A Reanimation Story Comes to Life on the Main Stage

The Santa Monica College (SMC) Theatre Department lit up the stage with a reanimation story of the classic story, “Frankenstein.” Writer and director Terrin Adair added a fiction-inspired twist of the life and work of Mary Shelley in the production of “iFrankenstein” from Oct. 3-5 and 10-12 at the SMC Main Stage.

“iFrankenstein” follows the life and work of Mary Shelley, an English novelist born into a family of writers. Shelley’s background as the daughter of philosopher William Godwin and feminist pioneer Mary Wollstonecraft exposed her to early political and societal ideas, which caused her to put these ideals into her creative works. 

Director Terrin Adair’s modern take on “Frankenstein,” explores the consequences and ethical responsibility about the human knowledge of creation. 

Before the dress rehearsal, Adair shared what drew her to “Frankenstein” besides the wants to honor Shelley.  Its science fiction genre fits the month of October for Halloween and gives her students a venue to perform. 

Adair said the age of most of the SMC students inspired her to bring this story to the stage. “She (Shelley) was very young when she wrote this story, and had a very strenuous, hard life, which helped to inspire the work,” Adair said. 

While Shelley’s message from the novel was to warn society about the dangerous implications of reanimating and creating your own life, Adair focused on the novel’s original message connecting to the modern state of the world. 

“I wanted to tie that into students and modern society, the ramifications of artificial intelligence and dangerous science, and that we need to be careful in its use,” Adair said.

Kai Tesan, one of the main cast members, who plays two characters, “Victor Frankenstein” and “Percy Bysshe Shelley,” also shares the same thoughts as Adair. They hoped the audience would be compelled to think about the question of what path people are willing to condemn others for. 

He said, “I think the story itself talks about, you never know what you’re unleashing in the world until afterwards, because you’re driven by an insane passion for something, and blinded by a lot of things.”

One of the story’s themes is the consequence of misused knowledge leads to suffering from one's own endeavor. “The Creature,” played by Abdi Beyle, said, “I think a sense of honesty about yourself is what I pick up, and also what I want for the audience when they leave the show.”

When asked for a walkthrough on how the preparations went, the “iFrankenstein” cast exchanged smiling glances as they recalled working on the play. Jane Amador, who plays the character of “Mary Shelley,” showed appreciation for their director Adair’s leadership throughout the production’s process. 

Amador said Adair is a genius and this show in particular showcased that, “She speaks her mind and when she has a creative vision, she really pushes it.”

Adair wrote the entire original piece, and additionally, curated the whole production set, costumes, makeup and the mask.  

“I want people to see Terrin throughout the whole show, because she’s extremely hands on with everything,” Amador said.

The iFrankenstein theater play featured a large cast of more than 26 actors, with some playing two characters. 

“We have a large cast, very talented actors who really dedicated themselves to putting on this show, and their dialogues are not easy,” Adair said. 

Adair and the production team said the show is one of the most technically complicated shows the SMC Theatre Department has staged in a long time, with more than 600 lighting and music cues.

For more information regarding SMC Theatre Department and upcoming events, visit SMC’s Theater Arts Department website at

https://www.smc.edu/academics/academic-departments/theatre-arts/.

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