The theatre department’s final fall semester production, premiering Thursday at 7:30 p.m., will be a rendition of “Rough Magic,” imagining Shakespearean characters on a magical quest of self-discovery in an early 2000s New York.
Many members of the cast and crew from LBCC’s previous play “Inherit the Wind” return in this production, with the same levels of passion being carried on to this play.
“Rough Magic” is a show about the world of Shakespearean literature bleeding into 2003 New York City, with characters from both places crossing paths with each other.
The main cast is a ragtag trio of Melanie, a magician who hates her powers, Chet, a 17-year-old lifeguard, and Caliban from “The Tempest”, the son of a mad sorcerer, as they embark on a quest to defeat Caliban’s evil father, Prospero.
Jaylen Ferrera speaks on stage as Prospero on Tuesday during a dress rehearsal for LBCC’s production of “Rough Magic” at the Bob and Barbara Ellis Auditorium. (Jacyn King)
When asked about some of what makes this particular production special, Director Eric Lauritzen pointed out that sound-making props on stage will be used as alternative ways to create live sound effects by the cast and crew.
“We have live foley on stage, I think they’re gonna love it,” Lauritzen said.
Noting that these additional pieces on set may lead to minor errors in execution, Lauritzen added that “the actors are encouraged to go with the flow at times,” and that the cast is encouraged to interact with the crowd.
The audience are almost part of the set, with seats being on each corner of the stage, meaning that the actors have to face the audiences surrounding them.
The previous production “Inherit the Wind” drew parallels with current events, but this production is more whimsical in nature.
Fidelle Martinez acts as Tisiphone and wields a sword during a showdown with Prospero and his twin children during a dress rehearsal for LBCC’s production of “Rough Magic” on Tuesday at the Bob and Barbara Ellis Auditorium. (Jacyn King)
Jaylen Ferrera, left, and Jasmin Jimenez speak as Prospero and his daughter Sasia respectively during a dress rehearsal for LBCC’s production of the play “Rough Magic” on Tuesday at the Bob and Barbara Ellis Auditorium. (Jacyn King)
“Theatre is where the veil is still the thinnest, and sometimes, you just wanna bring people joy,” Lauritzen said.
Nancy Tran, left, fights Marissa Kaspar acting as Melanie Porter and Linda Summers respectively over a magical book during a dress rehearsal for LBCC’s production of the play “Rough Magic” on Tuesday at the Bob and Barbara Ellis Auditorium. (Jacyn King)
Jashon Robertson was a member of the cast from the previous production, who took another approach to tackling this show by taking the role of stage manager and leading the crew.
After hearing so many of his previous stage managers complain about how taxing or difficult the job would be, Jashon decided to undertake the task for himself, saying, “It’s hard? Lemme see if I can do it.”
As the stage manager, all the moving pieces fall under his jurisdiction, and while he says that it wasn’t nearly as hard as all his prior compatriots made it out to be, there were still hurdles he had to overcome.
“You gotta be real professional, because everyone’s counting on you. One mistake, and it’s over,” Robertson said.
Celvin Reyes, who played a minor character in the last production, also upped his responsibilities, as he is now playing Chet of the production’s main trio.
“I went from stealing pennies with my monkey to being a lifeguard, so life’s been going great,” said Reyes.
A closeness within the cast could be felt all throughout the production.
After the dress rehearsal, the cast and crew were all in high spirits, and the director had high praises for his team, excited for the full premiere.
The show runs from Thursday to Sunday, with there being a 7:30 p.m. performance on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Additionally, on Saturday and Sunday there will be a showing at 2:00 p.m.
Each performance will be held at the Bob and Barbara Ellis Auditorium located in the J-Building at LAC, and tickets can be purchased at this link, or before each show in the box office at the auditorium.
Tickets for students, staff, seniors and children (under 12) are $10, while general admission is $15, but students who show their student ID with an ASB sticker in person can get a ticket for free.
The audience should know that because the seats are on the auditorium stage, the regular auditorium seats won’t be used, so there are only about 85 seats available per night.
Lauritzen, advised for people to buy their tickets online to reserve their spot, mentioning that opening nights are typically a play’s most packed days, and Friday the least, which he believes is due to their being no campus life on Fridays.
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