Posted: Friday, May 13, 2005 10:00 pm
LBCC stages Peter Ustinov's 'The Unknown Soldier and His Wife'
By Heather Crabtree
The Entertainer
ALBANY - Staging a journey from the Roman Empire to modern day is not a simple task. The sets can be kept simple, making it easier to move from scene to scene, but period costumes and props are also needed, creating a challenge for production and cast in coordinating changes.
Costumer Cynthia Mintun and Bruce Peterson, Linn-Benton Community College's scene and technical director were charged with the creation and coordination of props for Peter Ustinov's "The Unknown Soldier and His Wife," LBCC's latest production that opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 20.
Additional shows will be at 7:30 p.m. on May 21, 26, 27, 28 and 29 and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 29.
Mintun, working with The Costume Loft, has designed about 80 period costumes for 13 actors. Peterson, with the help of students working in the theater workshop, has constructed props ranging from Roman Legionaires' shields and spears to medieval crossbows and World War I era rifles.
"It represents an awful lot of work for a brief moment on stage," Director George Lauris said. "Some of this will only be seen for 10 minutes on stage, then it will be gone,"
When production of the props and costumes are complete, Lauris will have to decide how the cast is going to handle the costume changes as the play moves from one time period to the next. He hasn't made final decisions on how the exchanges will be handled. He is even considering setting up dressing rooms just offstage, and most of the changes are fairly quick, he said.
Ustinov's play was published in 1967. His desire to write "The Unknown Soldier and His Wife" stemmed from his service in the British Army during World War II. His service stimulated his curiosity about the cycle of war and peace, and he depicts those cycles in the play. Ustinov's work is a historical romp that deals with the feelings of the title characters as everyone around them is marching off to war.
Although the play is funny, it does deal with a serious subject, because Unstinov is trying to answer why war keeps happening over and over again, Lauris said.
Cast members for "The Unknown Soldier and His Wife" are Amanda Adams, Erin Bartelds, Mischa Brittin, John Danton, Hans Eleveld, Adam Elizarraga, Eric Nepom, Amanda Rickenbach, Travis Weiner, Andrew Darling, Lindsey Earp, Tara Earp and Tom Sabatino.
If you go
WHAT: "The Unknown Soldier and His Wife," a play by Peter Ustinov
WHERE: Linn-Benton Community College's Russell Tripp Theater (formerly Takena Theater)
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. May 20, 21, 26, 27 and 28. A matinee performance will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 29.
COST: $8, regular; $6 for students and seniors. Prices for Economy Night on Thursday, May 26, are $4, regular, and $3 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at the theater box office from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, at Sid Stevens Jewelers and Gracewinds Books and Music.