cl a ssroom Anatomy of a 1212 Performance
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s the audience filters out of each 1212 performance, the final scene has yet to unfold. Peter Parisi, performing arts department chair and director, gathers the small cast and crew around him. Together, they absorb the evening’s performance before scattering to collect the congratulations. This moment culminates months of work—planning, auditioning, reading, memorizing, staging and rehearsing.
The play that Peter and company staged in February 2012 was Love and Intrigue by Friedrich Von Schiller, a German dramatist and major figure in German literature in the late 1700s. Peter came across an opera version and decided the dramatic, powerful story was just right. In the play, with overtones of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Prince Ferdinand wants to marry Luise Miller, the bourgeois daughter of a fiddler teacher. Ferdinand’s powerful, sinister father and a beautiful and shrewd mistress stand in his way.
Auditions and Alchemy In an intimate space in Kellner Performing Arts Center, just before Thanksgiving break, students audition for one of nine roles. At the table sits Peter’s student directorial team: Emilie Trehu ’12 and Adele Huughe (I). This is Emilie’s fifth 1212 play. “I respect their opinions and trust them,” says Peter. A whirlwind of coordination, Peter makes quick decisions, pairs students up, hands out scenes, and sends them into the hallway to practice: “Feel free to take some risks,” he says. “Go practice and have fun!” In twos and threes the students return and read through scenes. He switches some 44 Milton Magazine
students’ roles or partners. Action is fastpaced and a few students stand out, such as Sage Warner (I), who will ultimately play Lady Milford, the prince’s mistress, and Caleb Warren (I), who will play the Chancellor, Ferdinand’s father. “Auditions help give us a clear picture,” says Emilie. “Along with what you expect to see, there are surprises. We give people direction to see how they take it. If they bristle, we know they won’t take direction well during production.” “It’s a complicated alchemy,” says Peter, deciding with his team who should be called back for the second round. “Does the student understand the words in front of him? Is she able to connect with her scene partners? Where do they fall in the big picture? Sometimes you’re comparing two strong actors. In the end, you have to go with your gut.”
Milton’s 1212 plays started in Room 1212 Warren Hall nearly 40 years ago. They evolved from play readings to staged productions under the direction of Nina Seidenman, who, in 1998, passed the torch to Peter Parisi. When Warren Hall was renovated in 2002, Room 1212 made way for new English department classrooms, and the 1212 productions relocated to Wigg Hall. The philosophy remains: intimate productions with minimal technical demands and challenging material for actors and audience.
Of the 18 students posted on the callback list, 16 appear for the second round. During another long afternoon of scene readings, Peter gives a bit more direction: “I want to see what you are thinking. Control your physicals. Use the space and walk around.” The hardest part for Peter and his team is assigning the nine roles. Once the final cast list is posted on the door, it’s time to get on with the show.
Practice and Progress After Thanksgiving break, rehearsals begin. With no set yet, standing on the raised floor that curves along the outside wall of Wigg, actors clutch scripts and read scenes, their interactions stilted and tentative. “This text is challenging and dense,” Peter says. “Be kind to yourselves; getting through this will take time.” The “dense” text moves through passion, anger, betrayal and death. Scenes can call for physical ardor and violence—heavy