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A free night at the theater with Danny And The Deep Blue Sea

Written by Alysia Brooks, The Shorthorn staff

Thursday, 21 January 2010 06:03 PM

It’s not the usual “boy-meets-girl” story in the Theater Arts Department’s production of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.

Theater arts junior Stephen Tyler Howell and senior Tonya Free play Danny and Roberta, two people with troubled pasts who meet in a bar. As the play progresses, these characters reveal more about the lives and the reasons for their abrasive personalities.

The Theater Arts Department will show free performances of John Patrick Shanley’s play at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on Stage 143 in the Fine Arts Building. This production is the first play by Shanley, author of the play Doubt: A Parable, which won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for drama, and director of the film adaptation.

Theatre Arts academic advisor Natalie Gaupp, who is directing, said the play covers disturbing themes like sexual abuse, but the characters’ real-life problems draw the audience in. She said the key to the play is the contrast between the ugly facades the characters have and who they reveal themselves to be inside.

Danny And The Deep Blue Sea

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Where: Stage 143, Fine Arts Building north section
Run time: About an hour. No intermission
Cost: Free admission
Limited seating
No reservations taken
Arrive early for best seats

“They are really two very lost, very lonely children who redeem each other,” she said.

Howell was quick to reply when asked why he took on the role of Danny.

“The first thing that drew me to it was professor Natalie Gaupp,” he said. “Natalie asked me and I figured it must be something of substance, so I’d do it.”

Free agreed with him.

“It’s always a go if Natalie asks me to do something,” she said.

Theater arts senior Casey Hines is the stage manager for the play.

“I saw Tonya and Stephen perform it for the first time, and I knew it was a production I wanted to be involved in,” she said.

Hines is in charge of the behind-the-scenes work, her responsibilities include making sure that scene changes run smoothly and the show begins on time.

Theater arts senior Jason Archip is in charge of lighting design.

“What drew me to the production was the darkness of the entire show, which I’m kind of reflecting in my design,” he said.

The lighting creates a somber atmosphere around the characters, and even when they are spotlighted darkness surrounds them. In spite of having to give up part of her winter break along with the cast and crew, Gaupp said she would not trade the experience for anything.

“I like to think of my students as doves,” she said. “We do the best we can for them while they are here, and then we set them free. So many students here in our department take my breath away.”
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