Thursday, April 11 at 8 p.m., the 2018-2019 Elizabethtown College Theater will open with its final show of the season, “The Cripple of Inishmaan.”
The play is set in 1934 in the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland.
When the inhabitants of the small town of Inishmaan learn that a Hollywood film crew will be arriving in Inishmore, another nearby town, to film a documentary on life on the islands, they’re swept into excitement.
One cripple boy, Billy Claven, sees this as his escape from the poor, boring life in his tiny town. He hopes to leave the place where everyone, including his aunts, calls him “Cripple Billy.”
“The Cripple of Inishmaan” is written by Martin McDonagh, who also wrote the book the play is based on.
The 2014 Broadway revival production, starring Daniel Radcliffe as Billy, was nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play.
The play is loosely based on the real life filming of “Man of Aran,” a fictional documentary directed by Robert J. Flaherty.
Much of the documentary consisted of fabricated scenarios to create drama and a more picturesque look for the production.
Senior Etownian online editor Anna Sorrentino said she really enjoyed the work that went into this particular production.
“One of the exercises we do is called ‘Hotseat,’ where we basically go on stage in character and we have to face the cast, and basically from the first rehearsal on, we have to answer all these questions about our characters,” Sorrentino said. She said it really helps her get into the mind of her character throughout the rehearsal process.
Other cast members are also excited about their roles in this production.
“It’s my first [production] where I had a decent role. Ever,” junior Leo Costello said.
“I really like the egg moments,” Costello said, “There are eggs involved…that’s all I’m going to say.”
Both of these students agreed that the Irish dialect posed a significant challenge in rehearsing for the show.
In order to assure that they were able to work on their accents consistently, the production’s director told students they were required to use an Irish accent in the theater at all times, senior Emily Leister said.
Despite the difficulties the dialect presents, Leister admitted that she loves accents, having previously used both Scottish and British dialects in performances.
For Costello, finding the balance in dark comedy also posed a challenge. While there are lines that are meant to be funny, it is often in a twisted way that, in a different context, could be very dark and upsetting.
Sorrentino also found challenges in the timing.
According to Sorrentino, there are some jokes that build throughout the entirety of play, leading up to a punchline at the end of the show. Doing a full run-through of the show helped Sorrentino to piece together the different parts leading to the punchline to work on making the buildup smoother.
Both Sorrentino and Leister are seniors who will be graduating in May. “The Cripple of Inishmaan” will be their last performance at Etown.
“This is actually my ninth mainstage production in terms of acting so for the past two and a half years, I’ve been in literally every show,” Sorrentino said, “Every experience has been uniquely integral to my theatrical education here.”
Sorrentino will be going to graduate school after graduation on a full assistantship and she attributes a lot of her success to the experiences she has had through the theater program at Etown.
Leister said the reality of graduation has yet to hit her. Leister spent most of her time in the theater as part of the tech crew but she also acted in some shows, like this current production.
“There’s responsibility that goes with that. We’re responsible for setting the example,” Leister said.
The expectations of future cast and crew members is passed down through the legacy of each graduating class.
The show dates include April 11, 12, 13, 25, and 26 at 8 p.m. and April 28 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $7 and can be purchased at the box office. Tickets can also be reserved by calling (717) 371-1170.
