University Theatre opens its 2009-10 season with Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning drama “Death of a Salesman,” directed by Michael Landman.
It’s been 30 years since this play was last performed for Fayetteville residents, but, now, the Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studio will revive this famous interpretation of the rise and fall of the American dream that has touched thousands of theatergoers since it debuted in New York in 1949.
In an intimate new production by the university’s most creative team, Death of a Salesman will begin Thursday, Oct. 1. I caught up with sound designer Michael Riha to find out what’s in store for those who go.
Why was this play chosen to be the season opener?
It was a struggle for us because we had a number of great titles on the table that we wanted to do. But we perform in collaboration with the Walton Arts Center, and they felt that this show will attract their patrons more than any other.
How did Bikes, Blues & BBQ affect rehearsals?
Well, we weren’t able to do sound checks because we couldn’t hear over the roar of the motorcycles until Sunday (laugh). The show had its final technical rehearsal yesterday, and today is the final dress rehearsal. Although it was difficult to hear each other during BBB, we managed, and we’re in pretty good shape now.
How many times has this play shown in Fayetteville?
“Death of a Salesman” debuted in Fayetteville in 1954 and, then, it was done again in 1979. So it’s been exactly 30 years since it was performed here last time. It’s perfect timing to perform it again!
What does the scenery for the play look like ?
Traditionally, “Death of a Salesman” is a fairly long-standing script that is done in very similar ways throughout the country. It usually has Willy Loman’s home represented in someway – either with an architectural fragement or a fully realized set.
What distinguishes the approach of director Michael Landman from the traditional one?
It’s a realistic script that has a lot of flashbacks scenes. The dialogue is fairly realistic and the characters are real people, but Michael has taken a very expressionistic view on the show and really wanted the audience to get inside the head of Willy and the turmoil that he is feeling.
How is that reflected on the stage?
There aren’t a whole lot of props, but what props there are, are real – real cups from which they are drinking, real pillows on the constructed bad. So, it really strips it back to the essence of the scenes.
What kind of set will you use to make the main character as understandable as possible for the audience?
Christina (an undergraduate design student) designed the set to be kind of nightmarish, emphasizing how everything seemed to be closing in on Willy.
Special effects?
Lighting will play a big part. In the flashback scenes, characters are on the stage but not visible until light reveals them dramatically through a screen so the audience will see them as a part of Willy’s memory.
Who are the cast members in the play?
All the cast members are current students at the UA, but it’s the first time we’ve ever had so many international students on a program. We have 4 graduate directing students, and three of the four are international students. It adds another richness to their previous experiences and helps them to learn the American style of directing and communicating with actors.
How do they contribute to that American style of directing?
Its certainly expanding our scope to see how someone from Italy, Colombia or Korea works with American actors and technicians. Now they are directing, but, hopefully, in the future, we’ll have that kind of expansion with design, too.
adragic
