The theatre and performance studies students in “A Man of No Importance,” under Morgan’s direction, truly brought the streets of Dublin to the Stillwell Theater on Thursday, Oct. 13.
The Irish folk rock musical follows the story of Alfie Byrne, a resident of Dublin, Ireland in the 1960s. When we meet Alfie, portrayed by senior theatre major Hayden Rowe, he is a single bus driver in his 40s who lives with his older sister.
“We all just bonded really well,” said Rowe, Alfie’s actor. “The emotional journey was very strenuous, but it was really cool to take on and to take new emotional leaps throughout the show.”
Alfie’s uncommon obsession with theatre sets him apart from others in his community. He runs an amateur theatre group that rehearses and performs in a local church, and he is determined to stage a production of Oscar Wilde’s “Salome.”
“It’s about his struggle with trying to basically live an authentic life as an artist and as a human being,” said director Amanda Wansa Morgan, an assistant professor and coordinator of musical theatre.
The show is set in the middle of the western world’s civil rights movements, and Alfie struggles against prejudice throughout the show. He lives in a community rooted in Catholicism and is challenged by church officials when he tries to produce a play that includes “immoral dancing.”
Part of the show’s success is attributed to the relationship between KSU’s theatre department and the Gaiety School of Acting in Ireland. Several of the cast members took part in a seven-week acting intensive at the Gaiety School and channeled their time in Ireland into “A Man of No Importance.”
Senior theatre major Danny Crowe, who plays Alfie’s best friend Robbie, studied abroad with this program during the summer of 2015.
“The song that I had called ‘The Streets of Dublin’ referenced a lot of places. I’ve visited all of those places, so I had very clear visuals of everything that I was singing about,” Crowe said. “And being in Dublin and being in love with the city wasn’t hard to act because I’d been there for a month.”
Morgan explained that the students who participated in the program abroad brought a unique perspective to the play and helped the other students.
“They were able to chime in when other cast members who hadn’t been [to Dublin] asked questions about Irish culture, the places in the play and the slang terms, “ Morgan said. “It helped having people who had been there and who could describe what it’s like to be there. If the actors believe where we are, the audience will believe it.”
Several of the actors claimed that their favorite part of working on the show was the cast and the community they formed during the intense two-month rehearsal process.
“This is my first role as a lead at KSU, and though I haven’t been a lead before, I’ve had this same community,” said sophomore biology and theatre double major Brandy Bell, who plays female lead Adele Rice. “Just being able to be around those people while stepping into this new role was such a warm and uplifting and educational experience.”
“A Man of No Importance” continued its run Oct. 12 through Oct. 23 in the Stillwell Theater.
