by: Nicoline Hansen
The countdown has begun for the premiere of Elephant’s Graveyard, a show by George Brant, directed by Latrelle Bright.
Elephant’s Graveyard takes place in the small–town Erwin, Tennessee in the early 1900s. One day, a world-famous circus rolls into town via the railroad. The townspeople are more excited than ever.
The people are excited to see a ballet girl, a ring master, a strong man, a clown and of course the big elephants. What the town does not know is that things will never be the same after the circus’ visit. A horrific event occurs involving a tragic death and the town’s reaction is unimaginable. Caught up in their eagerness for revenge, morals come into play.
The show is built up of many layers with many interactions between the characters, something that ensures that the audience’s attention is always held. The size of the stage places the audience in the middle of the story, literally. To make the experience even better, the actors go out of their way to include audience members as much as possible by telling the story straight to them.
The many layers of the play do, however, make the play a bit confusing at times. The play is one of those stories where everything falls into place as the show progresses, so stay patient. I am positive that the props and costumes will eliminate parts of this confusion.
Despite some confusion here and there, the story line is captivating and leaves an impact. Prepare yourself for some intense minutes taking you through a spectrum of emotions including laughter, sadness, fearfulness and excitement. Emotions will even stick with you for a bit after the show.
Credit needs to be given to George Brant who created the show, but credit needs to be given to the actors, too. The show is brought to life by talented actors who clearly feel the emotions of their characters. The room during the rehearsal was full of passion.
After the rehearsal, I sat down with Natalie Deptula, who plays the 12-year-old young townsperson, and Melissa Goldman, who plays the ballet girl.
Deptula describes the show as, “crazy interesting. It [the play] never slows down and it’s an interesting message. There are lots of messages that are important in it. You have to be there to see it; You have to be there to understand it. Latrelle has done such a beautiful job with metaphors, with symbolism, with everything else that really brings this important event to life years and years later.”
The director of the show, Bright, shows great passion and interest in the show. She made sure, after the run-through of the whole show, to give each actor feedback and input on how to elevate the show even further.
“Latrelle is a great director. I’ve never worked with her before…. she makes you think about your character and she makes you think about the play in a different way than you would first read it,” Goldman said. “When I first got the script, I was like ‘Oh I’ll play the character like this’ and then when we came to our first rehearsal, she changed all of our though processes.”
It appears the actors have thought about their characters carefully. However, that is not always and easy task. “… I always try finding something in myself that connects back to it [the character] and so obviously you would be excited if the circus came… What has been difficult is… finding that line between what I actually think and what I have to think in the setting of the play. That has been difficult for me,” Deptula said. “But I think just evaluating what a young person’s view would have been then [1900s] instead of how I would see it now has been key…”
Goldman describes having faced her fair share of difficulties in the process of portraying her character. Goldman did not intend to end up with the role as the ballet girl, a role that she describes as being 100% not her. In fact, she auditioned for one of the towns persons. Goldman describes the ballet girl as more of a used woman who has gone through some hard times. Goldman, just like Deptula, found ways to connect with and relate to her character.
“It makes you think differently about the world and it makes you think about your relationship with people”
“I feel like me and her [the ballet girl] aren’t the same person, but I can relate to her fearfulness of innocence as a person,” Goldman said.
Elephant’s Graveyard sticks out from many previous plays done at Parkland College. Parkland tends to do a lot of comedies and more classic shows. This makes a great case for why you should go see the show.
“I feel like people should come see Elephant’s Graveyard because it’s a drama and an intense space. It makes you think differently about the world and it makes you think about your relationship with people, what’s right and what’s wrong, and how people connect with each other whether it’s today or in 1916,” Goldman said.
The show will run on Oct. 3, 4, 5, 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m. and on Oct. 6 and 13 at 3 p.m., both in the Second Stage Theatre. Make sure to reserve your tickets through Parkland College’s website. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for students, youth tickets, seniors, and veterans, and $16 for groups of 10 or more. Please keep in mind that you will get half price on your ticket on opening night.
