On the face of it, the plays staged this year at Ohio State Lima are very different. One a much beloved children’s classic and the other a contemporary take on what happens when a husband orders a hit on his wife.
The first play in the 2014-2015 season was a gritty take on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland adapted by William Goldsmith and set to a punk rock soundtrack for the Theatre for Young Audiences program. About 2,000 school-aged children attended the production.
The next play in the season is Reckless by Craig Lucas. It opens April 2.
“When we thought of a season, we picked Alice first and then looked for a good companion,” said Margie Anich, MFA, lecturer in Theatre and the director of both plays. “I was in Reckless in grad school. I loved it and had a soft spot for the play.”
One of the central themes of Alice in Wonderland is growing up and the main character in Reckless follows a similar path. Rachel begins the play naïve and immature and progresses through a series of truly odd situations and people to a much more mature viewpoint by the end.
“Reckless is about what happens next when the unthinkable has happened,” Anich said. “Just like when Alice goes down the rabbit hole, Rachel finds herself in peculiar situations, meets unusual people and tries to make sense of it all.”
The choices that Rachel and other characters in the play make have made for some rousing debates among the cast of seven. These discussions help the actors develop an important trait – empathy.
“It’s okay to not like Rachel and her decisions,” Anich said. “But the actors must understand the journey she is on to be effective in their roles. You can’t play a character and judge that character. You have to find a way to justify their choices. You don’t have to agree with the choices the character has made, but when you’re playing them you can’t judge the character.”
Three of the Alice actors are back for the all-student cast of Reckless. They played the twitchy White Rabbit, larger-than-life Duchess, and the crowd favorite Queen of Hearts. Absurd situations are nothing new for them. The Reckless stage, however, is a completely unknown element. The set, the cast and the audience will all be together on the main stage of the Martha W. Farmer Theatre for the Performing Arts.
“We call this a thrust setting with the audience on three sides of the set. It is a much more intimate experience for both the cast and the audience” said Anich, who has been preparing the actors. “They are excited but also a little nervous, and curious as to what it will be like to perform for an audience that is sitting just a few feet away from them. You don’t ever know how a play will work until you have an audience, which is opening night.”
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The Department of Theatre at The Ohio State University at Lima presents Reckless by Craig Lucas at 7:30 p.m., April 2-4, 10-11 and at 2 p.m., April 12, 2015, on the stage of the Martha W. Farmer Theatre for the Performing Arts in Reed Hall. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Call the Box Office at (419) 995-8382 to reserve your seat