Grad students hone skills in workshop

Cock fighting in Oklahoma and the reformation of marijuana laws
““ not only is Nov. 5 voting day, it’s also the opening
day for UCLA’s second-year master’s of fine arts acting
workshop.

The first graduate theater event of the year, the workshop is
led by faculty members Ellen Geer and Joe Olivieri, who are
directing Dylan Thomas’ “Under Milkwood” and
Moliere’s “The Learned Ladies,” respectively. The
plays will be performed in repertory on alternating nights with the
same cast.

“The second year of the program focuses more on classical
work and the best way to work on classical is to showcase
it,” said Giovanni Ortega, one of the second-year actors in
the production. “The plays that we perform are geared toward
what the professors want us to work on and improve.”

This year, the plays chosen are aimed at improving speech and
voice, specifically in classical texts. “Under
Milkwood,” a play recounting the lives of people in a small
Welsh town, challenges the actor to play up to four characters in
the play and helps them develop distinct qualities for each
part.

“”˜Under Milkwood,’ originally written in the
form of a radio play and poetry, made us work extremely hard to
portray distinct qualities for each character we played,”
said Michael Agrusso, another second-year MFA student.
“Because it was a radio play and poetry also, it was
interesting to transition the play to a stage production where we
have actions that enhance our words.”

Moliere’s play, “The Learned Ladies” is a
quick-witted farce, and was chosen to further the nine
students’ technique on character portrayal.

“In “˜The Learned Ladies,’ we’re all
concentrating on one character,” Ortega said. “While
the original play had stock characters (exaggerated archetypes), we
try to add another level to the characters and make them more
three-dimensional so they come alive on stage.”

Actors go from playing numerous characters one night in
“Under Milkwood” to playing one character in “The
Learned Ladies,” the following night.

“It’s an intense experience to go from playing four
different characters in one play and then playing only one in the
next,” Shaw said.

One of the main transitions MFA students make going into the
second year is the technique they use to portray characters. During
their first year, actors are advised to use the “inside
out” approach where they dig deep inside to try to relate to
the character they are playing.

This year, they are concentrating on the “outside
in” technique which prompts them to take external aspects of
the characters, such as their body movements and voice, and then
feel the effect. According to Agrusso, this technique can be
summarized as saying the line, then feeling the character rather
than feeling the character and then saying the line.

“The new techniques we are using are very different, but
are allowing us to experience a different aspect of theater,”
said Maurice Shaw, a second-year MFA student. “This year,
we’re concentrating on incorporating the characters’
true personalities rather than handling the situation with our own
style.”

The directors have modified some portions of the plays. In
“The Learned Ladies,” the directors have modernized the
play by transforming a wealthy French family to a ritzy Beverly
Hills family. This technique helps the actors relate to the play on
a more personal level, according to Ortega. In “Under
Milkwood,” the directors have taken the original poem and
adapted it to a stage play.

“The two plays we’re performing are drastically
contrasting in many respects,” Agrusso said. “While
“˜The Learned Ladies’ is a short, fast paced comedy,
“˜Under Milkwood’ is more poetic and actually artistic
and sharpens our voice and speech techniques more.”

Set against a minimal set, the two plays are not geared toward
audience entertainment, but are aimed at helping the actors refine
and learn new techniques to further their talents.

“In the end, we come out learning new techniques and being
able to adapt to any unique directing style,” Ortega said.
“We also learn how to create styles that help us play four
different roles in the same play distinctly different.”

“Under Milkwood” and “The Learned
Ladies” will be performed on Nov. 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 at 7:30
p.m. and Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. in 1340 Macgowan Hall. Admission is
free.

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