Vera, (Sophia Scott) appears as the inspiration for the poet (Elias Bassette) Elias Bassett (Reiner Maria Rilke) and his muse, Sophia Scott (Vera) star in the Heartwood Theater and Lincoln Academy collaboration “Sonnets to Orpheus.” The play opens a run of five performances with a matinee on Saturday, March 15. (Courtesy photo)
Just as winter rolls into spring, Heartwood Regional Theater Co. and Lincoln Academy will present a very special student production: “Sonnets to Orpheus.”
“Our original intent this year was to produce the new musical ‘Hadestown,’ based on the beautiful, haunting myth of Orpheus and Eurydice,” said director Griff Braley. “Unable to fulfill the cast requirements for singers, we took up a new challenge, based on the very same ancient myth.”
Above all, this is an educational and immersion experience for cast, crew and LA’s play production class. Ensemble story telling is a trademark of Braley’s, typically springing from strong literary texts and myths, like this.
Students are challenged and rewarded by the demands of a classic (in this case, poetic) text, combined with ensemble work, including vocals, movement and original musical underscoring. Their efforts and lush technical elements will culminate in an impactful theater experience for the audience.
“Sonnets to Orpheus” infuses the text of 50 sonnets written by poet Reiner Maria Rilke in 1920, into the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The story tracks the final years of Rilke’s life and the brief relationship of the young couple in the myth. (Writing a memorial for a young family friend, Rilke completed the full sonnet collection in just three weeks.)
Like the myth, the sonnets focus on the nature of beauty and love, even in the face of challenges and grief. The family friend, Vera, a young ballet dancer in her prime, appears as Rilke’s muse, as he struggles through writing and reenacting the myth in the solitude of his borrowed Swiss chalet.
The set provides a rich, tall, multi-level area on which a nine-member ensemble delivers these two intertwining tales. Beautiful lines of poetry are carried sometimes by haunting vocals, sometimes with ensemble-speaking, sometimes in soliloquy. The show is technically created and supported by LA’s play production class and a technical crew of three adults.
Three LA seniors carry the production: Elias Bassett (Rilke), Taylin Lowe (narrator and doctor friend of Rilke) and Sophia Scott (Vera).
In addition, Cadence Balbo Towle, Natalie Friel, Addison McCafferty, and Syndey Kurr play the Sonnet Voices, interpreting the sonnets and reenacting the mythical story.
The cast for the Lincoln Academy/Heartwood Theater collaboration “Sonnets to Orpheus,” brings an original Griff Braley script to the Poe Theater stage beginning Saturday, March 15. Shown from left, front row: Addison McCafferty, Sydney Kurr, Cadence Balbo Towle, and Natalie Friel. Second row: Katelyn Prior, Elias Barrett (seated), Taylin Lowe, and Trystan Lambert; Top: Sophia Scott. (Courtesy photo)
Katlyn Prior portrays Vera’s grieving mother and Persephone, providing vocals throughout the play.
Trystan Lambert plays the narrator’s assistant, facilitating the movement of the myth and adding his voice to Hades.
Scott, with a broad high school career of original music, arranging, and composition, has created a full underscore of original arrangements for this production. Scott is preparing for conservatory training, following graduation.
Bassett, who most recently played Macbeth at LA, takes on the role of Rilke, with the intense interest of a writer – his personal passion and a career goal.
Working weekly through the second semester, LA’s play production class has been instrumental in many of the technical aspects of “Sonnets to Orpheus.” New to the theater world, these students finalize designs, build and paint sets, and discover the importance of lights, sound, and projection in the theater.
Managing the technical side are Heartwood technical director Ryan Kohnert and LA grad Annalise Garnett. Heidi Kopishke manages the costume side, working with student input from the historical periods of Rilke’s life and the Greek myth. Art deco and Greek elements, along with the Swiss chateau, provide plenty of inspiration for the whole design.
A director and writer, Braley first worked with students in 2009 and 2010, to create versions of this play, as LA’s competitive one-act entry. Combining both scripts and adapting the story into a slightly longer version for just nine actors this time around has been a great challenge, strengthening, and clarifying the script.
One matinee is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 15 and four evening performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, March 14, Thursday, March 20, Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22 in the Parker Poe Theater at Lincoln Academy.
Reservations opened Saturday, March 1 and are strongly suggested. Reservations may be obtained by emailing info@heartwoodtheater.org or calling 563-1373.
Lincoln Academy does not manage ticket sales. All adult tickets are $20, and students through college are $5, thanks to student ticket sponsors – First National Wealth Management and Moody’s Diner.
Along with many individual sponsors and anonymous grantors, generous business sponsors help provide this programming.
