A story of what it meant to be a woman in Norway in the late 19th century will be brought to life when the theatre department puts on its rendition of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House on Feb. 20-23.
Dawne Swearingen Meeks, chair of the theatre department, is the director of this play and said this story is about being true to yourself even if that goes against the world’s standards.
“This play is about finding the courage to stand up for yourself,” Swearingen Meeks said. “Ibsen said it was a play about humanity. I think it is a story about hope in the midst of brokenness and heartbreak. Our world needs hope statements.”
Spencer Kasselman, senior theatre major from Abilene, plays the show’s male lead, Torvald Helmer. Kasselman said it has been a trickier role than most others he plays.
“It’s a lot easier to just be happy and to be kind and to be sweet and to be loving,” he said. “But I’m going for a ‘You hate to love them but you love to hate them’ kind of thing. I want people to feel confused on how to feel about me.”
Zoe Dobratz, sophomore theatre major from Virginia Beach, Virginia, is the understudy to the lead, Nora Helmer, who is played by Layla Rorem, senior theatre major from Plano. Dobratz said she has grown in her skill as an actress by watching older theatre majors perform.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations and we agree on a lot of things and we have similar styles when it comes to acting,” Dobratz said about Rorem. “She is so smart and understands period work very well.”
For period-style plays, historical research is used for the performance. Kasselman said one of his favorite parts of preparing a show is tablework, where the actors will go through the play and read lines while also learning about the script’s history.
For period pieces, there is a cast member called the Dramaturg, who spends a lot of time researching the background so that the actors can fully immerse themselves in the play. The Dramaturg for A Doll’s House is Ashton Taylor, junior theatre major from Las Cruces, New Mexico.
“They’re essentially the historian of the show,” Kasselman said. “I love getting to sit through that presentation from someone that’s just done a ton of work and really getting to pick their brain on some things is cool.”
Dobratz talked about her time performing opposite Kasselman’s understudy, Matthew Lietz, sophomore theatre major from New Braunfels, and how the understudies interact differently than the main cast.
“We definitely do have different styles, a style of our relationship as Nora and Torvald than Layla and Spencer do, just because we are different people and we have different life experiences,” Dobratz said. “I think Matthew plays Torvald a little more aggressively in some areas than Spencer does, just because that’s how they’re feeling at the moment.”
Swearingen Meeks said she is proud of how hard the cast and crew have worked, especially with such a difficult piece.
“It is a heady, rich piece of classic theatre and our female lead barely leaves the stage,” she said. “We have rehearsed for six weeks beginning the first day of the spring semester.”
After the Friday show, there will be a talkback with the cast where anyone can ask the cast questions to learn more about the play. There is also a dinner option before the show at 6 p.m. Saturday.
All the shows are at 7:30 p.m. and have student rush tickets available each night 30 minutes before the play starts for ten dollars.
