With the start of school comes a fresh line of plays and musicals lined up for the year from the theatre department. This year, alumni Madeline Martorana will be directing her debut show, Eurydice.
Based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice’s love, the story is about a girl and boy who fall in love and get married, but something terrible happens on their wedding night and Eurydice passes to the Underworld.
“In this adaptation she meets a man in the Underworld who guides her experience and she later realizes it’s her father. Orpheus, her husband, is trying to find her through his music,” Martorana explained.
Eurydice is a unique play because of its depiction of the Underworld, which makes it one of Martorana’s favorite parts. “I would say the Underworld is usually depicted with flames and skeletons, but in Eurydice it’s just very bubbly and fun and childish,” Martorana said.
Junior Stella Buisson, who plays Eurydice, said, “I really like that [Eurydice] deals with human connection and relations, and the beauty of love and loss.”
However, the play does have challenging aspects. For Buisson, it’s embodying Eurydice’s character and personality.
“For me, I have a hard time with Eurydice because there are so many different parts of her. She has so many faces, and every day I discover something new about her character.”
During the actual show, Martorana said, “There is a scene where the Father builds a house live on stage for Eurydice in the Underworld,” Martorana said.
It’s one of the most challenging and important parts of the show because of the pacing and planning needed. This is why tech week is important.
Tech week is a theatre term for the week leading up to a play or musical. During the week actors and tech will do multiple runs of the show with “show conditions,” meaning they pretend it’s a real show.
Xavion Haynes, who plays the father, said, “The show is going well; we’ve made lots of progress in a short amount of time.” The group began rehearsals in late August, and have performances lined up at the end of October.
Haynes said that with Martorana as the new theatre director, he’s noticed lots of positive changes to the theatre community.
“We’re playing more games, doing more warm-up activities, and it’s overall nice having a small experimental cast,” Haynes said.
“I went to Mundelein and did theatre here…I’ve been a part of theatre since I was 11 or 12,” Martorana said. “A big reason I chose this play was because my college put on this play during my junior year and I loved it.”
Although Eurydice is a story that faces loss and heartbreak, it is also one of memory and love. Eurydice’s show dates are October 30, November 1, and November 2. Tickets can be purchased at www.mundeleintheatre.org.
