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Walking in the Shoes of Madness
By TOMMY SMITH
When asked about working with director Brian Mertes on the Drama Division's upcoming production of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, actor Sean Davis smiled. "There's a method to his madness," Davis joked, "but right now it's just madness."Observing Mertes' rehearsal, one can see what he means. For the initial hour, Mertes leads his cast in a long-form improvisation. Using various props and set pieces strewn about the space—coat racks, tables, board games, wheelchairs, clothing—the actors perform "loops," concise bits of activity such as lacing shoes, mopping the floor, shuffling cards, mumbling a chant, etc. As the exercise progresses, the performers hone their loops with ritual-like precision. Then a funny thing happens: about 45 minutes in, everyone falls into each other's rhythm, creating an oddly musical bit of stage activity. The experience makes one feel as if one has truly entered into an insane asylum.
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"In life, there are no heroes or villains; every person lives in constant fear and longing. We’re all made of the same materials; we just manifest our inner lives in different ways."
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But Mertes has a purpose behind this chaos. "You can't just go into the space; you have to go in," he said, emphasizing the last word with a scooping hand gesture and a grin. "The space is built with materials. I want actors to build in the same way—to make sense of the text and make sense of the space. Building a physical loop is part of that."A veteran director, Mertes has worked on plays locally and nationally at such venues as New Dramatists, Actors Theater of Louisville, and The Juilliard School. He has also directed drama for CBS, NBC, ABC, and the Fox network, including Law & Order and Guiding Light. This considerable experience has made Mertes a keen observer of human behavior, a fact confirmed by his cast."Brian is aware that every phrase, ever gesture, every sound, every stage picture communicates something," actor Clancy O'Connor said. "He's also crazy. He shared with us the fact that his high-school nickname was 'Mad-Dog Mertes,' and for good reason."Such a profile seems perfect for a director of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the now-classic tale of insanity. The play, adapted by Dale Wasserman from Ken Kesey's novel, follows the exploits of a group of mentally and socially challenged inmates at a Pacific Northwest hospital in the 1960s. Made famous by the 1975 film directed by Milos Foreman and starring Jack Nicholson, the piece focuses its narrative on Randle P. McMurphy, a troubled but exuberant rebel who attempts to rouse the inmates from their drug-induced stupor by challenging the authority of the orderlies, led by the motherly but venomous Nurse Ratched.In order to bring this story to life, Mertes will employ the considerable strengths of the third-year acting class, a stage wrapped entirely in vinyl sheets, and a gigantic shopping cart filled with shoes."I don't know what it means, but it was the initial image I had—a big pile of shoes," Mertes said. "I tend to trust those images and see where they lead."Starting a play with visual suggestions is a standard practice for Mertes, who cites the Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky and German artist Gerhard Richter as influences on his work with Cuckoo's Nest."When I did Cherry Orchard at Juilliard, I walked into the space and turned to the stage manager and said, 'I think we need about a hundred suitcases.'" When asked what that eventually became, he smiled. "Well, a mountain of suitcases."
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Studio 301
Friday, Dec. 10-Tuesday, Dec. 14
Tickets are not available to the public, but there is very limited space on the standby line one hour prior to performances. See the calendar for details.
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Such a simple answer is characteristic of Mertes, who has a remarkably uncomplicated way of looking at staging and shaping a production. Using methods derived from Suzuki and Viewpoints—two styles of performance training focused on liberating the actor's body in the playing space—he encourages his cast to observe behavior as a way into creating a role."I don't want their interpretation of the character. I want them in the room, awake and present and ready for an opportunity," he explained. "Because that's how I want the audience to be.""Our process so far has been one of peeling back all unnecessary layers of 'imagined character,' in order to find truth in all its complexities, the humanity underneath it all," actor François Battiste said. "We're on an uncharted course of amalgamating Ken Kesey's world with our own."Mertes's deferment to inspiration, however, does not mean the process runs without artistic complications. But instead of viewing this as negative, Mertes sees an opportunity to learn. "There's a lot of discomfort right now, but I'm willing to put up with discomfort and not knowing, and I resist the temptation to fix it," he said. "Stanislavsky talks about preparing so you can go to the subconscious. Hopefully, out of not knowing, you can get a little closer to what's true."This search for truth has been rewarding for the actors, who have benefited from Mertes's unique approach. "One night at rehearsal, we were mid-discussion when Brian came to an abrupt stop and sat still for a few long moments," actor Amy Ward said. "And he said, 'Listen to that. That is the feel we want this play to have. It's blunt. Raw.' We tuned in. Sally, our stage manager, was in the corridor, tearing masking tape and hanging papers on the wall. That was when I realized that Brian was a true genius. He brings to our attention the beautiful idiosyncrasies our senses neglect on a daily basis."Ward adds, "This play has taught me that, in life, there are no heroes or villains; that every person lives in constant fear and longing. We're all made of the same materials; we just manifest our inner lives in different ways."Battiste echoes this sentiment: "My hope is that audiences will walk away from this piece questioning the power of authority, the competence of leaders, and one's own transformative power or effort."But for Mertes, the play's message can be summed up simply. "It's a play about freedom. It certainly applies to our country right now." Tommy Smith is an artist diploma candidate in playwriting.
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