Theatrical Nudity From an Actor's Perspective: One on One Time with Actor Michael Brewer

Remember those days when I talked about theatrical nudity in the Spring 2011 semester production of The Grapes of Wrath and about the practice in general?

We're still in those days.

I FINALLY had the chance to talk to senior Acting major Michael Brewer, who played "Al" in The Grapes of Wrath, about his views on the subject. Click here to remind yourselves of my opinions about the character of "Al" and how he contributes to theatrical nudity. This video has been a long time coming and I am so glad that I finally got the chance to accomplish it. He was very enthused to talk to me about it.

Check out our interview here. I apologize for the sound in this video. It was breezy the day we filmed. (P.S. Michael is sitting on a sculpture outside of Life Hall. I think something artistic like that is a pretty appropriate background. My friend Kelly and I hung out there once and it is one of our favorite landmarks on campus.)

We also talk about what is next for him as an actor. Michael will be playing "Lord Capulet" in this semester's production of Romeo and Juliet, which is premiering next week! Click here for tickets and more details. Best of luck to the cast and crew of Romeo and Juliet!

Thank you again to Michael for talking with me!

Discussing Theatrical Nudity with Professor and Director Susan Kerner

Hiya, folks!

This semester I am taking a course called "Introduction to the Theatrical Medium" with Professor Susan Kerner. Susan has directed performances at Montclair State University such as Arcadia and The Grapes of Wrath and is currently directing Stage Door, which will be premiering at the Alexander Kasser Theater this upcoming November.

If you remember from my "Peak Performances and their Awkward Sexual Moments" installment of The Grapes of Wrath, I discuss the play's usage of nudity and the extra artistic element it brings to the stage. I had been wanting to discuss this topic with the actors, which I still might do, but thought of the idea this past week to discuss it with the director herself, beings though she is my professor this semester.

Click here to view our interview. Enjoy! :)

Peak Performances and their Awkward Sexual Moments: The Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath-March 2011-Alexander Kasser Theater

The Grapes of Wrath, based on the classic novel of the same name by John Steinbeck, had a lot of epic moments involving the Joad family’s journey to California and it was very well done, one of the best shows I’ve seen at MSU so far. What’s interesting about Grapes is that it brings up elements of theater that I wish to discuss more in-depth.

*Beware of Spoilers*

Al and Al’s Girl: Al Joad is a young teenage male who loves the ladies. Oftentimes we hear him speak about his sexual escapades, but we never actual see him with any girl, until we meet Al’s Girl. Al’s Girl has no name, mainly because she has no specific purpose but to help show just how much of a player Al is. Their scene together takes up a whopping five minutes, during which she discusses with him their future “marriage.” Ha! She obviously doesn’t know him like we do. Al dismisses this idea by hesitantly agreeing just to shut her up and make out with her. It’s awkward but it’s understandable because we know the character of Al. But then something else happens later on that is really odd. AL GETS ENGAGED! What? All of a sudden now Al is mature and is committing himself to one woman? When did this happen? Not much time passes between the Al’s Girl scenes and the final scene when we discover he is engaged, so where did this transition take place? What makes it even weirder is that Al’s Girl isn’t the girl he is engaged to. It’s a totally different woman we haven’t met before until now. Who is she? When did he meet her? Where did she come from? What the heck is her name? (*Checks program.) Apparently her name is Aggie Wainwright. Her name is appropriately placed at the end of the list, for the cast list is listed “in order of appearance.” In this scene with “Aggie,” Al takes on this totally different persona than what he had throughout the show. It would have been nice if we saw his progression because I don’t think we do. All of a sudden his personality switches with no clear transition. 

Nudity: Now here’s an element on which I want to place a majority of my focus. During the length of the play, we see two characters get naked. One is Al (Surprised? I didn’t think so.) and Rose of Sharon, the eldest and pregnant daughter. With Al, the nudity is very unexpected in the context of the scene. The family finds a watering hole where they all decide to bathe and suddenly Al strips down to his birthday suit. Yes, there are moments when you see his penis and buttock crack in full light. For me, the scene wasn’t too bad because I consider the human body as nothing to be ashamed of and I thought it was an interesting theatrical addition to the play. The human body is art in itself. However, there could have been people in the audience who were greatly uncomfortable that this occurred.

