The theater department presented its first play this season since the pandemic. This new season brought in a huge welcome back to live theater with LOVE/SICK.
Composed into nine short plays, LOVE/SICK, by award winning playwright John Cariani, tells the tale of different stages of affection in a quirky and earnest approach. He displayed all the ways love in a relationship could be presented and veiled throughout the years based in an alternative suburban reality. It’s that same juxtaposition of fantastical rawness that caught Director Samantha Stern’s eyes. “For me it’s very powerful, it brings out a lot of emotion, it’s sad, but it is also very funny, and it’s crazy, but it also has a lot of truth to it,” Stern stated.
Cariani’s universe of common realities through his use of metaphors consistently connects with the audience. From a man who is physically unable to hear the words, “I love you,” to a wife who is trying to find herself again after being married and having children. Each beautifully orchestrated portrayal left the audience relating with the characters.
Each group of actors excelled in their characters’ more vulnerable moments. They each settled easily into Cariani’s unique brand of humor and remained grounded even when they dabbled in a whimsical reality. Stern discusses the lack of audition process for this cast. “This first production of every year is fully comprised, so doing a show that has opportunities for every student to have their own moments to shine is always one of the criteria used for choosing this first show of the year,” she said.
A rotating platform for each new set that had to be pushed by shopping carts, evoked a new take on set designing. Stern talked about the creative process for the rotating platform, “The playwright has some notes in the play about what the set could look like; it gives you a lot of different options so I sort of came up with the idea of the rotating platforms,” she said. “Every single little thing that goes on in the play, on the stage, in between scenes. All of that is something that the team has developed over the course of the rehearsal period.”
The theater department hopes the audience are prepared to be dazzled by their upcoming performances. Their next showcase will be a fun musical, which is different from the contemporary comedy/drama. Upcoming in the spring will be an American classical play called The Glass Menagerie, one of the most famous plays in American theater history. They hope to see the DSC community in the audience soon, preferably with your mask on.
