By Ann Piccininni
Daily Herald Correspondent
When North Central College junior Abby Stark got her first chance to direct a full-length play, she knew she wanted to present audiences with her vision of philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialist drama “No Exit.”
Stark’s proposal was one of three accepted by faculty this year from student directors as part of the college’s Student Director Series. The show opens today in the Madden Theatre, an intimate, black-box theater-in-the-round tucked on the lower level of the Wentz Concert Hall.
“The script was actually the very first show I ever saw. It’s actually what got me into theater,” said Stark, a theater performance major. “I actually saw it in high school in California.”
“It breaks ground by taking the audience out of the moment. The show keeps you at the edge of your seat. Every time I read it, I learn something new about the show,” Stark said.
The story revolves around three people – Garcin, Ines and Estelle – who are ushered into a room that turns out to be hell.
“Each person represents the victims in the other two people’s lives. They also represent the tormentors,” Stark said. “Throughout the show, the main character, Garcin, comes to the realization of why he’s really there.”
Junior Sean Driscoll plays Garcin.
“He’s kind of a miserable, abusive man, really abusive toward his wife — really a hateful person,” Driscoll said.
When Ines enters, Garcin reacts strongly.
“I think she definitely brings out the nasty side of Garcin,” Driscoll said.
As the play progresses, Garcin goes through a transformation.
“He’s pretty much the only one who tries to kind of find salvation and come to terms with what’s going on,” Driscoll said.
Driscoll said he wasn’t familiar with the French philosopher’s vintage 1944 play before he was cast in the role of Garcin.
“He’s totally different from other two parts I’ve played,” said Driscoll, who played a priest in last summer’s “Dancing at Lughnasa” and Anne Frank’s father in “The Diary of Anne Frank” last fall. “He’s a brute. He uses women. He talks about how he treated his wife, how he treated her abominably. It takes a lot of energy and intensity, each night, that we all have to have.”
Stark said audiences will have an opportunity to discuss the one-act, 90-minute show and its themes with the cast after each performance.
One message that comes through, she said, is that change is difficult.
“Even though they realize who they are, they resist change. They’re doomed to repeat,” she said.
On a more hopeful note, the play, Stark said, can spark realizations.
“Your actions define who you are. That’s the main theme of the play,” she said. “Be careful how you act and interact with people, because that determines how people view you.”
If you go
What: Jean-Paul Sartre’s “No Exit,” presented by North Central College students
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 12, 13 and 14
Where: Madden Theatre, North Central College’s Fine Arts Center, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville
Tickets: $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors
Info: (630) 637-7469 or northcentralcollege.edu
