Student traffic circulated in and out of Keck Theater Sept. 3 and Sept. 4, buzzing with excitement. Occidental’s theater program started off the school year with auditions and callbacks throughout the week for this fall’s two plays, “Poor Clare” and “Antigone.”
“Poor Clare,” written by screenwriter and playwright Chiara Atik, premiered at Atwater Village Theater produced by Echo Theater Company. According to the college’s website, the play takes on the story of St. Clare of Assisi, exploring her moral conflict with her sister Beatrice, living rich like normal teens with interest in boys and fashion — until she meets Francis, a boy in poverty on the streets of Assasi, where she comes face to face with economic inequality and is motivated to help the world.
Athya Paramesh (first year) said the play’s premise was what led her to audition for the lead role of Clare.
“It shows a young girl’s journey of discovering how she can make the world a better place, […] her role in oppression and how she can actually do some good and use her privilege to help people,” Paramesh said.
Skye Borch (sophomore) also auditioned for the lead role of Clare.
“I was really trying to play out that [Clare is] switching tactics throughout the whole monologue,” Borch said. “That’s definitely a pattern that I can see in my own life, that I can draw on the feeling of wanting to be perceived as a good person, but not necessarily wanting to do the work.”
With a hectic week in front of her, Borch said she relies on audition tips and experience she has garnered since she started acting at nine years old.
“I want to become a director as a future profession,” Borch said. “I think I’m going to learn so much from the [theater productions] at Oxy, and it’s really great to feel like I’m developing a lot as an actor, even though [it’s] in a challenging way.”
Borch said that she has taken both singing and acting lessons throughout middle school and high school. According to Borch, in theater, it is important to know how every different position works.
The theater department introduced the second play, “Antigone” by Sophocles, which wrestles with themes of power, faith and family, according to the play’s description.
Franklin Zhang (first year) said he auditioned for the lead role of Antigone and Clare and that he admires Antigone’s resilience and bravery. Zhang said Antigone goes through a lot of the same feelings he has experienced, which drew him to the role.
“Antigone is a character who wants to resolve the current issues in her war-torn world, and [the play] is not only about war, [but] about how the family gets into trouble and conflicts with each other,” Zhang said.
Zhang said he does not have any prior acting experience, but that there are so many different classes one can take to strengthen one’s acting skills with well-acclaimed professors and coaches. Zhang said he enjoys acting because he can become the person he wants to be.
“Everyone in the world is trying to figure out who they are. I think the most important thing is to find the thing that they love,” Zhang said. “I like acting, so I reached out. And that’s what people should do: to not be afraid that you are new, a beginner. Anything is possible in college, even though I’ve never acted before, I still have a [chance to] to get a role. And that’s the art of performance.”
“Poor Clare” and “Antigone” will start production on Nov. 7-9 and Nov. 10 in Keck Theater.
Contact James Chow at jchow2@oxy.edu.
