Tonight,
the Virginia Wesleyan Theatre Department will open its spring
production of “S/he Stoops to Conquer,” by Oliver Goldsmith.
Performances are scheduled for March 8-11 at 7:30 p.m. and March 12 at 2:00 p.m. in Hofheimer Theater.
You
may have noticed the slight variation in title from Goldsmith’s
original 18th-century production. The addition of the forward slash
intentionally calls into question theories of gender and performance.
The play’s director and Professor of Theatre Dr. Sally Shedd shared with
me her insightful production concept notes. She writes:
“In her
seminal 1988 article ‘Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An
Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory,’ Judith Butler asserts that
‘Gender reality is performative which means, quite simply, that it is
real only to the extent that it is performed.’ The concept of
performative gender is simultaneously validated and complicated onstage:
Acting is doing. Actors play characters and character is built through
actions. Actors learn to ‘play verbs’ and to focus on ‘what am I doing
to get what I want?’ However, seldom do female actors concentrate on
performing gender if cast in a female role. Those considerations come to
the fore more readily when a role is cross gender cast. Oliver
Goldsmith’s ‘She Stoops to Conquer’ can become a playground for actors
to more fully explore gender as performance: Kate Hardcastle adapts her
gender role based on male expectations—initially to please her father
and again upon hearing of suitor Marlow’s class-biased ‘expectations’ or
‘inclinations’ about women. By embracing a Butler influenced approach
to gender and having other characters join Miss Hardcastle in overtly
playing gender stereotypes—some via cross-gender casting and others via
actors of the aligned gender clearly ‘putting on’ gender stereotypes,
what happens to this eighteenth-century classic? . . . What seams in the
show’s fabric will be stretched—even busted—if ‘S/he Stoops to
Conquer?’”
Dr.
Shedd will present on this fascinating production concept next month at
the Comparative Drama Conference in Orlando. I thank her for her
creative direction and for encouraging the play's cast and crew to
consider gender and social issues through this theatrical lens. This
concept truly embodies the exploration of our humanness which is central
to the idea of a liberal arts education.
Complimentary
admission is available for VWC students, faculty, and staff. Public
admission is $15 for adults and $10 for students. To make a reservation,
email theatretix@vwc.edu, call 757.455.3381, or visit www.ShowTix4U.com.
I
encourage you to attend a performance, which I'm told will feature a
prologue written specifically for this production by VWC senior and dramaturg Adrian Benn. It’s sure to be entertaining.
