Macgowan Hall is victim to ravaging passion and possession by the gods. Well, at least it is when “A Mouthful of Birds” is showing on stage.
The play, which opened last night, is based on “The Bacchae” by Euripedes. Written by Caryl Churchill and David Lan, the play is separated into seven vignettes, each one focusing on a different character.
The character in each is plagued by a former life and breaks free from it through possession by the deity Dionysus.
“The show is about desire, and it’s about seven people being pushed into what they want by Dionysus and his bacchants,” said third-year theater student Mariss Casados, who plays one of the possessed characters in the show.
Many of the characters are helped by the possession they experience on stage, be it love or madness. However, not every tale in the play has such a bright ending.
“Some of us don’t come out on top,” Casados said.
In classic Greek tradition, each scene is haunted by a chorus, of which some members play roles such as Dionysus in the scenes. Second-year theater student Lesley Hollingsworth plays a member of the chorus.
“There’s the main person (in each vignette), and then every other character is played by the chorus,” Hollingsworth said.
While “A Mouthful of Birds” is partially a musical, Hollingsworth explained that she, like several other characters, does not sing.
The show is directed by graduate theater student Efrain Schunior, who is presenting this piece as his senior thesis.
“He’s passionate about taking theater to a new level, taking it to a place where it’s a spectacle that can mean a lot and transcend realism,” Hollingsworth said.
The play strikes close to home to the actors, driving deep the message of possession and breaking free.
“I think life at UCLA is very structured and everyone can relate to the fact that you want to break free of that, and that’s what this play is about,” Hollingsworth said.
In Euripedes’ “The Bacchae,” many Greek women were claimed by Dionysus to be his crazed followers. They tore apart the flesh of animals and people, and performed various other frenzied acts.
The play relies on such ancient themes and stories to relate the messages of madness and possession to modern-day viewers.
“I’ve been possessed by love; we do crazy things because of love, sorrow, grief,” Casados said. “You realize that possession is part of your life.”
However, while possession is often portrayed as freeing, other vignettes portray unhealthy consequences.
The play includes a story of a serial killer who somehow becomes a woman while in prison and begins to magically and mysteriously kill off other prisoners.
But despite some potentially off-putting plot turns, the production is sure to be a spectacle.
“The play transcends realism and takes you to a place that film could never, encloses you in a story of extreme passion,” Hollingsworth said. “It’s an experience.”
And despite the bizarre themes and intricacies in the show, there seems to be one overwhelming message.
“Get what you can out of life. Be truthful, and don’t be afraid to just jump in,” Casados said.