The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Wednesday, December 9, 2015 — 5A
Although the setting of the
play has not been tampered
with, the cast and crew have
taken
some
liberties
with
the production. Lindsay, the
director, decided to keep the
play in its original 15th century
time period.
“I’ve managed to work a
number of women into the
show,” she said. “One of the
big things we did was change
the Duke of Worcester to the
Duchess
of
Worcester.
She
takes no prisoners.”
Aside from a minor cut or two,
the script has not been seriously
abridged. The physical nature
of the play allows it to move
along quickly and dynamically.
“Something quite unique to this
production is the amount of stage
combat there is — a lot of work
with weaponry,” O’Brien said.
“Something that a lot of us
have to do is keep up with our
condition physically because
we’re running through these
massive fights, and after the
fights,
we’re
expected
to
continue these huge pieces of
text while trying to connect
those into the breath,” Foote
explained.
“It’s physical. It’s cerebral.
It’s really a test to everything
that we’ve got,” O’Brien said.
The timelessness of “Henry
IV” has energized the cast,
as they move beyond parsing
the
complex
language
and
logistical decisions to a place
of creativity and playfulness
in more boisterous comedic
moments that balance the play’s
historical gravity.
“We’ve crossed a threshold
of learning the technicalities
and learning lines and all of
that stuff, and now we’re just
all together having a blast
on stage — you can’t let that
drop. Feeling that has been the
most invigorating part of the
process,” O’Brien said.
Doing a play filled with stage
combat has provided a space for
deep exploration of swordplay,
which
characterizes
period-
specific violence.
“If you were to put it into
modern day and someone were
to pull out a gun and blame
somebody, the scene’s over,”
said Lindsay.
Fight director Robert Najarian
has worked closely with the
cast on crafting complicated
moments of combat.
“There’s been a wide variety
of physical confrontations in
this play, from robberies to little
tussles in the tavern to mass
battles,” he said. “Shakespeare
provides such a breadth of
experience,
especially
with
moments of violence.”
The
production
seeks
to
explore universal themes and
questions
on
stage,
which
audiences can relate to despite
a multi-century gap.
“What is leadership? What
is honor? What makes a good
leader?” said Lindsay, referring
to
the
questions
the
play
considers.
“It’s going to be relevant
because the issues are still the
same. It’s all about power. It’s
all about the struggle between
fathers and sons,” she said.
The
central
father-son
dynamic of the play is between
King Henry, played by SMTD
senior Matt Provenza.
“The father-son conflict I
think applies to college-aged
men and women, now more
than in any other part of our
lives,” said Provenza.
Beyond depiction of English
history and struggle for power,
“Henry IV” is a coming-of-age
story that questions character
agency over identity.
“Something I really want the
audience to come away from
this with is man’s propensity
to change. I want people to see
that anyone can come around,”
Provenza said. “It is possible to
assume a new person at some
point in your life and be the
person you’ve always wanted to
be or perhaps fulfill a destiny
that is perhaps better than the
one you’re living now.”
The fancy swordplay and
elegant language is more than
a depiction of physical grace or
impressive intellect; it intends
to provide the audience with a
context for the violence.
“I do want people to be
thrilled
by
what
they
see
on stage, but at the same
time know that all of this
hopefully thrilling stuff has
consequences,” Najarian said.
“We’re not just doing this to
be like, ‘Hey it’s fun to play
with swords,’ but show that,
when you are violent towards
people, there are consequences
to relationships that were once
awesome and then fail.”
LIONSGATE
“You’re Oscar-worthy, Katifer Lawdeen!”
Art imitates life:
J-Law & Katniss
Lawrence takes
cues from ‘Hunger
Games’ alter-ego
By RACHEL RICHARDSON
For The Daily
As an impressionable high
school freshman, I fell into the
trap of reading whatever my
classmates were raving about.
So, of course, I found myself
lounging on a beach chair with
a copy of “The Hunger Games”
during the summer of 2012.
When my friends asked how
much I loved the novel, I didn’t
want to ruin their excitement,
so I gave it a solid 10 out of 10.
Honestly, though, it was only a
6.5 in my mind.
What fell flat for me in the
first novel and only proceeded
to get worse in the other two
was that I couldn’t connect
with the characters, especially
Katniss – she never seemed real
enough. After the film franchise
was announced, I was hopeful
that Jennifer Lawrence would
bring the character to life. But.
I couldn’t stand Katniss in “The
Hunger Games,” “Catching Fire”
or even “Mockingjay - Part 1.” But
then came “Mockingjay - Part 2,”
and I’m still in awe of Lawrence’s
performance.
