The last show that will grace the Fred Stone Theatre’s stage this semester is Death and the Maiden, directed by Charlie Barresi ’11. The story follows a woman named Paulina who meets the man who kidnapped and assaulted her five years previously. She then attempts to gain revenge by putting him on trial for what he did to her.
Barresi chose the show after one of his professors suggested he use it for his senior capstone project. “My professor gave this to me and it caught my eye. A lot of new plays try to be edgy, but this one is edgy all on its own. It is the perfect show for the Fred,” he said.
The show consists of a cast of only three people: Paulina, her husband, and the man on trial. Kaitlin Elizabeth Baxter ’11 plays Paulina and has enjoyed the challenges of playing a major role in a small cast. “I like how in-your-face [the play] is. We’re going to offend a lot of people. Charlie has been telling us to not back down and to be aggressive. Because he is not afraid of it, I’m more comfortable challenging it.”
Baxter and Jaime Suare ’14 were both cast during the normal round of auditions last semester. Crummer student Jakob Quintana ended up being cast in the play after the original actor dropped out. “It was more of an ‘I just wanted to help my friend’ thing. I wanted to perform well for him,” he explained.
Suare auditioned mainly because it was a requirement for his RCC, but he has still enjoyed the process nonetheless. Being in such a small cast makes a difference, said Suare. “It’s more relaxed, I feel, it’s more personal.”
Barresi said that it takes a lot of courage to do this show, not only due to the size of the cast, but also because of the density of the script. “I worked the actors really hard in the auditions to make sure I had the right people… it requires a lot of work and bravery to play these characters.”
Learning the lines has been the biggest challenge for the actors, but they have taken it in stride. Baxter, who just finished directing her own senior project, says she can now empathize with the actors who had been in her two-person show. “Now here I am in the same position that they were. Now I’m the one who has to learn all the lines,” she laughed.
The show will be opening April 28, the first day of finals. Baressi and the rest of the cast encourage anyone who wants a break from studying to come by the Fred Stone Theatre and check it out.
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