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DU’s Theater department’s production of “Miss Julie” is marketed as a “bracing examination of power, sex and class: the fateful drama of a willful young aristocrat’s seduction of her father’s valet,” involves three characters: Miss Julie, a young and impulsive count’s daughter; Jean, her chauffer and servant; and Kristine, a modest and quiet servant.
“It’s the first play that ever separated sex from love,” she said. “Streinberg [“Miss Julie’s” playwright] was also trying to create a realism play, which focuses on real-world problems through an artistic view,” says sophomore Cheyenne Michaels, designer of “Miss Julie’s” commercial.
“This show is so beautiful. I love it so much. Every show is so different, but this one is more compressed and more intimate. It’s a fun show because it’s very different every night, which makes it weird but cool,” said junior Julia Owen, who plays Miss Julie.
Cody Schuyler, a senior who plays Jean, has been working on creating a character that can be both despised and empathized with after the audience comes to understand his relationships with the two women.
“It’s a show based on connections between people. Once the piece of paper [script] gets away, you can make progress towards the action of the play and the emotional content that we’re striving for in this particular production,” said Schuyler.
Though the play has only been practicing for about four weeks, the actors were able to learn their lines and stage directions quickly over time.
Kaitlin Clark, a junior who plays Kristine, said the process of putting together “Miss Julie” involves plenty of outside work.
“It takes a lot, making sure that we have our lines, studying the script, researching our characters and certain things that are mentioned in the script, like the time period and whether you would be able to say something or not, especially in a time-period piece like this,” said Clark.
All three actors agreed line memorization was one of the hardest parts of their preliminary work. Clark said she memorizes her lines in an unusual manner.
“I always record my lines and put them on my iPod. Wherever I go, I just walk or run and play them. I’ll be like the crazy person walking and talking to myself,” said Clark.
For an emotional piece like “Miss Julie,” the cast members also mentioned the ways they try to connect with their characters at a deeper level.
A typical “Miss Julie” rehearsal starts with the two female characters suiting up in corsets and practice skirts.
Professor and director Kim Morgan then gives the actors a quick debriefing before they start rehearsing. Most instructions reiterate some of the improvements they made to their performances at the last meeting.
The rehearsals happen each weekday for about three hours. The resulting time management, as Schuyler put it, “is a challenge.”
“I try to eat as often as I can, when I can and to get sleep when I’m able to. It all keeps me busy. I’m not sure how good I am at managing time, but I’m still here,” said Schuyler.
Ultimately, however, the three cast members agreed all of the time and effort they put into “Miss Julie” results in a powerful experience.
“Every show I’ve ever been in has made me grow as a person and with how I interact on a daily basis outside of the theater,” he said.
They also emphasized the liberating feeling of working in DU’s theater department while emphasizing the importance of their creative freedom.
“If I had gone to a conservatory or somewhere else, I would have focused on physical acting or just acting, and I wouldn’t get to do any sound designing, which I love: lighting or costuming,” he said. “DU gives us a chance to try our hands at all of those things,” said Schuyler.
“The fact that they encourage us, not just allow us, to pursue those other endeavors – it’s really something special,” Schuyler said.
DU’s Theater department’s latest main stage play “Miss Julie” opens tomorrow Feb, 1, and runs through until this Sunday in J-Mac’s Black Box Theater.
