Theatre students convey love and tragedy in adaptation of “The Seagull”

By: Kevin Conley

Staff Writer

Theatre students delivered a historically accurate interpretation of Russian-themed play “The Seagull,” at the Maureen Stapleton Theater from Thursday Nov. 21 to Saturday, Nov. 23.

According to the director of the play, Roseanne Raneri, “The Seagull” was a book adaptation written by Anton Chekhov in 1896 about four characters who are experiencing conflicts in love and their artistic goals. 

Konstantin, one of the characters, is a playwright who lives on the estate and wants to change theatrical traditions. However, his mom, named Irina Arkadina, continues to believe in theatre’s old ways.

“She was a successful actress, and she likes the way things have been in theatre,” said Raneri.

Boris Trigorin, Arkadina’s lover, is a popular novelist that has a fear of being mediocre. 

And then there is Nina, who is in love with Konstantin in the beginning of the play.

“She’s very hopeful and wants to be an actress, but she ends up falling in love with Boris Trigorin and then experiencing some tragedy because of that,” Raneri said.

The actors involved in the play stayed faithful to the book by using historically accurate props. On the stage were pieces of old fashioned furniture, with real food such as sweet breads and pound cakes. 

Certain drinks were swapped out for alcoholic beverages. Berry juice was used for wine, while iced tea was used for whiskey. 

The actors also used historically accurate costumes inspired by the clothing worn by 19th century Russians. 

According to Raneri, the play was enjoyable but also one of the most challenging plays her students have ever done.

“The characters are a group of people who are really struggling with their different feelings about relationships and their own goals and dreams, kind of their own place in the world and their own sense of worth,” Raneri said.

Checkov originally wrote the play with the intent of making it a comedy. However, there are many tragic elements to it such as self-doubt and self-injury.

“It was tricky for me I think as a director to find how to balance [it],” said Raneri. “In the end, we ended up moving even more into the direction of a tragic story rather than a comedic one because life is hard.”

According to Raneri, the play shows what happens when a person feels that other people in their life are sabotaging their chances of success or pursuing their dreams. 

“You‘re watching the characters kind of shut down or shut themselves down,” Raneri said.

The theatre adaptation of “The Seagull” was suggested to Raneri by some of the theatre production practicum members. 

“The members of the practicum group said that this felt like the right challenge for them now and then I think the cast really dove in,” said Raneri.

The cast did research and applied their acting techniques to the play. 

“I think they really enjoyed it,” Raneri said. “But also, I think there were things that they felt challenged by,” she continued. “It was a bit of a deep dive for the actors, so they really had to practice making this feel very real to them, especially the intensely tragic moments.”