‘Mauritius’ production reveals dark side of humanity
This week marks the USU Theatre Arts Department’s first production of the season, Theresa Rebeck’s “Mauritius.” Directed by Professor Leslie Brott, the play is about a collection of seedy philatelists, or stamp collectors, who will do anything to get what they want.
The play begins with Jackie, a 20-something woman trying to sell her recently-passed mother’s collection of stamps. At first, the man to whom she attempts to sell the stamps laughs her out of his store. However, it’s quickly discovered that her book contains a few stamps of value, most notably a pair of Mauritian stamps called the One and Two Penny Post Office stamps. One of the characters calls this pair “the crown jewel of philately.” Once Sterling and Dennis, a pair of philatelists, learn how valuable her collection is, Jackie and her sister Mary are thrust into a world of violent hobbies and dangerous tempers.
Like some other Theresa Rebeck plays, Mauritius contains mature language and violence. Skye Orchard, the sound designer for the production and a senior in the theatre arts department, responded to the violence in the production.
“Some people may react to the content negatively because of the community we live in but I think the play contains these extremes because it’s about real life,” Orchard said. “The playwright Rebeck is good at capturing moments of real life and that’s really what’s in this play.”
“From observing rehearsals and discussing with Leslie, I feel like she’s trying to capture man’s inhumanity to each other,” Orchard said. “We as human beings can be really mean to each other and really nasty. Rebeck even shows the humor behind the triviality. It’s funny that something as simple as stamps will cause the characters to act so inhumane but at the same time it’s fascinating.”
This play has verbal and physical explosions. They are few and far between at the beginning and most of the characters come off as normal, well-balanced adults. However, the high stakes quickly show who they truly are. Leslie Brott, university professor and the production’s director, said this is what makes the play worth producing.
“One of the things that attracted me to this play is the playwright’s interest in what makes ‘normal’ people behave badly,” Brott said. “What makes you lose your temper? It’s a human thing to investigate. In this play, greed and the power of possession make people lose their tempers and behave badly.”
In a 2007 interview with Robert Simonson from the New York Times, Rebeck commented on the misbehavior in her play.
“I’m actually interested in poor behavior,” Rebeck said. “I’m interested in what drives people to poor behavior. I do believe there are monsters out there, and that they are monsters.”
Bad behavior is a common theme with the actors as well, according to Tori Benson and Tim Roghaar. Roghaar, a senior majoring in the BFA acting program, said he related this to his character Philip, a dedicated philatelist.
“The main thing this play focuses on is good people behaving poorly,” Roghaar said. “Violence is usually the last pushing point. When there’s nothing left to say they turn to violence.”
“That’s what happens with Philip,” he said. “I related to him more than I expected to. He’s an underdog who’s been taken advantage of. He gets the opportunity to advance his career and to take down the big guy while he’s doing it. It’s been a lot of fun with this character to go to places where you usually don’t.”
“We joke around that Philip and Mary are the jerks and the bad guys but when I play him I think he’s the good guy because he just wants to get the stamps to where they’re safe,” Roghaar said. “It’s almost ethereal. He wants to get them above the earth and away from the unappreciative.”
“I think the cool thing about Jackie is that she gives back as well as she receives,” said Benson, a junior majoring in theatre education who plays the role of Jackie. “She is not a weak protagonist, and she is written to be very human.”
“I think it is harsh and shocking especially your first time watching it,” said Orchard about the violence in the play. “The thing I like about it is the fact that it’s so harsh and realistic. It is done very well so it adds to the performance; rather than taking the audience out of the scene it captivates them.”
Benson said she agrees.
“People should come see this play because going to the theatre requires an act of courage,” Benson said. “You are going somewhere to experience something new and to be presented with a story. It takes guts to sit through a play, to become involved in the characters and attached to the story. And this is a play where that will pay off.”
Mauritius opens on Tuesday and runs through Saturday, Oct. 6. The play begins at 7:30 p.m. every night and runs about two hours. The performance is located at the Blackbox Theatre in the Chase Fine Arts Center. Tickets are free for students and $8 to $13 for non-students, available in advance through the CCA Box Office, online at arts.usu.edu or at the door.
– liz.gabbitas@aggiemail.usu.edu