The UW Theatre and Dance Department presents “Noises Off”, a hilarious play written by Michael Frayn and directed by Matthew Greenberg and Eric Jorgensen. The cast and crew have been busy in rehearsals since January.
“We had a rehearsal period of four months every single weekday from six to ten,” UW student and actor Desirae Sanchez said. “You just read through the script and get to know the script, then you get to start working with your castmates to build the movement. This play is so precise, like when things have to move, when things have to break.”
UW student Grace Kimmel, assistant sound designer and live audio engineer provided a different perspective, speaking about the creative design process that takes place backstage.
“All the designers give a presentation of the first read-through of their ideas and design concepts,” Kimmel said. Kimmel also helped build the large and elaborate set and chose and engineered a variety of sound effects.
The play features a cast of characters who are working to produce a play while dealing with all sorts of messy relationship drama backstage.
“It’s a play within a play, so they’re acting as actors,” Kimmel said.
“You get to see three different nights. One night of rehearsal and two nights of performance with the play, and you see how the show kind of evolves for these actors over the course of time,” Sanchez said.
“The first act is the rehearsal before they open, the second act we turn the set around and it’s like you’re watching what you watched in the first act but backstage. So the entire set looks like it’s backstage,” Kimmel said. “The third act is the final performance.”
The cast and crew are primarily made up of the Theatre and Dance Department here at UW. Directors Matthew Greenberg and Eric Jorgensen are professors, and the acting cast is made up of UW students. The tech crew and creative team are composed of students and faculty members. Kimmel specifically mentioned student lighting designer Sydney Sjolin and praised her work as a lighting designer.
“That’s kind of a first for the department, having a student be the sole designer on a main stage production,” Kimmel said.
Sanchez discussed her favorite parts of the production experience, as well as the value of humor in theatre, and life.
“My favorite part has been watching myself and the people around me fully develop their characters,” Sanchez said. “This is such a funny show so it’s really fun to just hear people laughing at you. To hear people laughing at you is what we’ve been waiting for for so long.”
Kimmel mentioned the satisfaction created by seeing her creative work brought to life on stage.
“It was really satisfying watching my work being interacted with by actors and not just something on my computer, on a flash drive,” Kimmel said. “It’s part of the world built on stage, which is why I love designing, just building a world on a stage.”
Live theatre gives audiences a chance for connection they cannot get from watching something on a screen, according to Kimmel.
“It’s very immersive,” Kimmel said, “It’s a very connected experience that I enjoy. You connect with everybody in the audience, you’re connecting with people on stage, you’re connecting with the other creatives in your group.”
“Noises Off” is a perfect way to come together, decompress, and simply enjoy a night of humor. The immersive experience provided by this talented cast and crew is sure to raise your spirits.
“I think shows like this are especially important because people coming together to laugh at something together is something you don’t get a ton of,” Sanchez said. “You can just come together as a community and feel joy and get immersed in these silly shenanigans. Everybody needs to laugh.”
This will mark the final week of production, as “Noises Off” was onstage April 25-27, and will be in production again this week. Everyone is encouraged to take an evening to come together and laugh, and attend “Noises Off” May 1-3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts.
