The stage drips with irony as four actors and a slew of crew members try to put on a show about trying to put on a show.
UCLA’s Act III Theatre Ensemble presents the four-person musical “[title of show]” which comically explores the struggle it takes to create and produce a musical. Act III, inspired by the themes within the musical, is also putting on “A Week of [tos]abilities,” which is comprised of a series of workshops, master classes and Q-and-As aimed at exposing students to ways they can pursue their creative dreams.
“[title of show]” by Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell is a musical that chronicles its own creations. It’s based on real people, which means the original cast members and creators are cemented in the script with their own names as the character names. This autobiographical comedy reflects many of the obstacles and insecurities performing artists face when trying to successfully break into the industry.
Producer and second-year theater student Megan Fitzgerald said she saw these themes as a potential way Act III could get more UCLA students involved in the experience. Because the show’s four-person cast limited the number of people who could be involved, this led to the creation of “A Week of [tos]abilities.”
“I wanted to find a way for Act III to reach more people with this show, and the theme of the show fit so perfectly with that, it just sort of happened,” Fitzgerald said.
The week will be centered on a series of six different workshops and master classes, ranging from classes in lyric writing to opportunities for students who have written theater pieces to get them workshopped for free. The week is open to any students who are interested in writing, performing and producing in the theater.
“‘A week of [tos]abilities’ is a way to do what the original characters did,” Fitzgerald said. “The show is all about the insecurities and terror of just going for it, and pursuing your dreams.”
All four actors commented on the many parallels the show has to their lives as performers, particularly in terms of the vulnerabilities and trepidations the entertainment industry seems to inspire in individuals. These include the fear of not being able to support financially oneself as an artist, and the worry of their friends judging them for pursuing art as a profession.
“(It involves) the insecurities and courage it takes to pursue art as a career when you know there’s every opportunity for you to fail,” said third-year musical theater student Shannon Morrissey, who plays Heidi in the show. “Then we watch this story of these people, who against all odds succeeded with this crazy outlandish musical, and you really get to experience that journey of the true love in discovery.”
In “[title of show],” Susan’s song “Die, Vampire, Die!” exemplifies many of these insecurities.
“‘Die, Vampire, Die’ is a totally crazy, whipped-up metaphor about killing vampires, which is a metaphor for the demons that inhibit you from pursuing what you want to do,” said first-year theater student Jack Shulruff, who plays Hunter. “It’s saying ‘Get rid of these negative thoughts; kill the voices inside your head that tell you you can’t do it.’”
Taylor Patterson, a third-year theater student who plays Susan in the show, said she has known about the musical for years because her high school musical director was involved in the original production. As a result, Patterson said she has seen how her relationship to the work has changed over time exemplifying the work’s ability to stay relevant throughout the years.
“My favorite piece changed to ‘Die, Vampire, Die!,’ which is a really empowering song to perform as somebody who is plagued by those vampires,” Patterson said. “I think we all are; everyone is in the world. But I think as performers, those voices are really loud and it’s kind of fun to tell them to go away in the most fun, goofy way possible.”