Theater has a notorious reputation for its demanding rehearsal schedule, which doesn’t necessarily provide room for students with particularly rigorous schedules, especially the religiously devout.
University alumna Ilana Glatt formed the Weekday Players nearly four years ago with the specific purpose of giving religiously observant students a chance to perform in theater while remaining free to observe the Sabbath.
“It’s grown so it’s still respectful of the Sabbath, but now it includes theatre majors and non-theatre majors in a mix of cultures,” said Jason Schlafstein, a senior theatre major and the artistic director of the Weekday Players.
Along with its unique mission, the Weekday Players is the only on-campus theater group that produces full on-stage productions, complete with its own lighting and set. The members work either in the technical aspect, with the set, costumes and lighting; or the performance aspect, with the direction and acting.
This semester, the Weekday Players will produce Picasso at the Lapin Agile, a comedy by Steve Martin. The show explores the lives of Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein – two contemporary geniuses, one of art and one science, of the early 20th century. Schlafstein and Zachary Fernebok, a junior theatre major, are directing Picasso, which the Players plan to perform at the Colony Ballroom in Stamp Student Union Dec. 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s kind of an intellectual comedy,” Schlafstein said. “It’s about Picasso and Einstein, if they ever met in a bar. … Their meeting springs forward their ability to become the geniuses that they are known to be.”
The group chose Picasso not only for its story but also because of its flexible set. Normally, Weekday Players productions are held in the Tawes Theatre. But because of on-going renovation at Tawes, the Players have had to build a “portable traveling stage,” Schlafstein said.
Schlafstein, along with Daniel Kobrin, a senior government and politics major and the producer for Weekday Players, choose the director and the play in advance. Other members then audition to be in the play. The set, lighting, costumes and props are all designed and created by the members.
There are approximately 20 active members within the Weekday Players, Schlafstein said. Although not all the members perform in the play, many participate in other aspects of the production. From start to finish, plays are directed, produced and acted entirely by Weekday Players members.
“I think that it’s people who really want to do do-it-yourself theater from the ground up,” Schlafstein said. “We are kind of the only true acting company on the university. Whereas the department of theatre has a production that comes together and then goes apart at the end … we have developed an actual ensemble that works together even after a play is over.”
While Schlafstein oversees the artistic direction of the shows, as the producer, Kobrin, who is also a columnist for The Diamondback takes care of the technical and logistical aspects, such as managing affairs with the Student Government Association. Kobrin said the Players give an outlet for non-theatre majors like himself, who may not necessarily have the time for a major theatre department production, but are still interested in theater.
“It’s an acting outlet,” said Kobrin. “It’s very hard for non-majors [to be in department productions], but this is a student group that allows students to act and really do what they want to do in theater.”
Because it is entirely student-run, the Weekday Players provides students with experiences that they otherwise would not have had. Jobs such as lighting design, set design and business management that are normally given to professional adults are instead designated to student members within Weekday Players.
“It makes it rough because you’re self-generating everything,” said Kobrin. “But it’s really fulfilling when the show is over and the audience is clapping, and you look at the people next to you and you know that you really did it on your own.”
The Weekday Players present Picasso at the Lapin Agile on Dec. 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m. at the Colony Ballroom in Stamp Student Union.
dnhan@umd.edu
