Brecht's Mother Courage at HSU

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Bernadette Cheyne as Mother Courage.

At 11:43 AM, Anonymous said...: It's always an unusual experience working onstage, side by side, with your professor (and advisor, for that matter). The first thing we discussed was how different our relationship would be onstage vs. as student and mentor. It was immediately clear to me that I was working with a "pro."

Equally noticable to me, was the immensity of the Mother Courage role she had accepted. There are few roles a woman in theatre may come across with such a line load (to memorize), with total onstage time (meaning no chance to catch a breath backstage or even in the wings), or with the emotional scope required for a play set in the unending Thirty Years War.

I have been impressed entirely. Audiences used to commercial breaks or jumpcuts in film may be unaware of the physical and mental marathon ocurring before their eyes (by the whole company, but especially by Cheyne). My already profound respect, established by her direction of Brian Friel's "Translations" last semester, is simply heightened by working alongside her in "Mother Courage."