SPOTLIGHT: World of 'Threepenny' set to be created

In the dressing rooms and backstage areas of Annenberg Center, a world lay in pieces Tuesday night. It was the world of Bertholt Brecht's Threepenny Opera, which opens tonight in the Harold Prince Theater. Its citizens were being created under the makeup brush of director Deborah Block while its streets and storefronts were moved into place by stagehands. As she used lines and shading to make College sophomore Jaci Israel look like a 50-year-old woman, Block said that the final week of rehearsal was a process in which all the different elements of a production must be coordinated into a single unit. "It's like three different languages trying to come together and make sense," she said. Since they began rehearsing in the theater last Sunday, the cast has had to adjust to its unfamiliar dimensions and acoustics, and at Tuesday's rehearsal they were faced with the added obstacles of costumes and makeup. "We've been rehearsing all this time without props or a real set," said College and Engineering sophomore David Hafkin. "Everything changes." Commonly known as "hell week," a show's last week of rehearsal places high demands on everyone involved. Threepenny Opera crew members have been in the theater from 9 a.m. to midnight this week, installing sets and lighting, while the actors have spent six hours each day rehearsing. Lighting Director Eve Simon said that the long hours were necessary to correct all the problems that can happen when adjusting to a new space and installing over 100 lights. "It's just a written law that everything will go wrong and you will have to think really fast and fix it really fast," the College senior said. "You have four days to put the show together." Despite the intense work, actors said they cannot succumb to stress during the week. "Your energy has to be there all the time," said College freshman Megan Wozniak. Although the "hell week" syndrome is common to all shows, Threepenny presents some unique challenges. Block said the actors all speak in British accents that they have cultivated with special exercises. But the director added that some of them still need to keep their accents from fluctuating during the show. College junior Eric Morris said he was looking forward to seeing the results of the last two months' work. "I'm just looking forward to doing the show after all the preparation we've done," he said. "I'm looking forward to being on stage." Block said she was looking forward to Tuesday's night's rehearsal since she would be able to see all the elements of the show come together. And on Tuesday night, at 7:45, the pieces began to come together. The cast gathered on stage to warm up their voices, grouping in one corner to avoid the set pieces being fixed in place. As they sang scales and did vocal exercises, Block moved among them applying final touches of makeup. When they finished singing, the actors joined hands in a circle around Block. One wore a plain T-shirt with her costume skirt, and another sported Nike sneakers clashing with his Victorian era costume. And by 8 p.m., they would take their places on stage to complete their transformation into the world of Brecht. Threepenny Opera opens tonight at Harold Prince Theater and plays through Saturday at 8 p.m. The show also runs next Thursday through Saturday. Tickets are $5 and available on Locust Walk.

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