2008 Woodie Awards
Students entertain sold out crowd
By Andrew Carranza
Issue date: 10/14/05 Section: Entertainment
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The play, written by John Ford in 1633, is a melancholy tale of forbidden love between siblings Annabella and Giovanni. While they try to stave off their lustful feelings for each other, they soon realize they cannot do such a thing and fall deeply in love. But the two siblings realize that they cannot keep up their charade forever, as their mother continues to look for a suitable husband for Annabella.
David Skeele, a professor in the theatre department, directed "'Tis Pity She's a Whore" and believed everything went well on opening night.
"We try to cover a lot of historical play writing but we haven't done a Jacobean revenge tragedy like this one," Skeele said. "This particular play was a big hit in popular theatre in the 1600s and it's something we haven't explored yet here."
While the original location of the play was set in Parma, Italy, Skeele believes that the setting does not play a huge role in the show.
"Our idea was that the story took place in America 15 to 20 years in the future, but when people watch this production, they tend to forget about the setting," Skeele said. "This is a play about moral hypocrisy and the absurd double standard for men and women. It was evident in the 1600s when Ford wrote the play and it is still with us today. The double standard still exists."
Skeele said the production hit a bump in the road two weeks before opening night, when two actors dropped out of the show.
"One was sick and one quit, so we had to fit in new actors at the last minute," Skeele said. "They did an incredible job with learning the lines and scenes. It was amazing to watch everyone rally around the whole production."
There were also several choreographed fight scenes during the show, which Skeele described as "pain-staking."
"Fight choreographer Rob Greaves really took his time with the scenes," Skeele said. "He wanted to make sure everyone was safe and he was very meticulous about it."
Without giving too much away, the fight scenes include a battle with machetes, lead pipes, switchblade knives, a mace and a walking cane with a sword hidden in it.
