Jonathan Berenson is a stage veteran, but he knows he’ll still be nervous when the curtain goes up tomorrow night for the opening of The Old Settler.
“I’ll be trying to keep my heart rate down,” the senior theatre major said with a laugh.
He’ll be jittery, but in a good way — he has the confidence of knowing the show he assisted in directing has already sold out all the shows in its two-weekend-long run.
John Henry Redwood’s 1997 play narrates the relationship between two sisters in 1943 Harlem and the Southern man who rents their apartment. The run, which opens at Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center’s Kogod Theatre tonight, weaves between the show’s four characters, touching on unconditional love and vulnerability.
Berenson said he takes charge of the details and hones in on intimate moments while director Walter Dallas paints the show’s larger picture. Dallas has a point of view based in his childhood in the South just after the Harlem Renaissance, but one that also mixes with this generation’s ideologies, Berenson said.
“It’s been interesting to see his point of view mixed with the point of view of the actors and people like me who are obviously of a different generation, but still deal with some similar issues in terms of ethnicity,” Berenson said.
Though her character, Elizabeth, is from a different world — she’s 55 and an old settler (synonymous today with “spinster”) in 1943 Harlem — senior government and politics and theatre major Kiara Tinch said she is able to relate to her through universal themes.
At its heart, The Old Settler is a story of human emotion that outstrips era and generations, Berenson said.
“Each person has someone in their lives that fills a void and they turn to each other for help,” Berenson said. “I connect with the characters in a way that they try to fill a part of them that’s not there any more, and they search for that.”
Will Voorhies, the show’s stage manager and a senior theatre major, said the show has an “interesting dynamic” between the undergraduates who make up the cast and the graduate students who comprise the crew. It’s taught him how to effectively communicate comments and criticisms, he said.
Age aside, Voorhies said there’s an uncommon level of dedication and focus present among the actors, the designers and the crew. He said he is optimistic about the show’s opening, although he hopes he doesn’t call an incorrect cue.
“That chaotic, deliciously awesome element to it — it’s exciting,” Voorhies said.
The School of Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies’ The Old Settler opens tonight at 8 p.m. and runs through next weekend at the Kogod Theatre. For dates and times, please visit www.claricesmithcenter.umd.edu. Tickets are $9 for students and $27 for adults. All shows are sold out.
raghavendran@umdbk.com
