Clown soldiers will be the featured characters in this weekend’s Ohio University School of Theater production.
The School of Theater will present its first showing of Man Equals Man by German playwright Bertolt Brecht this evening. The production will continue for two weekends.
The play’s plot surrounds a group of three soldiers who need a fourth soldier to join their ranks. To solve the problem, they take a random individual from the street and attempt to mold him into the ideal trooper. The School of Theater will present the script as Brecht wrote it but will portray the characters as a group of clowns getting ready for a show.
OU student Eb Madson said the choice to present the play this way fit with Brecht’s style.
“Clowns are basically supposed to be us at our most innocent and most vulnerable,” said Madson, a second year graduate student studying theater performance. “There’s something very endearing about clowns, but that can also turn on a dime and be really creepy, which is kind of great for what Brecht goes for with the alienation effect.”
The alienation effect, a term coined by Brecht himself, is an aspect of epic theater that emphasizes the audience as neutral observers of a theatrical production rather than becoming involved in the emotions of the action.
Director and assistant professor of theater Brian Evans said his production’s non-conventional storytelling relates back to the author’s inspirations.
“Brecht was fascinated by clowns,” Evans said. “He was highly influenced by the clowns in Germany at the time and the cabaret performances, so he incorporated a lot of that vaudeville into his writing.”
He also said that the introduction of clowns into the story affects the perception of the audience.
“Having them wear the clown makeup and costumes continuously reminds the audience that it’s theatrical, that we’re talking about these ideas instead of sympathizing with the characters and placing ourselves in that situation,” said Evans, who added that the technical vision for the show has been nearly a year in the making.
OU student Bradley Wehrle, who was one of the charge scenic artists for the show, said the painting and set designs helped bring the clown and soldier worlds together.
“It helps blend everything to make it look like they belong together instead of sticking one right against the other,” said Wehrle, who is a first year graduate student studying scenic design.
Between the technical and performance aspects of the production, Madson said the show has a good mix of comedy and a serious message.
“I think it will be a really interesting show for people to come see,” Madson said.
“It has a really great balance of playfulness to it but also has a very significant message in it and commentary on how easy it is to corrupt a person and what war does to people.”
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