Saint Viator's stage goes to 'The Birds' in Greek play
Colorful costumes, slapstick comedy and wacky one-liners. It hardly sounds like the makings of a Greek comedy, but that's exactly what Saint Viator High School students deliver in presentation of their fall play, "The Birds," opening Thursday, Oct. 15.
"We're satirizing a lot of aspects of government and society, from taxes and laws, to corruption," says junior Hugh Tully of Hanover Park, who shares one of the lead roles with sophomore Jeremy Yoder of Buffalo Grove.
Both play sidekicks to the other lead role, shared by juniors Bryan Rapala of West Dundee and Zac Jones of Des Plaines.
The lead characters speak directly to the audience about how they are fed up with all the fraud and politics in their society and, consequently, travel out to a high land where the birds dwell.
There, they persuade the birds to set up their own kingdom, the Cloud Cuckoo Land, fight the gods and establish their own supremacy on earth.
"It's very silly humor about serious topics," adds junior Matthew Frank of Arlington Heights, who plays Epops, a king turned into a hoopoe by Apollo.
The bird chorus nearly steals the show. With their layered, multicolored costumes - self-designed by the student actors - and their ensemble scenes, they brighten up the entire stage.
"I love being a bird," declares junior Katie Boler of Inverness, who chose a lime green design for her role as an Australian kiwi bird.
Each bird represents a different species, and students researched their colors, spots and wing spans - not to mention bird calls - in creating their costumes.
"There is a great deal of physical humor and downright goofiness," says Director Kate Costello. "It's quite a contrast to last year's Shakespearean tragedy."
As an educator, Costello looks for teaching moments in the plays she chooses each fall. From its dialogue delivered in comic-patter, some of it in rhyme, to its satire of serious topics, Costello says students are learning more than delivering their lines.
"Just from a literary and historical point of view, it shows how much we had in common with the ancient Greeks," Costello says. "But it's the humor that carries the show. Some of the complaints of the main characters could have been written by Donald Trump."
Sophomore Fiona Conneely of Arlington Heights says the cast of more than 50 students loved uncovering the different themes of the play and their characterizations.
"We're all passionate about acting," Conneely says, "and since this play is not well known, we've become really invested in it. We're just having so much fun with it."
"The Birds" will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, Friday, Oct. 16, and Saturday, Oct. 17; and 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, at the school's Jeuck Auditorium, 1213 E. Oakton St., Arlington Heights.
Tickets for all performances are $5 at the door. For information, visit www.saintviator.com.