Dynamo keeps actors, audience intrigued

Sarah Rebell Staff Writer

Most plays at Vassar spend weeks rehearsing and then put on a weekend of shows. Not so with Dynamo Theater Lab, the ensemble theater group and senior project, produced by four senior drama majors: Rachel Lee ’08, Marissa Skudlarek ’08, Molly Stewart-Cohn ’08 and Thane Floreth ’08. The project has been staging one high caliber, experimental play after another for the past six weeks, with only a few days to rehearse for each one.

But the lack of rehearsal time does not mean that the ensemble lacks preparation. The Dynamo members are very disciplined, which leads to distinct and enjoyable performances.

“Having a limited time to rehearse makes you focus on what will best bring the art to the show,” said Nathan Birnbaum ’11, best known for his portrayal of a sexually active, foul-mouthed Jesus in the first production of the Dynamo season, “Bastard Nation.”
Like many other members of the ensemble, Birnbaum not only performed in many of the plays, but also designed elements of their production. The ensemble members used the chance to both act and design for Dynamo as much as possible.

“Usually when you audition for a play here, you get a role as an actor or as a designer,” performer Kartic Naram ’10 said. “With Dynamo, you get a chance to do both, which is really great.”

Dynamo’s three plays are now being performed for a second time on Fridays at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. The plays consist of a new cast and creative team composed from the same core group this time around. “I have a new appreciation for the design process,” Darice Murphy ’11 said. “I see acting as far more artistic than I ever did,” Barb Ely ’11 added.
Ashley Troumouliaris ’08 played Dolly, the main character in “Bastard Nation,” the first time the play was performed. The second time, she directed it.

“It was a really wonderful opportunity to get to direct ‘Bastard Nation’ the second time around,” Troumouliaris said. “Playing Dolly, my job was to look at everything from that character’s perspective, but the second time, I learned to see the play as a whole. It was really nice to look at all the different worlds of the play as opposed to seeing a biased, bird’s eye view of the play.”

Dynamo’s final performance will be this Friday, April 11, with its second production of “Rose of Youth,” which was written by Dynamo member Marissa Skudlarek ’08. The play recently won the Marilyn Swartz Seven Playwriting Contest, sponsored by the Vassar drama department. Skudlarek received $1,000 as an award and will have a reception thrown in her honor by the drama department between the two performances this Friday.

As the Dynamo Theater Lab draws to a close, the ensemble has reflected on an experience that has been as hectic and stressful as it has been rewarding. “What’s really going to stick out in my mind after this is done is not a character, but the process, doing a show so quickly,” said Naram.

Ely explained that working on an intense and fast-paced production meant that “There’s no time to step back on what you are saying.”

“Dynamo has taught me how to communicate,” Ely said.

Skills such as communication are important in the theater world, where collaboration is key. Murphy said that the group has strengthened her acting skills, and taught her how to make a character choice quickly and fully commit to it. “It’ll be helpful in future shows and auditions,” she said.

“Dynamo has exceeded my expectations,” Lee said. Although she initially came up with much of the concept, she was quick to state that she does not take sole credit for its success.
“I think that has happened because Dynamo has not been just my baby. What you see on stage is not my idea and my labor, but what everybody has put in,” said Lee.