Santa Monica College Presents a Frankenstein Play
Santa Monica Presents a Frankenstein Play. The first play with a live in-person audience since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Santa Monica College's (SMC) Theatre Arts cast and crew prepared over the Fall 2021 semester for their first play on Oct. 29 with a live in-person audience: "Broken Mirror – A Frankenstein Odyssey." SMC Theatre Dept. Professor Previz Sawoski authored this adaption, which is inspired by the novel by Mary Shelley. The production located on the stage in the SMC Theatre Arts building, checked attendees' vaccination cards at the door before entry.
The play's four main characters are Mary Greene, Eva Warren Hollace, Victor Frankenstein and The Creature.
Mary Greene's character is an ambitious writer who slowly becomes insane due to her drive to succeed. Eva Warren Hollace's character is a rigid professor who drives Mary to her breaking point with her critiques of Mary's work. Victor Frankenstein's character is a driven man who obsesses over his work and pursuit of the creature he created. The Creature's character is a complex one because he wants humans to understand him, then tries to seek vengeance against them when they shun him from society. At the end, The Creature shows complexity within his character because, in the finale, he wants love from his father figure, Victor Frankenstein.
There are two distinct storylines. The first follows Mary Greene, who is the student, and Eva Warren Hollace, who is the teacher, set in the early 1950's in the states of New York and Vermont. The second follows Victor Frankenstein and "The Creature" in the early 1800's in the areas of Ingolstadt, Germany and Geneva, Switzerland, as well as the Arctic Circle.
The accompaniment to the distinct storylines is interpretive dance in-between acts to set up the upcoming scene.
Audience members appreciated the well-organized plot in 'Broken Mirrors'. "The play provided a real good juxtaposition between the individual stories and their timelines, it was well-structured, and it wasn’t convoluted," said Noah Norman, who attended the play. "I really thought it was cool that they used interpretive dance for the ensemble cast during the nature scenes, and the music paired really well with the dancing," said Mia Bazo, who attended the play.
Chelsea Sik and Remy Fonseca, two stage actors who starred in the production, shared their expectations for their respective performances.
"My expectations remain the same," said Chelsea Sik, who played Eva Warren Hollace. "I am trying to make the writer's words come to life and make the character come to life, that is always my goal."
Remy Fonseca, on how he had to learn how the characters move and speak during those time periods, said, "Oh, my god, learning how to move my body was a big, intimidating thing; I had to learn how they move, how they speak and how they act, so just learning a new physicality."
"Broken Mirror – A Frankenstein Odyssey" studio stage dates were performed on Oct. 29, 30, 31, and on Nov. 5, 6, 7, free admission was available to the public.
