Bedtime

Posted by Zoe Baillargeon in Performing Arts

Student director Julia Rocke briefs her cast of ‘Bedtime’ prior to a rehearsal on Feb.10, 2015. Photo by Luke E. Montavon/The Jackalope

Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the…Bag Man bite?

For its first offering of the semester, the Performing Arts Department is presenting a collection of 10 minute, student-directed plays, among them the “creepy and funny” Bedtime.

Taken from a collection of short plays by Steve Yockey entitled “Very Still and Hard to See,” Bedtime follows two young women, Violet and Julie, as Violet reveals that for her whole life, a mysterious “Bag Man” has been killing people close to her. As Julie struggles to understand this strange new aspect of her friend, Violet prepares to take her future into her own hands.

From right, Julia Rocke, student director of ‘Bedtime’ briefs her cast Austin Creswell and Sarah Spickard prior to a rehearsal on February 10, 2015. Photo by Luke E. Montavon

“I like the idea of someone taking charge of their life,” says director Julia Rocke, a senior acting major.

Rocke, who is having her directorial debut with Bedtime, seems to be filling in the role of director well during a Monday night rehearsal, working with actors one-on-one and giving feedback after each run-through.

“I was really nervous just to interpret something and have someone watch it…and get the story right,” she says during a rehearsal break, also commenting that the characteristics of and the dynamics between the two female leads spurred her decision to work on this play.

Starring as Violet and Julie are sophomores Sarah Spickard and Kinsey Sarian, who both experienced interesting challenges in their characters.

“I’ve never been in a situation before where a) there’s a killer involved and b) where my best friend would put me in harm’s way,” says Sarian.

From left, Sarah Spickard and Kinsey Sarian during a rehearsal for ‘Bedtime’ directed by Julia Rocke as part of the 10 minute play series on February 10, 2015. Photo by Luke E. Montavon/The Jackalope

Spickard agrees, saying that “just trying to come up with a rich inner life for this obscene character [Violet] has been a challenge.”

With only 10 minutes to communicate character, plot, background and more to an audience, the actors and directors are faced with a hefty challenge that each sees and tackles differently.

“It’s definitely getting the audience to care about the characters, because it is so short and there’s not a lot of exposition and detail,” says Rocke.

“There’s a lot less information, like we don’t know any of the background on these characters…there’s no backstory,” agrees Sarian, with Spickard adding that “the rehearsal process and everything is three times faster, but it feels good…I can definitely see the progress that has been made.”

Freshman Austin Creswell, who plays the role of the Bag Man, had a different opinion of working on a 10 minute play versus a full length one.

“Honestly, there’s not a lot of difference, because you’re still putting in the same amount of work,” says Creswell, who has worked extensively with Rocke on the background story of Bag Man and physicality of his character.

“People don’t usually think that so much work goes into such small characters,” Creswell adds.

With her background as an actress, Rocke is able to better guide and direct the actors toward discovering their characters, which has also influenced her opinion of the importance of student-directed productions in the Performing Arts Department.

“You need to see both sides of something to get a grasp of the whole, and a well-rounded actor is a person who can do both directing and acting as needed,” says Rocke. “You’re not just dependent on a director.”

Bedtime can be seen on Sunday, Feb 22 in the Fogelson Library at 2 p.m. and again at 4 p.m. along with the other “Room” plays.