Then there is the final scene between Rose of Sharon and the Man in Barn. In the scene prior, Rose of Sharon gives birth to a stillborn child. Seeking refuge from the rain, the Joad family escapes into a barn where they find a man dying of starvation, at which point Rose of Sharon decides to breastfeed him. Now this scene is not what I would call sexual, but it is very beautiful, one of the most powerful scenes I’ve ever seen on a stage. We see Rose of Sharon’s breast, but very briefly. She and the man then form this nurturing embrace, which closes the play. I found myself in a trance, not even realizing that the play had ended because I expected more after that. It truly had a “wow” factor. People were quiet in the audience. It took them a moment to start clapping because the scene was so mesmerizing.

What I would like to know is what people think about scenes like these. Is nudity an theatrical element that you feel that theater should use more? I would especially like an actor’s point of view for he or she is the one who would be enacting the task.

*Now you are in for a special treat. I am going to do something a little bit different in this blog post. In addition to these awkward sexual moments, I’ve also noticed some other random moments in Grapes that bothered me that I need to get off my chest. I may develop these into a whole other series, but for now I will keep them in here and call them “Bonus Random Moments That I Really Need to Talk About.” (Yeah, I think I should work on a better title than that too.) 

The Girl with the Blanket: At one point the Joad family assembles onto the stage along with other extra characters to show how they all are gathered together at this one camp to make it seem more realistic. One of the characters that shows up is this little woman who folds the same blanket over and over again in a different way than how people normally fold blankets. She stands in place, bouncing as she stands, while also giving these odd facial expressions. Her actions are peculiar, suggesting that maybe she is a danger for the Joad family. She stands towards the front of the stage while everybody else remains in the background, thus suggesting that she is a significant character for this scene and that we will hear from her very soon. So then we wait. Tom Joad, the lead man and eldest Joad son, walks towards the front of the stage with another male lead character (I can’t remember who) and the two stroll back and forth onstage in the midst of a lengthy discussion. Every time they were to walk towards the direction of the girl with the blanket, she would run the other way. So here we have some brief interaction, suggesting that they are building up her big moment to start some trouble. Tom and the other guy continue their conversation, and then we see Tom actually look at the girl suspiciously. Now we know that Tom definitely notices her like the rest of us and that he will soon start talking to her. Right? 

Wrong! He NEVER speaks to her! She never even gets her own lines. The extent of her dangerous qualities is that she briefly touches Rose of Sharon (God forbid), at which point the whole family rushes to her rescue. That could’ve happened in background like the other random actions that took place throughout the play. Why was she front and center? This odd placement of her totally deceived me and made me think that she was more important than what she was and it totally did not deliver.

Living on Fishing: There’s this one son in the Joad family and it is suggested that he is not all mentally stable. In the bathing scene, he confides in Tom that he is not going to continue the journey with the rest of the family but is rather going to live on the river and fish for survival. Tom tries to stop him, but to no avail. The family catches wind of this news, and though at first they are all concerned, they then continue without him after Pa Joad says “He’ll catch up.” Really? You mean to tell me that Ma Joad agrees to continue to California without her son, her mentally unstable son at that? If that were any other family they wouldn’t go anywhere until they found their lost child. Other characters leave too, including Connie, Rose of Sharon’s husband, which annoys me considering his wife is almost due, but yet they move on without him and say that he’ll catch up. What is it with these people thinking that their lost family members will catch up with them on foot when they are travelling in this gigantic truck? Also, I know this play takes place during the Depression and that they need jobs, food, and shelter, but is it really that imperative that they go without the rest of their clan? We never hear from these characters again nor do the other characters mention them. Was the absence of these characters not of a big deal to them?

