The Department of Cinematic Arts and Theatre brings to the stage “Melancholy Play” by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Ty Hill.
The CAT Department presented Melancholy Play by Sarah Ruhl in the George S. Lindsey Theatre on April 10 through April 13. UNA alumnus Ty Hill directed the play. He graduated in 2020 with a degree in Cinematic Arts and Theatre.
The show ran for approximately an hour and a half, with a ten-minute intermission. The cast featured Kennedy Ulat as Tilly, Artemis Griffie as Frank, K.P. Whisenant as Joan, Zeke Jones as Lorenzo, Rebekah Bungei on cello and Kennedy Edwards as Frances.
Edwards also worked backstage on costumes for the play.
“I actually designed costumes for the show as well, so that was probably my favorite aspect of the show,” said Edwards. “I loved getting to do that, and I got to learn about the production process a bit more as well.”
The set was dimmed with moody and colorful lighting, as well as many different-shaped windows along the ceiling. It also had two platforms set up, with one containing a couch and the other shifting from a dining table to an armchair throughout the show.
Tilly is seen as a very melancholy character at the beginning of the production, and because of this, the others in the play fall in love with her.
From her therapist Lorenzo, to Frances her hairdresser and to Joan Frances’s wife, each character is captivated by Tilly. Frank, her tailor, also falls in love with her and she falls in love with him as well.
The characters of the show view melancholy within Tilly and themselves as the play progresses. That is, until the day of Tilly’s birthday party.
She suddenly becomes overjoyed and happy with life, and those around her miss the melancholy she once had. Frances becomes so melancholy that she turns into an almond, and it is up to the rest of them to return Frances back to her human body.
