Senior Eliana Sigel-Epstein, director of Pen, Paint and Pretzels' (3Ps) fall major show, "Uncle Vanya," is the first to admit that the play is of a very different mettle from, say, a James Cameron movie. "Not much happens in this play," Sigel-Epstein said. "It's pretty much a day in the lives of [the main characters]."
For Sigel-Epstein, the draw of Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" lies not in the story, but in the storytelling. "A lot of people think Chekhov's plays are about boring people sitting around, talking about how sad they are. But the play is more than that to me," Sigel-Epstein said. "It answers the most basic question: How does one live amidst troubles that occur?"
In the show, which opens tonight, Professor Serebryakov (sophomore Jacob Passy) and his beautiful wife Yelena (freshman Kelly O'Hara) return to their family estate at the beginning of the summer after a long hiatus.
The arrival of these two outsiders creates friction between them and the people who already live on the farm and spend the year maintaining the land. Filial ties and romantic interests stir up conflict and painful emotions for the characters.
"Uncle Vanya" discreetly addresses complex subjects through an existential lens. The play tackles relationships, mid-life crises, regret and even environmentalism.
"[‘Uncle Vanya'] is about trying to find some sort of center or orientation, something to hold on to when it feels like everything is unstable," Sigel-Epstein said. "The purpose of life and how to deal with sorrow are at the center of the play."
Sigel-Epstein expects audiences to identify with that struggle to find an anchor in a constantly changing world and stresses the topical nature of the play. "The play was written about 110 years ago, but to me, the characters are very much relevant," she said. "[‘Uncle Vanya' also] deals with beauty and the problems it causes — [that's] certainly a timeless issue."
The director also hopes Tufts students will appreciate "Uncle Vanya's" activist strain. "One of the really important characters in the play is a doctor who is really concerned about the environment, the depletion of forests and earth turning into a wasteland," Sigel-Epstein said. "He tries his best to create forest preserves and to conserve."
Senior and dramaturge Troy Bedik has worked with the cast and crew to incorporate and highlight these ecological themes in the production. Most immediately obvious are the tall, birch-like trees that stretch from the stage to the ceiling, which, in their simultaneous scarcity and majesty, correspond to the threat of deforestation that the doctor, Astrov (played by senior Jack Esposito), laments so frequently.
In one of his many tirades, Astrov says, "You all recklessly chop down forests … the same way you recklessly destroy a human being."
Citing Astrov, Bedik acknowledges the link between environmentalism and the interpersonal exchanges in "Uncle Vanya." Since Bedik wrote a paper last semester on ecofeminism in Chekhov, she is particularly interested in the parallel Chekhov draws between man's treatment of nature and women. Her favorite quote from the play is listed in the program. "It basically says that men destroy nature the same way they destroy women," she said.
She added, "The beauty of Chekhov is that so much happens [without seeming to]. So much of the play is subtext and what isn't said." Thus, audiences should have no problem discerning the undercurrent of hostility and frustration behind the characters' rapidly collapsing mask of quotidian civility.
In response to a mundane comment about the lovely weather, the show's titular character (played by senior Alex Cook) snarls back, "Lovely weather for hanging yourself." This juxtaposition between half-hearted efforts at normalcy and frustration birthed by a feeling of futility is a common motif in "Uncle Vanya." Many times the contrast has a comedic effect, like the deliberately long pauses characters take to portray situational awkwardness. At other times, the disparity is poignant, revealing the seamy underbelly of daily life.
The 3Ps' "Uncle Vanya" will be showing at the Balch Arena Theater at 8 p.m. tonight, tomorrow and Saturday. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased at the Balch Arena Box Office.
