Wake Forest University Theater Department’s production of “The Tempest” opened on April 7, after almost a year of effort in the making.
Its story began in the summer of last year with senior dramaturg Ellie Howell’s URECA project. She worked with Director Michael Kamtman to research how ancient theater techniques could be used to reimagine the last play Shakespeare ever wrote.
Howell’s efforts were invaluable for two major components of the play. Her research on the use of silks in Chinese opera influenced Kamtman’s vision of the storm scene, in which the spirit Ariel creates the illusion of a shipwreck. Her research on shadow puppetry was used to help explain the backstory of the play.
Instead of relying entirely on Prospera (played by Professor Leah Roy) to orate how she and her daughter were shipwrecked on the island twelve years ago, shadow puppets behind them help visually explain the story to the audience.
The play has also had a special significance for Kamtman for some time. Not only has he spent most of his life studying Shakespeare, but he even once performed it himself, playing the enigmatic role of Caliban, a native of the island that Prospera has enslaved with her magic.
Kamtman described freshman Ashley Collings, who played Caliban, as “a director’s dream.” While he admitted he has some insights into the role, he was mostly focused on letting Collings make the role her own, which she appreciates.
“He’s a good resource to go to because he’s been in my shoes too, so he knows the physical strains of what you’re doing,” Collings said. “He knows the vocal strains of what I’m doing as a girl playing a decrepit-fish-man-monster… He’s completely understanding.”
The anger and resentment festering in Collings’ performance are well balanced out by some other major presences on stage. Senior Isabella Biricik plays an emotionally explosive Miranda that helps sell the insanity of her falling in love with Ferdinand. Fellow seniors Will Rothschild and Zac Anderson dominate their stage time as Alonso, king of Selpan, and Stephano, the drunken butler.
Rothschild said that he is much more accustomed to playing silly, lighthearted characters, but his commanding voice made for a convincingly devastated king. Meanwhile, Anderson produced countless laughs, particularly because of how much energy and gaiety he brought to his “scurvy tunes.”
In my view, though, the work of the production crew steals the show — or, at least, my attention. Set designer Rob Eastman-Mullins went all out in his multifaceted conception of the island, constructing four false prosceniums to make the island feel alive with possibility, as if anything could come from anywhere at any time. The bulbous, translucent structure paired perfectly with the lighting as well, as it was able to glow and change colors throughout the play, as if reacting to the actors’ words and actions in real time.
The lighting and sound were crucially immersive while also enriching the many wrinkles of the play at the same time. Sophomore JM Stowers artfully embraced the challenge of building all the props for the play, including Prospera’s staff (which he only lost and had to remake once). In many ways, the story of “The Tempest” is told by that staff, and Stowers’ robust and animated design more than lives up to the magic that such a prop commands.
Kamtman’s production overflows with visual elements to feast one’s eyes on, but it’s his care and passion for the world of Shakespeare that shines through the entire play, both the performative and production components.
“Because I have this lifelong love of Shakespeare’s work, I always feel transported in my mind from all the roles I’ve had, no matter how few or how many lines I have,” he said. “It’s like this full body, full-spirit experience that taps into every physical, mental and imaginative resource you have.”
“The Tempest” is Kamtman’s first mainstage production at Wake Forest and he embraces the fact that it might be his last.
“I am much older than Shakespeare was when he wrote this play,” he said, “and I was thinking, ‘What if this is the last play I get to direct?’ It would be a great one to finish my career with.”
