Brandeis Players put on 'Picasso at the Lapin Agile' last weekend in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater. The show, written by Steve Martin, features the characters of Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein in a humorous encounter at a bar in Paris called the Lapin Agile. Both men are about to have the idea that defined their careers; for Picasso, his painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, and for Einstein, his theory of relativity. The two men discuss the merits of talent and genius and interact with a bizarre cast of characters, including a barkeep and assorted lovers.JustArts: How did the Undergraudate Theatre Collective decide to perform Picasso? What are the great aspects of the play?

Lydia Flier: Tess and Bryan [Prywes '11 who designed the set as part of his senior thesis project] picked the play after several discussions relating to what type of set Bryan wanted to design for his thesis and what type of play Tess wanted most to direct. The play is great because it is by Steve Martin, who is able to use comedy to discuss some really interesting topics-such as genius, art and the 20th century. The characters are all fully developed individuals with a lot of personality, and it was fun watching everyone develop them and make them their own.

Tess Suchoff: Bryan Prywes came to me last semester and asked if I would direct his senior thesis. When I asked what show, he said he hadn't picked one because he wanted the director to pick so that they would be just as invested in the show as he. With that, I immediately suggested Picasso at the Lapin Agile after being introduced to it in my sophomore year of high school. The show discusses the great purpose of genius versus talent, relationships of men and women, and who will change the world.

JA: How did casting work for the show? What was the process?

TS: Brandeis Players takes part in common casting, which means we, along with the other UTC clubs, audition students together and then make our own lists to discuss together and ask the actors if they would accept the parts being offered to them. Because I am a big believer that the entire process of a show is a team effort, I involved my stage manager and assistant stage manager, Cathy Messier '12 and Nora Mitnick '12 respectively, help create the lists for both call backs and casting.

JA: What was the experience of directing and producing the show like?

LF: Producers do a lot of things -we reserve the rooms and help secure the rights, hold weekly production staff meetings with those people designing the set, lights, sound, costume, etc., design the advertising and the program, and various other things. Delegation is pretty important-especially with so little time to put up the show-in order to make sure everything is done well and on time.

TS: Directing Picasso was one of the most fun challenges I have ever experienced. Directing a show is easy when you have as amazing of a cast as I had, but, as with any show, you grow as a 'show family' and learn from each other. One of the most rewarding parts was truly working and growing with the actors themselves. I got to watch the character breakthrough the exterior of the actor and come to life on stage, filling the vision I had created for the show. I also directed shorts in An Adult Evening with Shel Silverstein, and assisted in high school.

JA: What makes this performance of Picasso at Brandeis unique?

LF: I think we brought a particularly close and united cast, that made the chemistry on stage come alive. We really became very close over the short rehearsal period, and I think that was visible to the audience. Also, Brandesians love geeky jokes, so the play was right up our alley. Even after becoming so familiar with the show, we still enjoyed coming to rehearsal or tech week and doing it all over again--which can be rare, but I think speaks highly to the quality of Steve Martin's writing.

TS: This performance is so unique because of our actors and prod staff. Our actors are so talented and have poured their hearts and souls into the characters to make our performance come alive. They all used different techniques to encompass their characters and it was so wonderful to watch as our production came alive. Our prod staff created such a fantastic set, beautiful costumes, amazing lights, and fun sound effects which became the glue to our show.





Editor's note: Bryan Prywes '11 is an Arts staff writer for the Justice.