Owl and Nightingale Players Perform in Blood Wedding, First Mainstage of the Year: Part II

By Emily Francisco 

Music was a major component in the staging of Blood Wedding. The use of music made the production unique, but at times the music became distracting. In Scene 1, the Groom talks with his Mother in his home. Professor Babatunde Lea, who did the percussion for the show, was featured in this scene with regular sequences on a bongo drum, which were interjected into the dialogue. Had this technique been used more sparingly, and only to emphasize the key moments in the scene, it would have been effective; however, the constant interjections weakened the scene, making it feel broken up and confusing.

As a whole, Blood Wedding was a unique script with unique staging. Though much of the audience was skeptical at first of the “rotation” staging (meaning each scene took place in a different location, either in Stevens Theatre, the scenic shop, or in Kline) many were pleasantly surprised by the overall impression. There was also precise, symbolic meaning behind the director’s decision to move the audience members. Blood Wedding was about emotional journeys, and the audience was literally taken with the characters as they moved from setting to setting, from passionate emotions to rash actions.

The next show to expect from the ambitious Department of Theatre Arts and Owl and Nightingale Players will be Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, to be directed by Chris Kauffman and performed in the winter of next semester.