I saw “Part 2” three weeks ago
and up until recently, I was still
processing why I felt that Katniss
suddenly became so real. After a
lecture in film class on effective
acting, I finally realized that in
the previous films, it felt like
Lawrence was just playing the
role of Katniss, but in “Part 2, ”
Katniss becomes an extension of
Lawrence herself.
Up until 2015, Lawrence has
refrained from publicly sharing
her opinions on feminism. In
October, she broke her silence
by publishing a Lenny Letter
(a feminist newsletter curated
by Lena Dunham and Jenni
Konner), where she outlined her
experience with unequal pay
as a woman in the Hollywood
film industry. She writes about
how even though she was met
with backlash, she still didn’t
back down. Similarly, Katniss is
often met with resistance from
Gale, but she either ignores his
criticisms or calls him out on his
own questionable choices.
Speaking
of
Gale,
while
“Hunger
Games”
is
not
as
dependent on the love triangle as
“Twilight,” romance is definitely
a dominant theme. In “Part
2,” the boy-drama is diluted,
as Katniss keenly focuses on
eliminating President Snow and
improving life for the citizens
of Panem. As she tries to sleep
in the tunnels, she overhears
Gale and Peeta discussing their
relationships with her. Instead
of intently trying to listen in, she
closes her eyes and it quickly cuts
to the next scene.
Similarly,
Lawrence
didn’t
let Chris Martin’s (a former
boyfriend) indecision over her
and his ex-wife distract her from
executing a potentially Oscar-
worthy
performance.
Though
Katniss often disregards the
words of her advisors, it would
almost be more fitting to title the
film “Mission Impossible: Rogue
Katniss.” Most of her actions
are calculated risks; she usually
doesn’t take them unless the odds
are more in her favor than not.
This sudden surge of ambition
can once again be attributed to
Lawrence’s personality. Earlier
this month, during a promotional
tour for “Mockingjay - Part 2,”
Lawrence officially announced
that she’d like to be a director.
Her first potential film, “Project
Delirium,” is not seen by many as
“her type of film.” The movie is
said to adapt a New Yorker story
about James Ketchum, the retired
psychiatrist and U.S. army colonel
and his involvement with a secret
LSD experimentation program.
If this project is picked up by a
producer, Lawrence has made it
clear that she will only direct, and
not star, in it.
Saving
her
best
Katniss
performance for last, Lawrence
gives
dissatisfied
readers
an
impressive conclusion to the
series. Unfortunately, this is the
last time we’ll ever see Katniss
and Lawrence in harmony. Or,
more cleverly, Jeniss Everence or
Katifer Lawdeen (still trying to
decide which one is better).
THE CW
“Finally, Kimmi -- we’re in print!”
‘Supernatural’ Recap:
‘Just My Imagination’
By KIM BATCHELOR
Daily Arts Writer
Having played one of the most
ridiculous and imaginative char-
acters on the show (Gabriel/The
Trickster), I imagine that Richard
Speight Jr. (“To Appomattox”) felt
right at home directing the eighth
episode. “Just My Imagination”
approaches the Pixar-esque with
its glimpse into the world of chil-
dren’s’ imaginary friends.
The episode opens with a young
girl named Maddie (Jena Skodje,
“R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour”)
having a tea party with her imagi-
nary friend, Sparkle (Everrett
Shea, “Arrow”). Things quickly
take a dark turn when Maddie
leaves to go to dinner with her par-
ents. While she is gone, Sparkle is
brutally stabbed to death.
In the bunker, Sam (Jared
Padalecki, “Gilmore Girls”) wakes
up and heads down the hall to
make coffee, all the while being
stalked by a mysterious shadow.
Surprise! The shadow turns out
to be Sully (Nate Torrence, “Hello
Ladies”), Sam’s imaginary friend
from childhood, he only realizes
after instinctually punching Sully.
Dean (Jensen Ackles, “Smallville”)
arrives at the sound of commo-
tion but, since Dean can’t see Sully
unless Sully wants him too, he is
naturally concerned about Sam’s
mental health. And when Sully
does reveal himself, Dean is just
concerned in general. Sully has to
explain quickly that he’s a species
called Zanna and that he came to
the brothers for help because his
friend was murdered.
