Four-character play to bring intellect and humor to Lindhurst Theater
By Peter Celauro
A&E Editor
Just one look at the incredibly elaborate set occupying Pepperdine’s Lindhurst Theater makes one thing perfectly clear: “On the Verge” is not your average play.
Tri-level platforms, ladders, monkey bars, a pirate-ship style rope net and a random assortment of household objects from every century make the set of Pepperdine’s Fine Arts Division’s newest show one of the most wacky and complex the university has ever seen.
To one of the show’s actors, PETER CELAURO/A&E EDITOR Brian Jones, that only stands
to reason; the script is pretty far out there as well.
“It’s really unlike anything Pepperdine has ever seen,” Jones said of “On the Verge,” also known as “The Geography of Yearning.” “You’ll kick yourself if you miss it, because you won’t see anything like this anytime soon.”
Jones said the choice to perform the show, which was written by Eric Overmyer, was made by guest director Stan Cahill. Along with being an adjunct teacher at Pepperdine, Cahill also has a varied history of stage and screen appearances. “On the Verge” will be his directorial debut at the university.
“We wanted to pick a show that would compliment some of the bigger shows going on here this semester,” Cahill said. “With ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ going on right now, it’s a good time to do a smaller show.”
“On the Verge” is a smaller production indeed — though there are around 11 characters, only four actors perform the whole play. Those actors are Nicola Hunte, Anaka Shockley, Hollie Tucker and Brian Jones. The women play Fanny, Alex and Mary, three female adventurers who are climbing, crawling and bushwhacking their way through “terra incognita,” or the undiscovered land. Their witty, hilarious and often inspiring dialogue is interrupted only by the occasional appearance of Jones, who plays no less than eight different characters.
“There aren’t too many plays where you get to come out as eight different people,” the senior theatre major said. “It’s a part you definitely want to grab if you get the chance; a real stretch.”
The eclectic, unique part seems to fit the unique style of the play. Cahill described “On the Verge” as wordy, intelligent and contemporary; dividing it up as “part Three Stooges, part Shakespeare, and part Spongebob (Squarepants).”
“It’s very aggressive and in-your-face,” Cahill said. “It doesn’t just lay there. It engages the audience, demands their attention.”
Such a complex piece takes a bit of work to put together. The cast has been rehearsing since classes started in August, and now that opening night draws near rehearsals take about four hours every night. The entire cast and crew — about 12 people — spend the bulk of their evenings together, fixing problems with the set, props, costumes and performance simultaneously.
“They’ve gone through an incredible process,” Cahill said of the students putting “On the Verge” together. “They’ve been pushed like professionals, not students, but they’ve really stepped up to the challenge. You can tell it’s both difficult and rewarding.”
Cahill is going through some of those same feelings about the show himself. Accustomed to working with professional actors who could sometimes devote 18 hours of their day to rehearsals, the director found that working with students for three or four hours a night took some adjustment. But he said he was surprised by how much of themselves the young actors were willing to give; “On the Verge” is demanding both mentally and physically. Both Cahill and Jones agreed that the three female actors’ efforts were impressive to say the least.
“These girls are just amazing, really a joy to work with,” Jones said of Huntley, Shockley and Tucker. “They’re so talented.”
“This show is really a celebration of women,” Cahill said, adding that the female actors’ and crew members’ work made the show’s theme all the more poignant. “It celebrates the strength of women, and people’s quests to figure out what they’re doing in life.”
“On the Verge” runs in the Lindhurst Theater Tuesday through Friday, Oct. 7-10 at 7:30 p.m. There will be with matinee and evening performances Saturday, Oct. 11. Tickets cost $6 for Pepperdine students, $12 for faculty and staff, and $15 for the public. For more information, call (310) 506-4522.
October 02, 2003