The Seagull Is Set to Soar over Pittsburgh This Summer

 

Nina (Julia Rocha) performing on stage. Credit all Photos: Jason Snyder

Those who research articles on Russian author Anton Chekhov (1860 – 1904) often find contributors citing him as one of the early formative forces of modern theater and often grouped with playwrights such as August Strindberg and Henrik Ibsen.

Although Chekhov began his literary career as a successful short story writer, perhaps he’s best known as a playwright, a literary form that came near the tail end of his life.

Starting with an opening night performance on July 25, “The Seagull,” considered Chekhov’s first of four major plays, will run through August 17 outdoors at Chatham University in Pittsburgh as a Quantum Theatre production.

In a letter Chekhov penned in October of 1895, the playwright wrote “I am writing a play which I shall probably not finish before the end of November. I am writing it not without pleasure, though I swear fearfully at the conventions of the stage. It's a comedy, there are three women's parts, six men's, four acts, landscapes (view over a lake); a great deal of conversation about literature, little action, and tons of love.”

Trigorin (Brett Mack) and Arkadina (Lisa Velten Smith)

True to his word, one of the things that makes The Seagull so fascinating is the complex intertwining of romantic relationships. Aspiring playwright and writer Constantine is in love with aspiring young actress, Nina, who has a crush on established writer, Trigorin, the lover of Constantine’s mother, the aging actress, Arkadina.

Masha (Maxine Coltin) and Sorin (Ken Bolden)

Further complicating matters is Masha, who’s in love with Constantine, but is wooed by local schoolteacher, Medvedenko. Last but not least, Masha’s married mother, Polina, is having an affair with a doctor named Dorn. A love triangle, the play is definitely not.

Adding to the play’s interest is Quantum’s choice of director Joanie Schultz’s adaptation, a world premiere and new interpretation of the play as seen through an alternative romantic lens, that, as a Quantum press release avers “brings new resonance to the timeless themes of desire and identity.”

The release goes on to say that Schultz “focuses on uniting artists from different points of view, cultures, and aesthetics, striving to create a work that impacts audiences by speaking to a contemporary moment. With a cast of ten, Schultz’s adaptation of Seagull, reveals truths below the surface about marginalized figures and gives contemporary new energy to this masterwork about love and longing, the dreams we chase and the way those dreams reveal who we are.”

Ken Bolden Credit: Randy Kovitz

Playing the role of Sorin, the owner of the estate on which the play is set, Ken Bolden says that Schultz looks at the play differently, through a Queer lens, by changing Constantine's sex from male in the original text to female in this adaptation - which impacts the character's relationships with all the other characters,” he said.

While not a word for word adaptation, Bolden said, The Seagull shows the characters grappling with their own sexuality. An example of Chekhov’s style of psychological realism, the playwright probes below the surface of his characters, trying to expose their inner life and the human condition.

“While there’s not a lot of action in the plot, there’s a lot to dissect in Chekhov’s plays which have a lot of character detail that requires an actor to really dig into,” he said.

As to Sorin, Bolden said he’s the first character he’s played in his lengthy career who’s a slob. He said he has to play Sorin that way because the other characters comment on his disheveled appearance as he sometimes does himself.

“As a result, no one seems to give him the respect he feels is his due,” he said. “Nevertheless, I find him fun to play and lovable as well.”.

Constantine (Phoebe Lloyd) and Arkadina (Lisa Velten Smith)

The setting is a key element of the Quantum production. It sits on the Chatham campus the lip of a pond full of koi and bullfrogs, which add a romantic and appropriate atmospheric element to the production.

“The fireflies come out at sunset and, one time at rehearsal, a couple of deer emerged to watch us,” Bolden said.

In a commentary on the play, Nathan Thomas, Ph.D., professor of Theatre at Alvernia University in Reading, Pa. notes that each of the acts sequentially undergo a progressive spatial compression. Act I, for instance, shows the broad vista of the lake and its surroundings. In Act II, the scene shrinks to a croquet field. In Act III, we get an even greater compression to the confines of the estate manor house, and, by Act IV, the set contracts even more to that of a small studio in the house.

Fortunately, we have a wonderful scenic designer, Chelsea Warren, who manages to transform the set as the play moves along,” Bolden said. “I might add that I’ve never before worked in a setting so magical.”

As to the director, Bolden said Schultz asks questions and is very smart. He goes on to say that, in her adaptation, Schultz looked to the relationship of late 19^th and early 20^th century actress, Ellen Terry, who Bolden calls the Meryl Streep of her day, with that of her Lesbian daughter, theater director Edith Craig. Schultz saw their relationship as a template for the relationship she created for Constantine and her mother, Arkadina.

 “The cast all seem to agree that it’s been a pleasant experience working with Schultz,” he said. “We were also lucky in that we did a workshop with her in March that proved enormously helpful.”

Interestingly, “decades ago,” the actor once performed in a production of The Bear, a comedic Chekhov one act play, with the Red Masquers while an undergraduate at Duquesne University. He also said he saw a production of The Seagull in London, in the 80s (he thinks) that was very funny and powerful. He’s seen a couple other productions of the play since.

Characteristic of Chekhov, who likes to pose more questions in his plays than answers, audiences and critics have pondered on the question of just which character might be considered the seagull. Is it the young aspiring actress with stars in her eyes and a romantic attraction to Trigorin? Perhaps, it’s her tortured, love-smitten suitor, Constantine? Or, as some have proposed, is it the entire cast of characters as a whole?

Like Chekhov, who considered his plays “comedies,” Bolden said he’s finding humor in the play, especially the “humor of recognition” that has the audience seeing something and thinking “I’ve done that.”

“The Seagull provides the audience with an emotional roller coaster,” he said. “The humor of the first acts contrasts vividly to that of  the fourth when the play turns with heart-wrenching consequences. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry in an evening of really good theater.”

The Seagull, a Quantum Theatre production, is staged outdoors on the campus of Chatham University, now through August 17. For tickets and more information, go to quantumtheatre.com/seagull.