2008 Woodie Awards
"The Stuff of Dreams"
A world class theater experience
Bashir-Frank Chipanda
Issue date: 4/24/03 Section: Arts & Entertainment
 Guthrie Theater player act out Shakespeare scene during the climax of “The Stuff of Dreams.” |
One of the members, Mark Rosenwinkel, who played Willy Loman, came to Dr. Linda Tolman's class for a one-hour workshop on how to use voice effectively in poetry. The lessons were later demonstrated in the performance, helping students see how voice effect is executed in plays.
The play entitled, "The Stuff of Dreams," includes materials from five main characters from five top plays: Antigone from "Antigone" by Sophocles, Willy Loman from "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller, Nora Helmer from "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen, "Cyrano de Bergerac" by Edmund Rostand, and Hamlet (The Host) from "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare. The setting was simple and performers played dual roles - as stage audience and characters.
Tolman, professor of English, explained how helpful and cooperative Guthrie Theater has been to Lakeland. "I have students go to Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis to observe production. Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a six-hour one way drive," she said. Because it's such a long drive, Tolman suggested that Guthrie Theater be a part of the Krueger Fine Arts Series convocations.
The play was highly educational, providing a sense of creativity in bringing poetry and imagination into a live scenario for students in literature classes. When reacting to the play, most of the literature students mentioned the competitive nature of the production as well as the live imagination in characters. Others felt relating to what they already read made the play entertaining.
Lakeland student, Ku Shoua Yang Thao found the play a wonderful opportunity to see professional acting on highly imaginative characters. Thao also commends the use of fewer simple props; he calls "minimalist stage," which places the audience's emphasis on the characters.
Another student, Renee Steinert enjoyed the "little fights of the characters." He also felt the play allured him to read stories he had never read.
Similarly, Scott Blanchard was mesmerized with the craft of putting many different play pieces into one play using simple props.
Many other students also commended the play, citing its diversity. The play presented to the audience a series of common human behaviors by introducing lives from different times and places. The blend of main characters from five plays merged and performed as a unit.