Starting Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, the University of Wyoming Department of Theatre and Dance showcased David R. Slavitt’s translation of “Metamorphoses.”
Originally written by Mary Zimmerman, director Joel Shura concocted an exhilarating display of unique set and era.
According to the show’s synopsis, “This epic spanned fifteen books and reimagined approximately 250 tales from both Greek and Roman mythology, all united by a central theme of transformation.”
For Joel Shura, “Metamorphoses” is the first show he directed at University of Wyoming. According to castmates, Anna McClow and Chase Nylander, Shura specializes in improvisation – drawing from his former experiences doing clown work, as well.
“Getting to work with him is so fun,” McClow said. “He’s been really collaborative with us and has allowed us to work on exploring roles and characters in ways you would never think of.”
“I love working with Joel,” Nylander, a sophomore in the cast, added. “We’d come in the first 3-4 weeks and he’d have us just play around. We’d ask him questions and he’d say, ‘Don’t worry about me.’”
Shura’s liberating directing style was very evident, as the cast explained how comfortable they were in their roles, which carried over into performance.
“He really tries to level with us and brings humanity out of us in each of our roles,” Carson Almand added, who played multiple roles in Metamorphoses.
The rendition performed by the UW Department of Theatre and Dance cast entailed modern spins on ancient tales, and completely captivated the audience through perfectly-timed comedy, and a brilliant pull of emotion through both performance and set.
The set actually featured a pool and simple wooden structure that left the setting open to the imagination of the audience; and, of course, was painted picture-perfect by the accompanying light display, sound effects and talented cast.
“There’s a lot more that goes on than people realize,” said Carson Almand.
“We have to do things like prep towels backstage, and get kitty pools ready to be changing so water doesn’t get all over the floor.”
The cast explained that some routines had to be changed only within a week of the first performance, as the unique set presented obstacles for the actors to hurdle.
“We had to go into the acting studio with a bunch of tape on the floor to just kind of picture where it would be,” Nylander said.
“The water wasn’t in place until crew view, which is where the crew gets to come in and watch the show before they go backstage,” Anna said.
“So that was like the first time we had water, which was two weeks ago, so it was really scary getting the water put into place and being like ‘oh, we have to change so many things.”
Despite the complications, the water in the set was a unique and exciting way of engaging audio and scene while allowing the audience the freedom of imagination.
Chase Nylander said, “I think there’s so much versatility in water – I mean, you can make it a pool, a puddle and an entire ocean – you can make it really the setting of any scene.”
“I think it was super cool and such a testament to the word and theme of Metamorphoses.”
Props for set design go to Scott Tedmon-Jones and the rest of the creative team for providing a display that truly grasped the concepts and themes of the show.
The last showing of Metamorphoses was performed at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 29.
