For those who couldn’t make it to the Hedda Gabler play. The photo shows the end of the play- just before Hedda shot herself.
If you have watched the play, please share your thoughts if you like.
The Ending Setup
In the introduction, the director, Chris Scott, explained the settings, and how they were going to perform it. They played five characters- Hedda Gabler, Jorgen Tesman, Judge Brack, Ejlert Lovborg and Mrs. Elvsted. Dana Watkins played both Judge and Lovborg, and he was really awesome. Unlike other plays, they were reading from the script. But I noticed that they are having hard time doing it as I feel like they already knew the dialogues by heart. After the play, there was a question and answer session. The director asked the same question as professor Shipley did in our class- “Why the play is called Hedda Gabler, not Hedda Tesman?” Also we came to know about their preparation for the play. Judy Jerome (played Mrs. Elvsted) said they did three rehearsals before they performed it live. Their performance portrayed a two-hour play in just 45 minutes and was able to deliver the whole story to us. I must say that reading the play and having two lecture classes prior to it helped me understand the play so easily and with great motivation.
I had the opportunity to attend the play on Thursday, April 11th at 6:00pm. I believe that the actors delivered an excellent representation of the play, especially Stephanie Fieger, who performed as Hedda Gabler. Stephanie’s engagement with her character was real. Illustrating Hedda Gabler, Stephanie transmitted all kind of emotions; using detailed aspects such as facial gestures, body language, behaviors, etc. I also find very interesting that Stephanie used a British accent which made the play more attention-grabbing. I strongly believe that Stephanie’s performance allowed the audience during the course of the play to identify and sense Hedda Gabler’s feelings of power, privilege and frustrations. In addition, Stephanie’s attire, using a black tone suit and wearing her hair up was a classic and suitable touch for her act. I am glad I was able to see Hedda Gabler, Mr. Tesman, and Judge Brack, Lovborg and Mrs. Elvsted’s emotions and depictions in action. But overall, I was moved by the presentation of Hedda Gabler’s spontaneous character, I was pleased to be able to put a face to it. Stephanie’s performance exceeded my expectations despite comments in class about her performance in previous plays. I respect everyone’s opinions, I just think that I was fortunate to see the very last play, in which perhaps the actors felt more confident and were able to deliver a refined act. In fact, it was mentioned in the Q&A session that Stephanie’s British accent in the play was not intended but it improved as it happened. Thanks, Lina Lloyd