet surprisingly convincing thanks to the high-quality choreography.
This combined with the performance’s high level of humor results in a very entertaining experience.
For information about the performance, visit: https://cla.auburn.edu/theatre/productions/current-season/orlando/
Production photos courtesy of Henry Eiland of the AU Visual Poetry Studio
