The Engineering Drama Society’s production of Spring Awakening — a rock musical adapted from the 1891 German play of the same name — ran at Hart House Theatre from September 25–27, and blossomed into a moving and technically impressive spectacle.
Spring Awakening follows a small group of teenagers in nineteenth-century Germany as they learn to navigate emerging sexuality and relationships with each other alongside strained relationships with the adults around them.
The main drama follows Melchior Gabor (Nicolas Cikoja), a gifted and rebellious schoolboy, and his two most important relationships: one with Wendla Bergmann (Isobel Arseneau), a fellow student with whom he has sex, and one with his best friend, Moritz Stiefel (Joshua Chung), who is deeply troubled by his poor grades, home life, and newfound nervous obsession with sex.
The production’s closing night got off to a rough start. Arseneau portrayed Wendla’s isolation from her mother (Mila Damjanovic) well, but it also felt like the two actors weren’t really perceiving each other on stage, making for poor chemistry.
Similar problems plagued the next couple of scenes, and the first few musical numbers failed to enchant. As the production progressed to more serious scenes, however, these issues resolved themselves.
Chung’s performance was particularly delightful. From the first moment he was on stage, Chung’s body language perfectly portrayed Moritz’s nervous and at times pathetic demeanour, with his knees perpetually locked together and his head pulled slightly into his chest. Chung shone with joy in the few scenes where Moritz has hope for the future, only adding to the impact of the eventual tragedy that befalls him.
Cikoja’s acting provided the perfect contrast to Moritz, standing tall and proud onstage. Cikoja clearly portrayed Melchior’s brash yet intelligent qualities, effectively managing to feel like the most adult out of the cast of schoolchildren, while still woefully unaware of his shortcomings.
The group of schoolgirls Wendla consorts with performed beautifully both together and apart. Gaby Bondoc’s Martha Bessell was particularly captivating during her performance of “The Dark I Know Well.” Bianca Hopkins’ performance of Ilse Neumann was likewise a high point of the play, especially during “Don’t Do Sadness/Blue Wind” and its accompanying scene.
As one might expect from the Engineering Drama Society, the technical elements of Spring Awakening were extremely impressive.
The set consisted of a realistic three-dimensional tree canopy over the front of the stage, created from insulation foam sheets that were cut into three-dimensional shapes by a computer numerical control machine then attached together by hand.
On stage, two large, movable wooden platforms — assembled months in advance of opening night to allow ample time for practice — added verticality to the set. That effect, alongside the lighting, was especially effective during the musical numbers to isolate backup singers from the main parts.
The backdrop consisted of a weathered faux-brick wall that was hand-cut and then shredded to ensure the light fell on it correctly. It was lit from behind, with lit windows in front hanging from the ceiling. This abundance of lights was used to its full effect by the lighting crew.
In an interview with The Varsity, Lincoln MacDonald — producer, sound director, and set designer — and Victoria Zhou — co-director alongside Vedant Gupta — stressed the importance of strong lighting to create a distinction between the modern “song world” inhabited during the musical numbers, and the nineteenth-century setting of the rest of the production.
A spectacular array of multi-coloured lights for each of the musical numbers created this distinct visual effect beautifully, contrasting with the plain lighting of the more realistic scenes. Likewise, the on-stage musical accompaniment was well-coordinated, mixing the electric guitar riffs with classical instruments, maintaining a modern feel without contrasting too strongly with the proper historical context.
Despite its initial hiccups, Spring Awakening was worth seeing, featuring strong actors, stirring music, and impressive technical elements.
On October 11, the Engineering Drama Society announced that their next musical production will be Mean Girls, running March 5–7 at Hart House Theatre, a development that readers invested in campus arts should be glad to hear.
The Engineering Drama Society’s production of Spring Awakening — a rock musical adapted from the 1891 German play of the same name — ran at Hart House Theatre from September 25–27, and blossomed into a moving and technically impressive spectacle.
Spring Awakening follows a small group of teenagers in nineteenth-century Germany as they navigate their emerging sexuality and relationships with each other alongside strained relationships with the adults around them.
The main drama follows Melchior Gabor (Nicolas Cikoja), a gifted and rebellious schoolboy, and his two most important relationships: one with Wendla Bergmann (Isobel Arseneau), a fellow student with whom he forms an intimate relationship, and one with his best friend, Moritz Stiefel (Joshua Chung), who is deeply troubled by his poor grades, home life, and sudden nervous obsession with sex.
The Engineering Drama Society production’s closing night got off to a rough start. Arseneau portrayed Wendla’s isolation from her mother (Mila Damjanovic) well, but it also felt like the actors weren’t really perceiving each other at all, making for poor chemistry.
Similar problems plagued the next couple of scenes, and the first few musical numbers failed to enchant. As the production progressed to more serious scenes, however, these issues resolved themselves.
Chung’s performance was particularly moving. From the first moment he was on stage, Chung’s body language perfectly portrayed Moritz’s nervous and at times pathetic demeanour, with his knees perpetually locked together and his head pulled slightly into his chest. Chung shone with joy in the few scenes where Moritz has hope for the future, only adding to the impact of the eventual tragedy that befalls him.
Cikoja’s acting provided the perfect contrast to Moritz, standing tall and proud onstage. Cikoja clearly portrayed Melchior’s brashness and intelligence, effectively managing to feel like the most adult out of the cast of schoolchildren, while still woefully ignorant of his shortcomings.
Wendla and the other schoolgirls were a delight to see on stage. Gaby Bondoc’s Martha Bessell was particularly captivating during her performance of “The Dark I Know Well.” Bianca Hopkins’ Ilse Neumann, whose performance of “Don’t Do Sadness/Blue Wind” and its accompanying scene, was likewise a high point of the play.
As one might expect from the Engineering Drama Society, the technical elements of Spring Awakening were extremely impressive.
The set consisted of a realistic three-dimensional tree canopy over the front of the stage, created from foam sheets that were cut into three-dimensional shapes by a computer numerical control machine, then attached together by hand.
On stage, two large, movable wooden platforms — assembled months in advance of opening night to allow ample time for practice — added verticality to the set. That effect, alongside the lighting, was especially effective during the musical numbers to isolate backup singers from the main singers.
The backdrop consisted of a weathered faux-brick wall that was hand-cut and then shredded to ensure the light fell on it correctly. It was lit from behind, with lit windows in front hanging from the ceiling. This abundance of lights was used to its full effect by the lighting crew.
In an interview with The Varsity, Lincoln MacDonald — producer, sound director, and set designer — and Victoria Zhou — co-director alongside Vedant Gupta — stressed their use of strong lighting and guitar riffs to distinguish the rock style of the musical numbers from the late nineteenth-century setting of the rest of the production.
A spectacular array of multi-coloured lights for each of the musical numbers created this distinct visual effect beautifully, contrasting with the plain lighting of the more realistic scenes, where there was only dialogue.
Despite its initial hiccups, Spring Awakening was worth seeing, featuring strong actors, stirring music, and impressive technical elements.
On October 11, the Engineering Drama Society announced that their next musical production will be Mean Girls, running March 5–7 at Hart House Theatre, a development that readers invested in campus arts should be glad to hear.
No comments to display.