The Nebraska Repertory Theatre presents Jean-Claude van Itallie’s “The Serpent” Nov. 3-19 in the Temple Building.
Directed by Assistant Professor of Practice Wesley Broulik, this contemporary improvisational theatre explores the Book of Genesis and relates it to our modern experience with an eloquence and power that has earned it recognition as a milestone of American drama.
Most of the work is choreographed movement, pantomime, human sounds and music made by bells, horns, whistles, tambourines and other hand-held instruments.
“The Serpent” opened in Rome in 1968 and was described as more of a “ceremony” than a play.
“A lot of time has passed between 1968 and 2017,” Broulik said. “And our definition of what is avant garde or what is groundbreaking and pushes the envelope has changed. And theatre has changed, as it should. So approaching a piece like this we can do two things. We can treat it as a museum piece and try to do what they did, or we can find our own way. What we’re doing is finding our own way. So it is still a ceremony, but not in the way they defined it. It’s not a traditional theater piece.”
Cameron Currie, a sophomore theatre performance major from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, plays the Heron and is one of the trio that plays God.
“I would describe ‘The Serpent’ as being something of an exploration of the past and the greatest tragedies,” he said. “Each time we run the show, we, as an ensemble, explore with each other in slightly different ways. Describing this play as more of a ceremony is not too far off from our interpretation of the script because there are definitely elements of prayer and ritual that are already in the script, as well as some elements that we’ve added to the production.”
Cast member Beck Damron, a freshman theatre performance major from Bentonville, Arkansas, said the audience should expect to feel love, fear, shock and amazement.
“The play shows the book of Genesis from the Old testament and how that story connects to present day,” Damron said. “It really asks the essential question: ‘Has humanity always been bad or when was the starting moment?’ It’s a ceremony in which we show some of the saddest moments in society and how it will always be comparable. I also think it’s a ceremony in which we celebrate the work they put on at the Open Theatre (the original theatre company to put on ‘The Serpent’).”
Kate Schini, a junior theatre performance major from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, plays one of the four Women in Black.
“I would describe the Women in Black as the bridge of communication between the actors and the audience,” Schini said. “Each woman represents an element that have existed since the beginning of time: Water, Fire, Air and Earth. They exist narrating, translating and experiencing what the other actors portray onstage from an outside point of view.”
Broulik said audiences should expect something they haven’t seen here before.
“Come with an open mind and come with an open heart, and know that this not a typical night at the theater,” he said. “Come willing to learn and grown from this in a way to expand what their definition of theater is. Hopefully they’ll see a lot of cool visuals.”
The challenge for the ensemble is making it relevant.
“The trick is how do you make a piece that was written in response to the 1960s relevant today, and that’s the real obstacle that we have as an ensemble,” Broulik said. “How do we tie this in to what’s happening now? It will be political. It will challenge you. It will put forth images that you may have a differing point of view from the ensemble’s, and that’s part of it—using theater as public discourse and to ask questions.”
Schini said both the actors and the audience will experience something new each night.
“I am most looking forward to the journey we, as the actors, will create and experience every night,” she said. “Each performance will be different. I also cannot wait to put it all together with the set, lights, sound and costumes. I think ‘The Serpent’ will be unlike anything a lot of our audience has seen before. It is always beneficial to be thinking outside the box and challenging yourself to imagine being in someone else’s shoes. I think ‘The Serpent’ will help audience members do exactly that as it already has with everyone creatively involved.”
Currie said audiences should go on the journey with the actors.
“Keep an open mind and really explore this show with us and try to see if you can find the meaning of the play for yourselves,” he said. “We are going on just as much of a journey as you are and can explore it together.”
Joining the cast and serving as movement director is Morgan Barbour, an actor, aerialist, model, movement director and writer based in London. Barbour is also teaching this semester in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film.
“It has been incredible to have the opportunity to work with the extremely talented Morgan Barbour,” Damron said. “Morgan has taught us so many new ways to move our body through situations and new ways to act through movement. She is also a professional aerialist so she has taught us some pretty cool tricks to do with Lyra and stunts.”
Currie said Barbour has pushed the cast to their physical limits.
“Morgan Barbour has been a great personal instructor during this show process and has helped me in my acrobatic work tremendously,” he said. “She’s wonderful to do our conditioning work with because she is unrelenting and unforgiving. She fully knows what the body is capable of and pushes all of us to find our full potential physically.”
Broulik has worked with her on two previous shows, including “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” this summer at Saratoga Shakespeare in Saratoga Springs, New York.
“We worked together this summer on Midsummer Night’s Dream. She played Puck and movement directed that show,” he said. “And then she was the movement director for ‘A Winter’s Tale,’ which I was in as an actor. She’s great to work with and has a wonderful skill set. She’s part of the reason we did some of the Lyra in the show because that’s really her skill set as an aerialist.”
Damron is looking forward to seeing what audiences think of “The Serpent.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing how the audience reacts to this type of experimental theatre,” he said. “I’m also pumped to just be in my first movement-based show and first show with the Nebraska Repertory Theatre. It’s something you have never seen before and one of the best theatre experiences I have been a part of.”
Broulik said the most satisfying aspect of the production, thus far, has been seeing his students grow as artists.
“For me personally, it’s seeing the performers grow as artists,” he said. “It’s less about acting and more about your growth as a human being and as an artist. And that’s the beautiful thing about this process. It’s about them. When we come in as the audience, we’re peering into something that they are engaged in. We are voyeurs in that way. We see actors go through something, and they go through it.”
Schini said theatre should make people think in new ways.
“Audience members should expect a surreal, sensual experience in a non-traditional form of theatre that will challenge their opinions and beliefs,” she said. “It’s going to be such an incredible experience.”
Performances of “The Serpent” are Nov. 3, 10-11 and 16-18 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 5, 12 and 19 at 2 p.m. in the Studio Theatre. Individual tickets are $24 regular and $12 for students and OLLI members. Advance tickets are available through the Lied Center Box Office at (402) 472-4747 or online at http://www.liedcenter.org.