蜜桃传媒 graduating seniors Brynn Mitchell, Elaine Pazaski and James Wong present a fresh, fierce homage to the central characters of Anton Chekhov鈥檚 classic, 鈥淭he Seagull,鈥� in 鈥淭he Nina Variations鈥� by Stephen Dietz on Friday, Feb. 6, and Saturday, Feb. 7, at 8 p.m. in Porter Theatre. The play, directed by Mitchell with scenography by Wong and starring Pazaski as Nina, is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact (805) 565-7040.
鈥淚 love the nuance that Stephen Dietz explores with each alternate ending of Chekhov鈥檚 masterpiece,鈥� Mitchell says. 鈥淓very time I read it and see it unfold as I direct, I learn something new about the characters and the symbolism that saturates the story. One of my personal interests as an artist is exploring a diverse array of perspectives, and this show provides me with 42 opportunities to do so.鈥�
Dietz鈥檚 varying vignettes on the final scene of 鈥淭he Seagull鈥� can present a challenge to the main actress. 鈥淪imply tackling the large amount of text was transformative and rewarding for me,鈥� Pazaski says. 鈥淏ut I grew the most exploring such a well颅-loved character from a famous play, balancing Chekhov鈥檚 original image of Nina against Dietz鈥檚 Nina, and then making her and her story my own.鈥�
The play includes the character, Treplev (a young writer), who is performed by juniors Connor Bush, Brent Starrh, Lindsey Twigg, Grady Goff, Donald Scherschligt and Mackenzie Ellis; sophomore Kenneth Chism and first-颅year Anna Telfer.
Wong鈥檚 unique design began by uncovering similarities and differences in 鈥淭he Nina Variations鈥� and 鈥淭he Seagull.鈥�
鈥淚 ended up with this wasteland abstraction of Treplev鈥檚 study room through the use of chairs and paper to convey the limitless variations/explorations that could have occurred in 鈥楾he Seagull鈥檚鈥� last scene, but never did,鈥� he says.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to be in love with Chekhov to understand and enjoy the play,鈥� Mitchell says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e putting our own personal touches on the show and will include a synopsis of 鈥楾he Seagull鈥� in the program to give everyone all the information they might want to know.鈥