Dean hesitates to help Sully
because he doesn’t trust him,
believing he may be evil. But Sam
believes that Sully is truly his old
imaginary friend from when he
was a child, and there is lore on
Zanna in the Romanian books
to back up his story. Sam feels
he owes Sully and needs to help
him as a repayment for Sully’s
help during his childhood. Dean
doesn’t understand why Sam
even needed an imaginary friend
to begin with. Sam explains it’s
because he was lonely. In a flash-
back, we come to understand how
a young Sam (Dylan Kingwell,
“The Returned”) felt left behind
by Dean (Dylan Everett, “Open
Heart”) and his father when it
came time to go on hunts. We’re
also treated to a new actor for a
young Sam and the return of fan
favorite Dylan Everett.
Sam, Dean and an invisible
Sully visit the home of Sparkle’s
child under the guise of trauma
counselors. Mrs. Berman (Carrie
Genzel, “Under One Roof”), Mad-
die’s mother, explains that Mad-
die won’t return to her room. Sam
and Dean ask Maddie why she
won’t go back. The answer: “All
of the blood.” Once they reach the
room, Sully appears to let them
see the murder scene. Unfortu-
nately, it means they get to wit-
ness the truly horrifying scene to
follow wherein Mrs. Berman acci-
dentally gets Sparkle’s blood all
over her face. If the actress who
plays Sparkle looks familiar, it’s
because she was on the show ten
years earlier in the Season One
episode “Bugs.”
Elsewhere, a Zanna mermaid
named Nicky (Ida Segerhagen,
“Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce”) is
stabbed in a pool while her child
is at gymnastics. Sully learns of
the murder through a Zanna-spe-
cific telepathic link, and the three
arrive on the scene of Nicky’s
murder. Sully mentions Nicky
has a boyfriend and Dean decides
they ought to question him after
they bury her body. While they
dig her grave, Sam remembers
a time when he considered run-
ning away from the hunter life as
a young boy and Sully supported
him. Sully reminded Sam that he
could go to school if he wanted,
that he could be whatever he
wanted to be.
Weems
(Eduard
Witzke,
“What’s Up Warthogs!”), Nicky’s
Zanna boyfriend, is out in the
backyard of the house of the child
he’s attached to, hanging up the
laundry to dry, when he’s attacked
by the murderer. He’s stabbed
and left bleeding and calling out
telepathically for Sully while the
assailant drives off. Sam, Dean
and Sully find Weems and patch
up his wound while they explain
the situation. Weems informs
them that the murderer is female
and drives a Volkswagon Bug.
After Weems treats him to the
coolest air guitar solo ever, Dean
chases the car.
Weems is surprised to hear
that Sam and Sully are back
together because Sam “broke his
heart.” It really hurt Sully when
Sam decided to stay a hunter
rather than run away with him
— when he told Sully that he
didn’t need him anymore. Sam
apologizes to Sully for the way
they ended things. Sully admits
that when Sam went off to hunt
he considered it a failure on his
part, but he also admits that he
was wrong. He’s proud of Sam
and the person he has become.
Sam discloses that he’s the reason
the Darkness was set free, and he
thinks that the answer to how to
stop it may lie in the cage with
Lucifer. Sam’s scared. He is scared
to go back there. Sully asks if Sam
ever thinks about running away
anymore. Sam says not anymore.
Sam gets a text from Dean tell-
ing them that he has found the
killer. But, in fact, it’s the opposite:
the killer has found him. When
Sam and Sully arrive, Sully is
shocked to see Reese (Anja Savcic,
“Strange
Empire”),
a
young
woman he knew as a child. Sully
was Reese’s imaginary friend, but
also the imaginary friend of her
sister Aubrey. Since she followed
him out into the street and was
hit by a car, Reese blames Sully for
Aubrey’s death. Furthermore, she
blames him for disappearing after
it and leaving her all alone.
Dean talks her down. He
explains that revenge won’t make
her feel better. He promises that
Sully isn’t a monster because
when he wasn’t able to be there
for Sam, Sully was. After Reese
calms down and heads home, Sam
and Sully say their goodbyes. Sully
still knows just the right thing to
say to encourage Sam to come to
the correct decision and reminds
him that sometimes the heroes
are heroes just because there is no
one else who will do what is right.
As Sam and Dean drive home,
Sam brings up the idea of him vis-
iting the cage once more. Dean
shoots him down, promising,
“there’s always another way.”
But Sam wants to know what that
other way is, and Dean doesn’t
have an answer.
FILM NOTEBOOK
NO FILTER
HENRY IV
From Page 1A
Lawrence leaves
her best Katniss
performance for
last.
Lawrence
announced that
she’d like to be a
director.
Katifer Lawdeen
or Jennis
Everence?