By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT— Amplified Arts has begun preparations for their upcoming production of Walter Kerr’s 1946 play, Stardust.
Artistic Director Shelly Hudson is calling on what she has referred to the area’s “wealth of talent” to take part in what has been the area’s premier, award winning, production company. Hudson intends to mount the production of Stardust early next year, with auditions taking place later this month. Anyone interested is encouraged to contact Hudson and Amplified Arts as auditions are being held October 19, 20 and 22.
Stardust, a farce written by a renowned writer and Broadway critic, pokes fun at “The Method” or method acting and the Actor’s Studio itself. Students of an acting academy find themselves waiting for the arrival of a famous actress who has claimed they will be in one of the students’ plays. However, when the actress does arrive, the students find she isn’t quite what they had anticipated. “Who doesn’t love to tell a great story about method acting and making fun of it. It’s always fun to poke fun at what you love,” Hudson said of the upcoming production.
The Method is based on Russian director and actor Konstantin Stanislavski’s system of acting and is still widely used today. Many beloved award-winning actors and actresses, including Daniel Day-Lewis, Meryl Streep, Robert DeNiro and Hillary Swank, are all students of The Method. The purpose of Stanislavski’s system was to create the “art of experiencing” and encourage actors to embody the characters in which they were cast as honestly and as often as possible. This would then give the actor lived experience to draw from when fully rounding out their character choices. The Method has also drawn criticism over its many years with actors staying in character at all times causing tension, or other actors displaying outlandish behavior suggesting they had to act that way because that’s what the character would do.
“Doing this production of Stardust also gives me an opportunity to introduce younger folks that may be in the production to the concept of method acting as well as some of the incredible cinematic performances it has given us over the years. Who doesn’t want to introduce people to Marlon Brando? That sort of education is also a big part of what we do here,” Hudson said.
Amplified Arts, or AMP, has recently finished their last production of Jane Austen’s romantic comedy Emma. The performances all on the stage at the Claremont Opera House were met with rave reviews from theater goers. While no formal contract has been submitted, it is AMP’s intention to once again take the stage at the COH. Hudson says that after the great reception from Emma her instinct was to find something cathartic, which she described as potentially darker in tone, citing Animal Farm and 1984 as potential front runners. She landed on Stardust believing that the play will not only offer laughs for an audience but challenge performers as well.
As AMP looks to the future, the production company hopes to locate a space within Claremont that could house a blackbox theater in which they would be able to put on, not only more productions, but other types of productions as well. Hudson also spoke of the always growing arts community in and around Claremont, and the importance fostering those kinds of outlets are for any community. “Trying to create in our community that sense of pride, and reminding people that creating art is valid, it’s worth seeing, it’s worth being a part of, so we are always looking for ways to connect with the community. We want people to come in knowing we are an open book, and we want to encourage self-expression and that communal consumption of art. So, we encourage anyone that wants to come and act, work backstage, write, direct, wherever your interest lies,” she said.
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