USAO’s Theatre Arts Program is debuting the play “Lear”, an adaptation of the tragedy “King Lear” written by William Shakespeare. This event will run three consecutive nights from Thursday, Nov. 14 to Saturday, Nov. 16, and will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Davis Hall Little Theatre. All students, faculty, and staff of USAO are receiving free entry for this event, and it is advised that younger audiences should not attend due to graphic violence in the play.
“Lear” has several motivating factors throughout the play, highlighting family, leadership, and politics. Professor of Theatre Arts Katie Davis stated that this production will give the audience an emotional and thought-provoking experience.
The play features a plethora of passionate characters who let their emotions overtake their logic and judgment. Davis hopes that “Lear” will give the audience the opportunity to examine the aspects of family and politics in a way that is outside of their daily lives.
The student production of “Lear” is based primarily on Shakespeare’s version, but it takes place in an alternate timeline of America. The background is set after the American Civil War but looks at what America would have looked like if it transitioned to small pocket countries.
The story is told within a small Appalachian community in the Shenandoah Valley between West Virginia and Virginia. Whenever a transition of power occurs in this society, the townspeople will perform a play to remind themselves and their leader of how they should live.
This setting was chosen by USAO’s Theatre Arts Program to emphasize the meaning of family and community. The message they look to deliver is to show compassion for your neighbors and local society. The production will showcase how hatred of each other affects not only the systems of all people but also their families and who they are as a person.
The style of “Lear” is not one that was easy to learn for the production team. Learning the script proved to be difficult as the style of theatre in “Lear” hasn’t been practiced in hundreds of years.
“The script of King Lear is a bit like a Frankenstein’s monster,” Davis said.
Along with the old-fashioned script, it was challenging for the team to modernize the play for the audience. Davis stated that the team had to replace some wording throughout the story and condensed the run time for the play while looking to maintain the core values and themes.
The Davis Hall Little Theatre will begin selling tickets at 6 p.m. each night and will accept donations that go directly to USAO’s Theatre Arts Program.
Valerie Pollard is a second-year student at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