The Narrators: Long story short, the addition of these narrators made the play seem like a musical when in reality it wasn’t. Basically, they show up out of nowhere and sing about what is currently happening in the play. Now, this isn’t a bad thing. It is actually a theatrical tactic that was unexpected but an interesting addition. The only problem I have with it is that these narrators would sing very joyfully at the most morbid times. For example, Tom and Pa could be having a very serious conversation, the lights go down, and then all of a sudden the narrators would brighten the mood with a happy song and dance. There is a time and place for happy singing and dancing, and for certain scenes in Grapes, it is just not appropriate.

Previously: Sweet Charity

Next: dis connect :)

My Grapes of Wrath Review: Traveling Across the Country on the Kasser Stage

Let us return back to my theater oriented theme. What we have here is another one of Stefanie Sears's lost articles that could not be used for publication, much like my On the Town and Sweeney Todd articles. Though the Sweeney Todd one may not be considered a "lost article" considering it was published in The Montclarion, I decided to publish the original draft on here so people are able to read that version as well.

This is the most recent, and most likely final, installment of my Grapes of Wrath at MSU Coverage. I call it coverage because other random blog posts I have made in the past were associated with MSU's production of The Grapes of Wrath in some way. Check out the other installments just in case you want to refer back to them. They include my interview with Corinne Chandler and my piece about Ma Joad for my Women's History Month series "Real Influential Women Role Models (Real and Fictitious)".


I originally wrote this piece for The Montclarion, but unfortunately they could not use it, so I decided to post it here. Enjoy! :) It was the first show I saw at Alexander Kasser Theater this semester and I had been hearing so much about it prior so needless to say I was pretty excited!

*There may be spoilers in here to those of you who a) did not see the play, b) did not read the book, c) did not see the movie, or d) all of the above.*

The much anticipated play production The Grapes of Wrath, based on John Steinbeck's classic novel of the same name and written by Frank Galati, directed by Susan Kerner, had its run from March 9-12 at the Alexander Kasser Theater. It was a very amazing show that was very well done with its imagery that made you feel and think with its intensity. The sizable cast, introducing child cast members to the Kasser stage, very well depicted the struggles their characters were experiencing, thus conveying the message of togetherness of family to the audience and narration through use of song by the narrators who accompanied the cast onstage most of the time. It had the ability to cause audience members to look at their own lives and be thankful for what they have.

Lead man Tom Joad, played by senior Dustin Fontaine, discovers on his return back home after being in prison that his family has been forced to leave their Oklahoma home. The Joad family, along with Tom, then embarks with both enthusiasm and fear on a journey to California, where the good life is currently being advertised and jobs are promised, hitting snags in the road along the way. Ma Joad, played by senior Lena Chilingerian, was clearly the heroine of the play, trying to keep her family together while protecting them as it gradually falls apart, accepting the fact that things may not seem to go as planned after all.

What was interesting is that two characters could be having a conversation center stage, but the actions of the rest of the characters in the background would stand out just as much. This, the scenery, the use of water, the presentation of rain and sunlight, and the lifelike truck that provided the Joads with shelter throughout the play and drove on and offstage when pushed by other cast members made the play that much more realistic. The play was emotionally driven, the family faced with doubt and rumors treading into the unknown, with occasional humorous moments, nudity, and violence. The show also included a dance sequence to add more to the artistic imagery. The most beautiful scene, however, was the final one right before curtain call consisting of seniors Elizabeth Mackintosh as Rose of Sharon and Albert “AJ” Johnson Jr. as the Man in Barn. (Even though this is the ending of the play, I feel it deserves a mention, so I apologize for the spoiler.)

In the scene before this Rose of Sharon, the eldest Joad daughter who has been pregnant throughout the play, gives birth to a stillborn child. Seeking shelter from the rain, the Joad family runs into a barn at first unaware that it is already occupied. A man (Johnson) lies on the floor of the barn, dying, and it is explained by his son (Titus Gandy) that he does not have enough strength to eat solids due to starvation. Rose of Sharon offers her services and after everyone leaves the barn breastfeeds the man, thus being able to nurture someone after all. This single act embodies the work as a whole, for the theme of the play was to help each other in times of need and do what you can to survive.

Ultimately, it was the type of show that made you say, “Wow.”

