Brothel life has never been so dressed up.
Set amid a fictional revolution, Jean Genet’s drama
“The Balcony,” revolves around a whorehouse where sex
serves as an escape from the harsh reality of war. Directed by
theater directing graduate student Max Snyder, the play opens
Friday at Macgowan Hall’s Little Theater.
According to Snyder, the idea of reviving “The
Balcony,” a controversial play when it was first produced in
the 1950s, was intimidating at first.
“It’s one of the most enigmatic, puzzling, exciting,
political, existential and metaphysical plays around,” said
Snyder. “As a director it’s a scary piece because
there’s so much to communicate about power and
politics.”
And if the theme of “The Balcony” requires that many
adjectives to describe, the flamboyant costuming begs for even
more. From a prostitute dressed as a horse to a beggar covered in
blood, the costumes reflect a wide variety of personalities.
“The costumes really help because there are so many pieces
to this play,” said the play’s costume designer,
theater design and production graduate student Judy Jou. “But
because each character is dressed so differently from the rest,
they all tie together in their craziness.”
But the costumes supply more than vivid eye candy. According to
second-year theater student Hillary Enclade, who plays the girl in
“The Balcony,” the costumes provide visual symbols
crucial to thematic elements. For example, at the end of the play,
journalists dressed in cash-printed suits appear, representing the
profit-driven nature of the media.
Other costumes, like that of the dominatrix ““ played by
second-year theater student Meredith Hines ““ contribute to
the play’s wild feel by showing more skin than fabric.
“It’s difficult at first because you can get really
caught up in being practically naked up there on stage,” said
Hines. “But, as an actor, you have to look past that because
my character is really created in the costume.”
While other student plays often reuse old props and costumes
from prior productions to save money, most of the costumes for
“The Balcony” had to be created from scratch because of
the strangeness of the designs. According to Jou, this necessity
has allowed for a distinct visual style that contributes greatly to
the production’s uniqueness.
Above all, Snyder hopes audiences will leave “The
Balcony” with a lot of questions ““ not just about the
plot, but about their own lives as well.
“If (people) get past being offended, then I think
there’s a lot you can take from (“˜The
Balcony’),” said Snyder. “And if they are
offended, I hope it’s because they see parts of themselves in
the play.”