In the weeks leading up to first rehearsal, we asked the cast and director of Hedda Gabler how the play—written in 1890 and with a continuous presence on stages ever since—was still resonating with them now, over a hundred years later. Here are the responses from the second half of the team, after our previous post.
Chaon Cross – Thea Elvsted
These days I am speaking to my four year old about the concept of consequences, and how they are the direct result of choices that we willingly make in our lives. It’s difficult to see this weighty subject land on a young person for the first time as they realize that they cannot simply move through life without leaving some sort of wake. In Hedda Gabler I see characters using their free will and consciously choosing to make very serious waves, and then struggling to keep their heads above water. It’s exciting to see people take risks and live with abandon regardless of what it may bring. We don’t/can’t always do that in our own lives.
Scott Parkinson – Judge Brack
The play seems resonant for anyone who has compromised some part of themselves to satisfy the demands of either the society they live in or the people in their lives, and really if we’re honest that should cover just about all of us. Not only are these characters held in check by the rules and limitations of the society they live in, but many of them are on eggshells around the volcano at the center of the play, Hedda herself. Why is that? Why do certain people have such a hold over us? Part of it is simply the mystery that certain people exude, and thereby what we read into them, that entices us. My first impression coming back to the play has to do with how much goes unsaid in it, how much is left mysterious. This is catnip for actors as we try to figure out how to fill in the blanks for ourselves.
Barbara Figgins – Aunt Julie Tesman
One of the themes in this play that has always resonated with me is the societal restrictions that the women, in particular, are forced to navigate and the fallout of challenging those restrictions. Although the particular confines have changed in modern day, there still exist certain unspoken expectations that society looks at as “normal.” Those that are unable to live within those expectations are forced to find their own way to break free.
Mark L. Montgomery – Eilert Lovborg
The closely observed human behavior in Ibsen’s plays make them timeless. The play itself and every character is a puzzle to be worked out. The challenge for the actors is to figure out what’s happening behind these sometimes outrageous or unforgiveable actions.
More on Hedda Gabler:
Articles | Videos | Production Details | Tickets
No comments yet.