by Becca Risley | Sep 5, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Set during the Civil War, the Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s production of “Henry V” spins the classic historical drama in a new way. At the top of the show, the stage is set with a burned down farmhouse occupied by soldiers, nurses and owners of the farm. One returning Union soldier joins his Confederate brother on stage while the owner of the house and a slave woman sit to the side with a copy of “Henry V.” “The owner of the house and the slave begin to read from the book and those of us in the camp have to decide when we play along and why,” senior acting major Brooke Ferguson said. “It’s such a cool idea.” The director of the show, Nat McIntyre, felt that the state of Tennessee during the Civil War was split down the middle between the Confederate soldiers and the Union. His artistic decision to tell this story as part of the Civil War era was his way of bringing a divided family, and thus a divided state, together. “I love the direction that Nat took the play by setting it in the Civil War, while not having the actual events of the play happen during the War,” senior acting/directing major Jonah Jackson said. “I think it is a great way to frame this story that is ultimately about the hope for peace and reconciliation.” Lipscomb students involved with the show include Ferguson, Jackson and senior acting major Scout Pittman. Jackson plays John Bates, an English soldier and The French Duke of Bourbon. Pittman portrays Katherine, the French princess and Ferguson plays Bishop No....
by Anna McClure | Jun 13, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment
Following a successful first set of photoshoots, rising sophomore Sarah Johnson is preparing to continue her project in which she hand makes costumes and then photographs students from the theater department in them. During the spring semester, Johnson completed several shoots of various Disney characters at locations around Nashville. The characters included Alice, the Mad Hatter, Belle, Ariel, Tarzan, and Jane. “The first round went really well. Johnson said “I was blessed with actors willing to give a lot to the characters and work very well with an amateur photographer to create magic for a few moments, enough to capture and share with others.” Johnson faced several challenges along the way, including hand sewing costumes after her sewing maching broke and photographing Lacy Hartselle underwater as Ariel. Johnson purchased a waterproof camera case, which had a built in floatation device. “I had to physically push the case underwater and hold it down while trying to take pictures and not resurface. Johnson said “Each time we went under, we only had about a 7 to10 second interval to get pictures before I was pushed to the surface again. [Lacy] worked equally hard, trying to swim with her legs in a tail and keep her wig on, all while looking like a princess.” An additional challenge she faced was directing the actors about what to do and how to pose. She often gave them free reign as their characters and captured the moments as they happened. Despite the challenges involved, the end results have surpassed Johnson’s expectations. “I’ve loved every one thus far. Johnson said “Each character or set of characters...
by Jamin Craig | Sep 18, 2014 | News Slider
Flatt Amphitheater is being transformed into the Greek land of Corinth as Lipscomb University’s theatre department presents the tragic story of Medea. The story revolves around Jason, leader of the Argonauts, and Medea, Princess of Colchis. They meet in Colchis where Jason is on a quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Medea helps Jason get the Fleece and in the process, they fall in love and decide to flee to Corinth. They then get married and have two children. Over in Corinth, King Creon is looking for a successor to the throne and invites Jason to marry his daughter. Jason obliges in blatant disregard to Medea and his kids. The play begins with Medea finding out about the marriage. She becomes so flustered and angry that she decides to plot a deadly revenge against Jason. The plot is to first kill the king and his daughter, Jason’s new wife, then kill her own children to bring Jason great pain and suffering. Unlike most main-stage shows on campus, Medea is student-led with Tessa Bryant, a senior theatre major, sitting in the director’s chair for her first time. She is not only focused on doing her job well, but also making sure the rest of the cast and crew learn something from the production. “The goal for me with this piece is to start a dialogue about how we can care for one another better by acknowledging our own brokenness, considering one another in our actions and forgiving ourselves and others” Bryant said. “I’ve really loved working in an environment that encourages exploration. That isn’t always the case working in theatre,...
