The OU School of Drama's first production of the year, "Metamorphoses," has been one riddled with challenges, but the play's difficulty is one factor that makes it attractive. The play, written by Mary Zimmerman, closed on Broadway and came straight to OU after being nominated for three Tony awards and winning the award for best direction.
Zimmerman took the classic myths by Ovid and Apuleius and gave them a modern spin.
For play director Gordon McDougall, the performance of "Metamorphoses" at OU is a major undertaking, but a welcome one.
"It's a really interesting piece of theater in that it is a very physical piece of theater," McDougall said. "It's using bodies and body language to tell stories. It's the kind of theater that I would very much like to see at OU."
much like to see at OU."
McDougall explained that the play is a successful example of a theatrical style that is common in British theater, but the style hasn't made it big on U.S. soil, except this play.
"The play is about the relevance of myth in the present-day world," McDougall said. "There are all sorts of things in our world that can't be described by 20th-century science or 19th-century psychology."
To connect the audience with stories that are centuries old, the play is told in 12 10-minute mini dramas, McDougall said.
From a technical standpoint, the play is an extreme undertaking. It takes place on and around a 26 square foot pool of varying depths. The water becomes an active force in the play, as the characters wade through it, float above it, and drown in it. Its construction alone was a major feat, plus it presented a large challenge in lighting and the safety of the cast.
It took less than three weeks to transform the Weitzenhoffer Theatre from a cozy thrust stage to an aquatic paradise for the gods.
"It's a piece that took about three years to adapt to Broadway and we've done it in three weeks," McDougall said.
From an actor's standpoint, McDougall said the play is different than most typical productions.
"The actors have had to really work at the physicality of it and using their own bodies to create language to go along side the textual language," McDougall said.
Drama freshman Jordan Clark plays Cupid, and is well aware of how his body will be used as part of the play.
"It's been a completely different experience," Clark said. "Obviously, I've never worked in a pool before, let alone in a Speedo. It can be kind of awkward at times, but it's kind of cool."
The role of Cupid originally required the actor to perform nude, but Clark said he had reservations about doing so and instead settled for a Speedo swimsuit.
The cast had to rehearse in short periods because the water was so cold. A heater was installed in the pool and the actors used drying areas backstage.
School of Fine Arts dean Marvin Lamb composed 35 minutes of sound clips for the play.
"I tried to write music to be directly supportive to what's going on in the play," Lamb said. "It's a good challenge artistically as a composer."
Despite injuries of two cast members, the show wil go on tonight.
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