For a director’s debut,
this play’s a doozy
UH theater takes on
By John Berger
a unique script
Special to the Star-BulletinNew director David Kleist could have taken the easy route in picking his debut piece, but he wanted a challenge.
"I wanted something classic but unfamiliar, because in community theater the scripts pick you. The path of least resistance -- and more ticket sales -- is either doing more of the same old thing or doing whatever happens to be in vogue at the moment," Kleist said.
"A lot of new scripts aren't good stories as much as lectures about somebody's political point of view. Another thing that works against us is political correctness. Everyone worries about who's gonna be offended. Give me a good informative entertaining story any time!"
He came up with "Acting is Believing," a classic piece of theater history and world literature virtually unknown in the United States. Written by Lope de Vega, a contemporary of Shakespeare still highly regarded in Spanish-speaking nations, "Acting" wasn't translated into English until 1987.
Kleist discovered it by accident and quickly decided it was the play he had been looking for.
"It was written in 1590, but has a lot of things in it that are just as popular today -- bad leaders being killed, good guys becoming leaders, love triangles. De Vega was poking fun at intellectuals and taking shots back at people who were critical of him for writing 'popular' theater. He included political commentary about the moral and ethical imperative to assassinate tyrants."
Kleist also relished the idea of working with a large student cast on a play no one knew. The number of characters required most of the cast to master several roles. The length of de Vega's script required Kleist to do some careful editing; the script still runs a little over two hours with two 10-minute intermissions.
For all the challenges, Kleist says that assembling the components -- script, cast, costumes, sets, sound and lights -- is similar to what he did for years as a contractor and cabinet maker."An architect gives you the blueprint, you assemble the materials, and you build. A playwright gives you the script and you create. You can feel a new kitchen, but it's not the feeling you get when you're able to take a playwright's story and make it jump off the page and touch the audience. There's no feeling in the world like that."
When Kleist first went to college, "100 years ago," he wanted to major in speech and drama and become an actor. His father decided a business degree was a better choice. Dad won out, but Kleist never gave up his dream.
More than 20 years later, he was successful businessman whose talent as an actor was acknowledged throughout the local theater community.
Kleist decided he wanted to be more than "an occasional amateur performer." He wanted to do it all, and he wanted to do it right. That meant formal training and a college degree. The production is Kleist's thesis project for a master of fine arts in directing.
"Going back to school is a strange thing to do when there's no money in directing community theater, but four or five years ago I was rebitten by the theater bug and consumed by a passion for the entire process. I wanted to direct, and there are places where you can't direct if you don't already have a degree or some sort of professional track record."
Kleist's family is also active in theater and supports his choice. He knows that his new career won't be easy, and that this may be the only time he'll be able to do a de Vega play in Hawaii.
"People ask why I would have 15 actors playing multiple roles in a play nobody's heard of. Because it's there, and because it's funny, it's tragic and I fell in love with the title. They're having fun working and I'm getting a hell of a workout."
Masterful ‘Acting’ entertains
By John Berger
Special to the Star-Bulletin
Acting is Believing, Ernst Lab Theatre, University of Hawaii-Manoa
IT'S reminiscent of Shakespeare but different. It's over 2 hours long but never seems to drag. David F. Kleist makes his debut as a director with an engaging production of Lope de Vega's 16th-century Spanish play, "Acting Is Believing," in the University of Hawaii at Manoa Ernst Lab Theatre. Kleist is directing the show in partial fulfillment of the master's degree requirements in directing. Last night's performance should earn him his degree with honors.
The place is late third-century Rome. The low-born but honorable soldier Diocletian (Hank MacCaslin) becomes Caesar. He and his court are entertained by a troupe of actors directed by pretentious but talented actor/playwright Genesius (Blake T. Kushi).
The first play within the play is about jealousy and is inspired by Genesius' desire for his troupe's leading lady, Marcella (Jeni Kido). She prefers Octavius (Kit Palmer), the hunk who plays the romantic leading man roles. The troupe's show suddenly implodes, with great comic results, when Genesius discovers that Marcella and Octavius have followed the example of the characters they're playing and eloped.
Jealous Genesius steps out of character and angrily tells Diocletian to send soldiers to arrest the couple. Diocletian and his court aren't sure at first that the outburst isn't simply a brilliant performance by Genesius, but Diocletian then takes offense at the thought that Genesius might expect a Caesar to play a Caesar in a play.
This becomes a recurring theme. What is "real" and what is "acting?" A day later the troupe attempts a play about a Christian rebel-martyr. Genesius attracts the Lord's attention while rehearsing and has become a Christian seeking martyrdom by the time he takes the stage. Once again things go awry as Genesius makes increasingly impassioned pleas for death while the rest of the cast ad libs desperately and tries to get him to follow the script.
Kleist and his large cast negotiate abrupt transitions from political satire to romantic comedy to grim tragedy with consistent skill.
MacCaslin is a strong romantic lead. He has an appealing leading lady in Kyra Dybbro Poppler (Camilla, a woman who befriended Diocletian when he was an impoverished soldier). Poppler's reactions to the others make her well worth watching. The kiss that formalizes the romantic relationship of Diocletian and Camilla was greeted with audience applause last night.
Kido and Palmer neatly fill de Vega's acid-etched roles of flighty prima donna leading lady and air-headed leading man. Edward J. Dyer (Maximian), Michael S. Lee (Celius/Albinius), David Mintz (Laelius/Lentulus), Lisa D. Niemczura (Rosarda), and Kalani Brady (Aurelius/ Fabritius) stand out in major supporting roles.) James Keawe Bright and Haden de Maisoneuve Yates die early but with plenty of comic panache as ambitious, morally corrupt villains.
Kushi is outstanding throughout. He morphs smoothly from buffoon to dolt to tragic hero with award worthy finesse. Simple but effective staging and special effects add to Kleist's entertaining debut production. It isn't familiar community theatre fare but certainly well worth seeing.
Acting is Believing
On stage: 8 p.m. today through Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday
