Director Joann Yarrow began
nearly every rehearsal this fall for “The Big Bang” with a line like
this: “OK, you guys, I've been thinking and what this play is really
about is…”
Then would come a chorus of groans from the eight-member “Saucy Minds of
Science,” the College's Commedia dell'Arté troupe, as they began to
experiment with yet another wild idea.
“One night, (Yarrow) came to rehearsal talking about Keanu Reeves,”
recalls Colleen Sentance '03, who quickly adopted the actor to her repertoire
of characters.
At another rehearsal, Yarrow proposed a swordfight, an idea that
turned into a combat scene with toilet plungers staged in the style of the light
saber battles in the Star Wars movies.
The Big Bang, which runs through Sunday in the Yulman Theater, is a highly
improvised romp through the world of science. The production is a series of
sketches loosely connected by a plot (“If you could call it a plot,”
says Yarrow) in which two bumbling scientists travel about recklessly in a time
machine. It makes some very unlikely and irreverent connections between icons
and theories of science – like Einstein and relativity – and contemporary
celebrities and modern culture – like Jerry Springer and trash TV.
“Joann would have an idea and have us work with it,” says Elizabeth
Halakan '02, whose characters include inventor Bernie McPhoney. “Usually,
it would turn into something really cool.”
Yarrow describes the production as “high-paced, raunchy, offensive,
shocking, gross and politically incorrect.” In other words, not appropriate
for children, she warns. “We've degraded every social and cultural norm
out there,” she says. “We see everyone in the worst possible
stereotype there is.”
Commedia dell'Arté was born in Italy in the mid-16th century, as
professional actors would travel town to town, putting on improvised shows in
public. The plays are mild and vapid or perverse and gross – as long as they
are topical, says Yarrow. The actors use grotesque masks and exaggerated
movements to portray their characters. “The Big Bang” uses traditional
Commedia stock characters – the old miser, the saucy servant, the pompous
captain, and the lusty old man – finding modern representations in the world
of science and popular culture. The set is made of discarded apparatus from the
physics department.
The play runs through Saturday with performances at 8 p.m. There are also 2
p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $7, $5 for students and
seniors. For tickets and information, call ext. 6545. The performance is the
first in this year's three-play “Season of Science” at the Yulman
Theater.