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O G S L E E H TAR
Actors and directors involved in two of UNC-Chapel Hill’s major production companies discuss what it takes to bring a piece of Hollywood to Chapel Hill.
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by hannah webster photos by claire collins design by kristi walker
WHILE IT MAY BE MORE TYPICAL for college students to watch a movie in their dorm room than go to a theatrical production, students now have the opportunity to watch their favorite film come to life on stage. Pauper Players and Company Carolina, two studentrun theater companies on campus, will each produce three shows this year. The companies’ common goals include bringing quality theatrical productions to campus and providing an outlet for students to gain theatrical experience. And this fall, their productions are coming from the big screen to Chapel Hill stages. Pauper Players will present “Sweeney Todd” from Nov. 15 to 18, and Company Carolina will present “Legally Blonde: The Musical” from Nov. 22 to 24. SETTING THE SCENE
Richie Walters, the music director for the upcoming “Sweeney Todd” performance, leads cast members during a warm-up excercise.
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Actors are called each week and informed of their rehearsal times. Rehearsals take place almost every day, and depending on the role, actors can be called for multiple time slots. Senior Edgar Harrell, director of “Legally Blonde,” says the time commitment and hard work bring the cast and crew together to make the production process a valuable experience. It is the largest show Harrell has ever directed. With a 25-person cast and 12-person production team, it is also the largest show recently produced by Company Carolina. “I just knew I loved the movie,” says Harrell, a double major in communications and mathematics. “I feel like the musical improves on areas that the movie lacked. How can you go wrong with a musical that improves on the source matter?” Sophomore Shelley Leazer, an ensemble actor in “Sweeney Todd,” also feels the musical version is more complete. “There is a whole lot that the movie leaves out, so hopefully [the audience] will come in and hear songs they don’t recognize or just see things done differently and have a new love and appreciation for it,” Leazer says. “If we can inspire people to go beyond movies and see more theater, that would be really cool.” While Leazer participated in theater in high school, she has never acted in a play before at UNC-CH. “I love working with Pauper,” says Leazer, an English
and sociology double major. “We work hard and they are very talented people, but it is a really fun and relaxed environment. You can tell everyone is doing this because they love theater.” Leazer is not interested in acting as a career, but many members of Pauper Players as well as Company Carolina are using their theater experience at UNC-CH as a starting point for future theater endeavors. For sophomore Rachael Tuton, who is double majoring in dramatic art and vocal performance, “Sweeney Todd” is her third production with Pauper Players. She hopes to go into acting after graduation and plans to perform in as many shows at UNC-CH as possible. Tuton plays Mrs. Lovett, the principal female character who bakes Sweeney’s victims into pies. She says she is excited to perform in one of her favorite musicals. “The music is unparalleled. I mean, you should never turn down an opportunity to participate in ‘Sweeney Todd,’” Tuton says. “I think it will draw a large crowd partially because they know the show, but also it’s going to be really well-advertised and it’s going to be [performed] in Historic Playmakers. Historic Playmakers is really rustic and adds to the whole experience.” In addition to setting, costume design is another aspect of theater productions that is instrumental in developing the scene. Leazer says costumes from “Sweeney Todd” will take on a steampunk, Victorian vibe. “The costumes are taking an edge that is similar to the movie,” Leazer says. “The fittings were basically trying on pieces [Pauper Players] already had and talking about how they wanted to change them.” For “Legally Blonde,” Harrell says Company Carolina will draw costumes from several sources: the company
storage unit, a budget allocated for each show and costumes lent from Playmakers Repertory Company, a professional theater company at UNC-CH. Since the play is set in modern times, actors won’t have to create an entirely new wardrobe. Instead, several costume pieces, which include typical college attire, will come directly from the actors’ own closets. Although most costumes are not replications from the movie, audience members who have seen the movie will immediately recognize Elle’s wellknown playboy bunny costume.
SCREEN TO STAGE CHALLENGES
While producing a show based on a movie may fill more seats in the theater, many actors recognize that it does present challenges. For example, viewers may have expectations when comparing the live production to the movie. However, the casts and crews from both companies are excited to bring new meaning and a fresh approach to the known works. “It’s daunting to have these expectations that Reese Witherspoon is Elle Woods,” Harrell says. “I think Jessica Hoffman [the UNC-CH student playing Elle Woods] is as much as Elle Woods as anyone else can be because it’s about the character, not the actress.” Junior business major Emily Ruffin is performing as the character Brooke Wyndam, the young fitness instructor charged with her older husband’s murder, in Company Carolina’s “Legally Blonde.” Ruffin has been active with UNC-CH’s theater community since her freshman year. As a music minor and having been trained in classical ballet as
“Legally Blonde: The Musical” cast members practice choreography for the musical number “Positive” during a rehearsal session.
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a child, Ruffin prefers musical theater above other kinds of plays. “I just love ‘Legally Blonde.’ It’s such a fun show,” she says. “The basic plot is the same, and some of the details are the same, but there are some differences and things that are added that are not in the movie.” For example, Ruffin says her character, Brooke, is portrayed differently and more in-depth in the musical than in the movie. “In the show, the part is a little bit different. You get to see her as the fitness expert that she is,” Ruffin says. “I think there is definitely a stigma—especially on Elle, but for all roles really. The main thing we are trying to do is be true to the character. If that makes it a little bit different than the character was in the movie, that’s OK.” Harrell says several song and dance numbers and dialogue in the musical also develop characters and relationships better than in the movie. For example, the song “Chip on My Shoulder” deepens the relationship between Emmett and Elle. Tuton from “Sweeney Todd” says she has also felt pressure in portraying Mrs. Lovett, a character previously performed by actress Helena Bonham Carter. “I personally like the stage version better than the movie version because [the movie version is] Tim Burton and it’s so dark. The stage version has a lot of comedy and is such a great show,” Tuton says. “The movie leaves out a whole bunch, and the stage brings everything to life and you are more engaged in the story.” While the shows differ in plot, character development and musical score, one thing that seems to be the same is the director’s approach. Tuton says the director of “Sweeney Todd,” Doug Pass, is collaborative in his directing style, and she says his main goal is to tell the story the way the playwrights intended it to be told. “I don’t think [Pass] is paying a ton of attention to the movie or preconceived notions about Sweeney,” Leazer says. “I think he wants to create a story that is very true to what Sondheim [the original composer] intended.” Harrell, director of “Legally Blonde,” also aims to work with the actors to develop characters with their own style instead of mimicking the versions of characters from the movie. “I feel like I have a very collaborative approach. I try to select a cast that is going to be very contributing to the vision. I come into rehearsal with an idea of what I want, but I like to let the actors contribute as much as they possibly can to the character,” he says. “I don’t want to take away an actor’s identification with a character.” While performing a character or directing a show can be a challenge when the audience may already know how the story ends, the cast and crew involved with the shows feel the challenge can be beneficial. “While it is fun to have people appreciate Broadway or the movie—I love any sort of audience member—but there is something to be said about coming in fresh and there is also something said about having something to compare it to,” Harrell says.
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