Last week, the students involved in Trinity theatre took the stage one last time this semester in the production of the play, “Three Sisters.”
“Three Sisters” opened on April 17. The play tells the story of a Russian family and the ups and downs of their dreams of moving to Moscow to make a better life for themselves.
Sophomore Catherine Clark played one of the sisters, who battles internal conflicts while trying to maintain stability for her family.
“I play Olga Prozorov, who is the oldest sister and the most serious,” Clark said. “Like all of the characters, Olga transitions through different stages of her life but there is a constant battle within her to maintain a calm exterior even when everything around her seems to be falling apart.”
Senior Brady Iba played the sisters’ brother, Andre, who, like most of the characters, has goals of moving out of the town and making a better life. He says that the characters constantly have another dream or goal to meet.
“There’s a line in the show that says, “˜We can’t achieve happiness, we can only grasp at it,’ and the idea is that once you achieve your goals, do you know you actually got them? Or is it just, “˜Now that you’ve gotten to that point, what’s your next goal?'” Iba said.
“Three Sisters” was particularly unique because of the level of involvement the cast has, not only as actors, but also with the sound.
“One thing that makes this production different than most others is what we’ve been calling Foley work,” Iba said.
Making the sounds for the show involved some actors learning to play instruments, such as Iba who learned violin. This Foley work also involves working with the set.
“During set changes, the entire cast moves the pieces,” Clark said.
The preparation for “Three Sisters” was also unusual. Iba says the cast worked in reverse order.
“Usually you block it, put it on stage, fix a few things, and then you go,” Iba said. “But for this play, we kind of put it in reverse order; we put it on its feet to go, then we added in the blocking and Foley work afterwards.”
Senior Lauren Splawn attended the play as part of a class.
“It was required for my class, “˜Dramatic Literature,'” Splawn said. “I think it was really well directed and I enjoyed my time.”
She adds that performances like this help make Trinity special.
“I think things like this give Trinity students a unique experience because we have access to many different kinds of plays throughout the year,” Splawn said. “Also, it gives students opportunities to be a part of these plays and see if they have an interest in drama.”
The last performance of “Three Sisters” will be at 8 p.m. on April 25 in the Stieren Theater.
