The Theater Division is putting on a play that provides a modern spin on Anton Chekhov’s play The Seagull.
Spring Semester is kicking off with a production of Stupid F***ing Bird, a dark comedy about the struggles of love and life. One of the main characters, Con, is an aspiring playwright who wants to win back his love Nina’s heart and his mother’s approval of his work, but every character has their own story to share in this new take on an old classic.
“Posner has taken the style of Chekhov … and these very archetype characters … and theatrical history and has a created a really modern twist on them,” Margo Tillstrom, a junior studying acting and a performer in Stupid F***ing Bird, said.
Tillstrom’s character, Mash, begins each act with a song on ukulele that “encompasses the emotional life of the act.” She said she thinks the choice of that instrument and its lively sound makes the songs ironic and adds to the comedy.
David Haugen, an associate professor of performance and the director of Stupid F***ing Bird, said the play is a “tragic comedy” centered around love, art and how the two are intermingled.
"It’s very much an ensemble piece, and that’s what’s really fun," Haugen said. "It’s not like you have a couple of leads and everybody else is supporting (them). Every character is integral to the production."
Anthony Baldasare, a senior studying acting, said his character, Con, could be considered the protagonist from the playwright’s perspective.
“I love that there’s a very specific arc to (Con),” Baldasare said. “You just see a really dramatic change with him from the beginning to the end.”
Most of what carries a Chekhov play are the things characters do not say, Haugen said, adding that "the real Americanization and modernization" of Stupid F***ing Bird is that characters actually say how they are feeling.
Tillstrom said her character Margo uses many “defense mechanisms,” such as sarcasm, irony and self-deprecation, similar to how people do “when we’re upset or don’t know what to do with ourselves.”
Stupid F***ing Bird plays up the entangled relations between characters. Most are romantic since most characters are in love and loved by someone.
“Structurally, x, y and z may match up, but emotionally it’s just an enigma,” Tillstrom said.
Stupid F***ing Bird breaks the fourth wall on many occasions throughout its acts, Baldasare said.
“It’s very self-aware,” he said. “When you see this show, it’ll be different every time you see it, because the audience plays such a big role in it.”
The actors rely on the audience in a few ways. The play begins by a character hinting for someone in the audience to say “start the f---ing play.” Multiple characters also speak directly to audience members, and one even asks them for advice concerning Con.
“From the surface it seems like nothing’s happening, but really so much is going on,” Baldasare said.
“(Stupid F***ing Bird) shows that these are issues and these are fundamental problems that everyone feels from day to day. It doesn’t matter what time period it is,” Tillstrom said.
