THE BLUE AND WHITE

Inspired by Italian writer Dante Alighieri’s 14th century poem The Divine Comedy, UCC’s upcoming play Inferno revolves around a fictionalized version of Dante as he is guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil through the nine circles of hell. In Mr. Bauld and Ms. Blagona’s adapted version, which began simply as an idea many years ago, a cast of Shakespearean characters have been placed throughout the circles of hell and suffer for the sins they committed in their respective lives. The play features a powerful ensemble and one of the most complex sets to have ever gone up in the David Chu Theatre, thanks to the work of Mr. Denstedt. Additionally, both the technical and physical effects of the show have been fine-tuned in a way to help immerse the audience as they explore this unique depiction of hell.

In order to get some insight into the nature of working on the play, I asked the lead performers about their experience. The interviewees include Jodie Kan of BSS, who plays the role of Dante, Patrick Tang of UCC, who plays the role of Virgil, and Jack Wachter of UCC, who plays the role of the Fool.

Poster from left to right: Patrick Tang, Jodie Kan, Jack Wachter

What made you decide to audition for the play Inferno?

Patrick: It was mainly due to my Y10 drama teacher and boarding SHA Ms Blagona that I decided to audition. Last year, she encouraged me to participate in a theatre production. I thought it would be an interesting experience, and that’s how I got here.

Shout outs to Ms Blagona :D

Jodie: Mostly the idea of getting to work with Ms. Blagona. I saw Enron when I was in grade 9 and I loved her artistic vision. I auditioned for Accidental Death of an Anarchist in grade 10, but didn’t get in. I knew I wanted to work with her at least once before I graduated, so I auditioned for Inferno. Admittedly in the beginning I wasn’t in love with the storyline because I didn’t know much about it, but as I’ve gotten to understand the story and my character I can safely say that auditioning for Inferno was probably the best decision I’ve ever made.

What do you like about your character? Do you have anything in common?

Patrick: I really enjoy Virgil’s switch from being a stern adult-like figure when interacting with the Fool to becoming an approachable teacher when answering Dante’s questions. The contrast between these two personalities strikes me as quite hilarious, and it also infuses more life into Virgil as a human (or technically a shade, but whatever).

There aren’t a great deal of similarities between Virgil and me, but I find his methodical and patient approach to explaining problems somewhat relatable. I consider myself decent at explaining, say, mathematical problems to others, and actually try to preserve that same type of explanatory feeling when explaining concepts of hell to Dante.

Jack: My favourite thing about the Fool is easily how dynamic the character is. Being allowed and encouraged to drastically shift my mood from angry to happy to sullenness and other random combinations has been fun to practice (even if it’s not a very practical skill).

What would you say to your peers about your experience with these two major writers?  What can a person who knows very little about Shakespeare or Dante learn about this play? 

Jodie: I would say that this play will probably touch on a lot of personal themes that the audience might see reflected in their own lives, and even though the play centers around religion, you don’t have to be religious in order to learn something from it. There’s a message for everyone in this production, and, for me, the message I got was to take accountability for my actions and venture through life with purpose and integrity.

What has been the most difficult part about being in this play? 

Patrick: This is the first play I have been a part of, so there are quite a lot of difficulties I could talk about. The most difficult part would probably be with my own personality. I am quite shy and introverted in life, so being a part of a play is miles away from my comfort zone. It is tough for me to bond and meet new people in the cast, although everyone has been very friendly and supportive. The thought of actually performing in front of an audience of considerable size also makes me slightly anxious… But one has to step out eventually, and I am trying my best.

Jack: The most difficult part about Inferno, for me at least, would have to be figuring out and nailing my character’s movement. Because our set is so chaotic and outlandish, figuring out exactly how my character should traverse across our set has been challenging for me, especially because of my character’s inherent connection to chaotic movement.

If you could be any character other than your own,  who would it be?

Patrick: I would probably choose to be Richard III. His monologue just seems fun to me, plus he [redacted due to spoilers]. As a bonus, his monologue is also what I did for auditions.

What has it been like working with a different school?

Jodie: It’s been really amazing. The UCC community has been welcoming and a blast to work with. Not only has it given me the chance to branch out and meet new people, but the people I’ve been working with in this production have made going to rehearsal the highlight of my day. Everyone’s incredibly talented and kind and funny, and they’ve made it a truly great experience.

Jack: Working with BSS has always been an absolute blast, and I think the UCC Drama department wouldn’t be the same without our collaboration with BSS. It has allowed me to meet and connect with a variety of like-minded theatre nerds over the years, and without a doubt has led to some of my favourite experiences at UCC.

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On behalf of the cast, I think we can all say that working on this show together has been quite the unforgettable experience. The play was specifically designed for the characters to be in individual blocks of the performance to help streamline rehearsals. Subsequently, many athletes and students with alternative commitments have been able to experience being part of a production. As the interview responses suggest, there are a great deal of things that we can learn from this experience – not only about the theatre-making process and the performance content, but also about each other and ourselves. Thank you to Jodie, Patrick and Jack for the thoughtful responses you provided. We look forward to seeing you all at our upcoming performances!