Emma Middleton – a final year, and Courtney Shields – an intermediate year in the BFA Acting Program at UBC discuss their experience as students participating in The Idiot:

Being a part of The Idiot is a dream come true for this pair of acting students. Emma, who participated in a workshop of the show this past summer, was absolutely over the moon to be cast in the show. Courtney was equally thrilled, but didn’t really have a concept of what an ideal theatre experience she was walking into. That is, until she ran into Emma the day after her fitting, and Emma squealed, “Have you had your costume fitting yet?!”

Before rehearsals for the show began, we both made the trek to the basement at Langara College to meet with costume designer Mara Gottler, and assistant costume designer, Sydney Cavanagh, to be fitted for the show. The costumes are absolutely stunning and include vintage pieces that are actually from the 1860s! We’re wearing REAL CORSETS! Not to mention layers of petticoats, and dresses with hooks and buttons that make us understand why the wealthy had servants to dress them back in the day. After getting done up in our gorgeous dresses, we had the hilarious experience of attempting to sit down while wearing a bustle, to lace up our (beautiful) boots. In the corsets we couldn’t even reach our toes! The best surprise was probably after putting on our first outfits, when Mara turned to us and said: “Okay, that’s your winter look, now try on your summer dress”. We were both beaming at the thought of having multiple outfits in the show. That first fitting transported us back to our days of playing dress-up as little girls, but with a much more impressive costume box!

A lot of time has passed since our first fitting, we are now in our third week of rehearsals. The entire experience has been a thrill. The cast is so talented, and a joy to work with. They are all really generous with all the students, and make us feel completely welcome. Jimmy, our director, and Joelysa our musical director are creating something truly special. It is inspiring as students to be leaving class and coming to this project every day! We may never want to go back!

… just kidding.

 

-Emma & Courtney

 

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Countdown to The Idiot

Just two weeks until The Idiot opens at the Frederick Wood Theatre at UBC, as part of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival!

Here are some quick facts about Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot, and our upcoming production…

Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky:
– born November 11, 1821
– died February 9, 1881
– was the 2nd of 7 siblings
he wrote
– 2 translations of other’s works
– 15 novels and novellas
– 17 short stories

The Idiot:
– published serially 1868-69
– the 26 year-old protagonist is Prince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin
– 2 women win Prince Myshki’s affection
– among the film adaptations is the 1951 film by Akira Kurosawa

Our Production:
– 25 performers
– 18 in the design/production team
– 33 original songs written for the show
– 240 cups of coffee consumed per week of rehearsal (that’s 960 over the four week rehearsal period)
– 100+ beautiful period costumes