By Katie Parkinson

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At 4:30 p.m., when most students have gone home, the cast of “Dancing at Lughnasa” is in the auditorium rehearsing lines, blocking their  movements, and listening to director Shana Prentiss. The cast focuses on one scene.

Except they practice it twice. And the first version is slightly different than the second.

This is because there is a double cast, meaning two people will be playing the same character on different nights of the production. Both versions will have the same emotional depth, but the nuances will be different

According to Prentiss, the idea of a double cast evolved from the need to have so many understudies. Understudies are actors who learn a role in case the person playing that role cannot perform.

Cast 1

Kate: Alex Mediavilla

Maggie: Erin Sellers

Agnes: Christie Fletcher

Rose: Rosemary McGraw

Chrissie: Audrey Muehlebach

Michael: Ian Von Fange

Gerry: Drew Jurden

Jack: Jack Bohnenstiehl

 

Cast 2

Kate: Kate Needham

Maggie: Sarah Kostoryz

Agnes: Paige Drummond

Rose: Katie Hanson

Chrissie: Rachel Moran

Michael: Ian Von Fange

Gerry: Drew Jurden

Jack: Eric Jurgeson

Stage Managers

Gabby Ferro

Kelly Gardella

Prentiss realized “Dancing at Lughnasa” would require a lot on the understudies’ part because virtually every role is a main character.

“Understudying is a thankless job, so I thought about adding a fourth performance so [the understudies] could be on stage,” Prentiss said. “I realized they would have to rehearse just as much, so what would happen if I just did two casts and they could understudy each other?”

One of the things Prentiss said she enjoyed the most about the double casts was how each person really made their character their own.

Freshman Katie Hanson, who plays the same character as senior Rosemary McGraw, agrees.

“I think it is really interesting to see how both Rosemary and I play [our character], Rose, very similarly in some cases and very differently in others,” Hanson said.

In one scene during practice, Hanson plays the childlike Rose with exaggerated movements, turning her whole body toward whoever is speaking.

McGraw observes her, but when it is her turn to act out the scene, she takes her own approach. McGraw portrays Rose with a different kind of exaggeration. Rather than focusing on body movements, she focuses on facial expressions, smiling goofily or staring blankly at the other characters.

This time Hanson is the one watching.

“There are times when [McGraw] will do something that I will be like, ‘That makes sense!’” Hanson said. “Sometimes she will ask Prentiss a question that I had not thought of, but once she asks it I will realize I was wondering that too.”

According to McGraw, different portrayals of a character are not planned, or even intentional sometimes.

“We already make [the character] our own because we are different people and we have different perceptions on things,” McGraw said. “I think it is natural that there will be two completely different Roses.”

These variations on the same characters are part of what makes the production so unique, according to Hanson.

“How all of the characters act affects everything,” Hanson said. “The challenges are a lot more subtle than in, say, an action movie, and [the characters’] reactions are very important.”

McGraw agrees, stating that it would be interesting to see both casts perform because the result would be two completely different shows.

“The emotional intensity is the same, but there is a variation in the way [the actors] are interacting,” Prentiss said. “At this point, [the casts] are working toward the same goal; they are just taking different journeys.”

 Performances (M&A Auditorium):

Wednesday, February 22: Cast 1

Thursday February 23: Cast 2

Friday February 24: Cast 1

Saturday February 25: Cast 2

About the Play:

Dancing at Lughnasa is set in the fictional town of Ballybeg, Ireland during the 1930s. It focuses on the five unmarried Mundy sisters, Kate, Maggie, Agnes, Rose, and Chrissie. The play follows the five women through changes as they struggle with poverty and financial insecurity as well as the contrast of their Catholic upbringing with the paganism of the surrounding people.