It is only week three of school and LSU theatre is already hot out the gates with its first performance of the year. The Swine Palace is opening the year with “The Totality of All Things.”
The play takes place in a small Indiana town in 2015 as tensions rise after the high school journalism classroom was vandalised with hateful messaging. Nicole Lovince is a master’s student in acting and plays Judith, the high school journalism teacher, in the show. Lovince described the play as a think piece that is supposed to start a conversation.
“[Judith] motivates and encourages students to find the truth and write about it and share about it,” Lovince said. “That is how we create the change that we want to see in the world; that’s how we make the world a better place. This play is essentially a microcosm for America.”
The decision to have the play set in Indiana wasn’t random. A different perspective from what theater usually presents is in the play. Lovince said she believes this is because the play represents the average American town instead of one of the major cities.
“We’re talking about the heart of this country, which is middle America,” she said.
The process of creating this play has been going on for quite some time. Rehearsals started in early December, but Lovince said she had read the play back in September.
“I’ve had quite some time with [the play], and I’m still really discovering,” she said. “I think that’s what’s brilliant about being a performer and working with any text really that becomes a performative piece. There are no bounds of limitation to what you will continue to discover and see inside of the text.”
Lovince said the process is always evolving, especially as the technical parts of the play are incorporated. Having a tangible world built around her – complete with costumes, lighting and a set – has allowed Lovince to continue discovering who the character of Judith is. She talked about the set, describing it as alive with moving pieces and cinematic media elements.
“There will be another deepening when the audience comes in and I’m hearing and feeling what the audience is reacting to. That then also informs my character,” said Lovince. “It’s such a symbiotic relationship the entire time until we inevitably put the show to sleep.”
Lovince hopes people take this show as an opportunity to be human and have conversations that bring people together instead of divide.
Kyrin Hardnett, a freshman double majoring in theatre performance and film and television, is making his LSU Theatre debut as Micah. Starting out as the only undergrad in the cast was intimidating, but he also said working with the master’s students has been inspiring.
Though he might not be as experienced as his castmates, Hardnett is no stranger to the world of theater, having done theater in high school and at Theatre Baton Rouge. Still, this play has been a bit different for him.
“I don’t do dramatic plays a lot at all, so this one’s very serious and it hits topics that make people uncomfortable,” Hardnett said. “But I like the show a lot because it touches on everybody’s point of view. Allowing the idea of an opinion to be said rather than, ‘this person’s opinion is this, and I hate you.’”
For this production, LSU had a guest director come in to create the show. Keith Arthur Bolden is an actor and director from Atlanta, Georgia who has acted in shows like “Lovecraft Country,” “Cobra Kai” and “Black Lightning.” He also teaches at Spelman College in Atlanta.
Bolden came into directing this play with a strong vision, focusing on the division that especially comes in times of social change. There was mention of how different a play set a decade ago feels with how the political climate has changed.
“While the themes are serious and toned, there’s a lot of levity in the show as well. You see what the human process is of seeing someone and balancing personal views against views of morality,” Bolden said. “If you are listening, you can see and hear the truth. If you’re really listening. But that takes time.”
Bolden talked about his experience working with the cast. He said that Hardnett, as a young actor, has developed his character in an interesting and unexpected way. Bolden said that the graduate students have been great at guiding and helping the freshman as the rehearsal process has gone on. Hardnett mentioned what he hopes the audience will take away from the show.
“I just hope that the audience walks out with open minds. I want the world to be unseparated,” he said. “This play really touches on letting external things separate us. [We] should be [connected by] the fact that we both like ‘The Hunger Games,’ or the fact that we both enjoy musicals. You’re not the opinions.”
“The Totality of All Things” opens in the Shaver Theatre on January 28 and runs through February 8. There is a content warning for this show for visuals of hate speech, brief mentions of suicide, references to death of a child and an offstage act of extremist violence. Tickets for “The Totality of All Things” are available on PurplePass.com.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source lsureveille.com ’