Real Influential Women Role Models (Real and Fictitious) SPECIAL EDITION: Ma Joad

Ma Joad (Lena Chilingerian) and Tom Joad (Dustin Fontaine)
Credit: Jason Flamos

Ma Joad (The Grapes of Wrath) This one is a special edition for this series. Ma Joad, from The Grapes of Wrath, was not on my list originally simply because I did not know who she was until now because, believe it or not, I never read the book. This is the perfect time to write about her.

This past Thursday night my friend Kelly and I kicked off our spring break by seeing the Peak Performance of The Grapes of Wrath, based on John Steinbeck's classic novel and written by Frank Galati, performed at MSU, which ran March 9-12 at Alexander Kasser Theater. You may recall me discussing this show back in February in my interview with Corinne Chandler. It was a very phenomenal and epic show that was very well done with its imagery and made you feel and think with its intensity. One character that really stood out to me was Ma Joad, played by senior BFA Acting major Lena Chilingerian (www.lenachilingerian.com).

The one thing that comes to mind when I think about Chilingerian's performance as Ma is that she was pretty badass. Like, she did not take crap from anybody. She has this stern and powerful aura about her while also maintaining warmth and love for her family. With her family she has a strictness as well while also providing hugs when they are most needed. She is not one of those frail wife and mothers, but rather one who takes control of any issue. Nobody stands in her way or questions her authority or her decisions once they are made. When she makes a decision, there is no turning back or rethinking. She moves forward. Plenty of obstacles get in the way of Ma and her family as they travel from Oklahoma to California, but Ma never shows any weakness. She does show emotion, but she is able to pick herself right back up to be strong for the rest of her family and very rarely displays any worry. When she does, it does not last long, for underneath it all she has an understanding nobody else could grasp, and it is very rare that she sheds a tear. She is always there to protect her family from any harm and acts as this knot so the family sticks together. They always listen to her, for she is the matriarch of the family and quite possibly the most powerful character in the play, for she rules with an iron fist.

Ma Joad is the kind of mother anyone would want. This is especially true when her daughter, Rose of Sharon, played by senior BFA Acting major Elizabeth Mackintosh, goes into labor or is criticized by a woman for being a sinner, both times comforted by Ma in a warm embrace. She is not a very laid back person, but yet she has this calmness about her. She takes care of everybody and does not turn away anybody who needs her care.

Lena Chilingerian was an amazing actress in this play! She was very convincing and strong, for you could tell that she had passion for the role, and also handles the southern accent very well. She did the same thing for her role as Nelly Windrod in The Rimers of Eldtrich. Much luck to her in her future endeavors! :)

One on One Time with Actress Corinne Chandler

Hello faithful readers! Today (well rather this evening) I have a real treat for you.

Photo taken by me :)

You may recall that in both the Sweeney Todd and The Rimers of Eldrich parts of my series "Peak Performances and their Awkward Sexual Moments," I discussed the use of rape scenes in theater and how I don't think it is such a good idea to have the actual act portrayed onstage for it may affect audience members in a negative way.

It just so happens that this semester I am taking a class with Corinne Chandler (http://corinnechandler.com/), a senior Acting major at Montclair State University, who played Eva in The Rimers of Eldritch in the L. Howard Fox Theatre, who if you remember is the young girl who was about to be raped by her counterpart Robert. I thought it would be interesting to get her point of view on the subject in a video interview. Plus, this is my very first video upload (that is my own video) to this blog. Yay visuals!

It was a pretty interesting discussion and Corinne makes a lot of good points. Enjoy! Click here to see the video.

Just as a side note: *Spoiler Alert* I keep referring to Corinne's scene as a "rape scene." This is not entirely correct. It is more so an attempted rape scene because Skelly comes to Eva's rescue before the deed occurs.

If you are in the Montclair area, please come check out Corinne and the rest of the cast of The Grapes of Wrath this upcoming March at the Alexander Kasser Theater at Montclair State University! We are all looking forward to it, Corinne! Click here for details: The Grapes of Wrath Tickets and Info.

Thanks again to Corinne for taking the time to speak with me! :)