HPU’s Black Box shows ‘Mary Stuart’
By Veronica Fulton // Staff Writer
Maybe you have heard the story of Mary Stuart; maybe you have not.
“Mary Stuart,” adapted by Peter Oswald is a play that portrays the lives of two Queens. The plot centers on the Catholic Queen, Mary Stuart of Scots, who is imprisoned in England, and the Protestant Queen Elizabeth, her cousin, who is the Queen of England.
After Friedrich Schiller’s original play first premiered in Germany in 1800, Oswald’s adaptation of the play has made its way to the stage of High Point University’s Black Box Theater.
“It is a story of love, lust and betrayal, which are all emotions that are still very prevalent in our lives and the media today,” said Victoria Dixon, stage manager.
The production stars senior Mackie Quirk as Queen Elizabeth and sophomore Ceili Lang as Queen Mary.
I’m not going to spoil the ending, even though you’ve probably already heard what happens, considering this show is based on history from the 1500’s and we’ve all taken basic history classes. However, the story is based on the relationship between Queen Elizabeth of England and Queen Mary of Scotland.
Queen Mary of Scots is imprisoned for the supposed murder of her husband, Darnley, but in reality is imprisoned because she has pushed her claim to the throne of England too far. Full of drama and intrigue, the play centers on the tension between the two cousins that are bound by blood and their love of power. A supporting cast of characters influences this relationship, including Elizabeth’s traiterous nephew, Mortimer; Lord Burleigh, high treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I; and the Earl of Leicester.
To begin tackling this show, the theatre department began rehearsing in January and has made great strides towards a final product that will open on Feb. 29. Rehearsals take place every night in the Black Box Theater, where the show will be performed.
The entire company works tirelessly not only during scheduled rehearsals, but also on their own time. They each research their own characters and spend time trying to understand the language of that time period.
“Preparation is a huge part of our process, because we need to essentially figure out how our characters think,” said Jared Lindsay, cast member. “To do that, we have to continually refer back to the text and ask ourselves questions. We have to take into consideration all of these things so we can get a grasp on the inner workings of the characters.”
In addition to deeper level research, cast members spend time outside of rehearsal practicing lines and how to correctly say them in a standard English accent.
“A lot of work and time goes into a show this complex and multi-faceted,” Lindsay said. “The first step is getting all the lines in our heads so we can focus on the other characters on stage and the relationships we’re trying to create with them.”
The company has to dig deep to convincingly portray the Tudor drama, but ultimately will rise to the challenge when the curtains open.
Join the cast of “Mary Stuart” from Feb. 29 to March 2 at 7:30 P.M.