From the pages of a classic novel to the lights of the stage, the well-known story of “Pride and Prejudice” made its way to the Colorado Mesa University (CMU) Moss Performing Arts Center the first few weekends of November.
“Pride and Prejudice” is a story about a family with five daughters, who all feel the need to marry rich due to financial difficulties. The plot revolves around one of the daughters, Elizabeth, and an eligible bachelor named Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. The tale chronicles how they overcome their initial first impressions of each other and eventually fall in love.
Student Ryland Mahre, who played Mr. Darcy, said that the workload for the play was difficult to balance but that the ability to find joy in acting was worth the stress.
“We rehearse about 20 hours a week for a month, then closer to 25 as we approach the show date. It’s basically a part time job. So while it consumes most of your free time, it’s definitely worth it to finally get up there and perform,” Mahre said. “Getting to inhabit a character for a live audience is an addicting sensation. I wouldn’t give it up for the world.”
Director Jill Van Brussel said that the performances of “Pride and Prejudice” went very well.
“I think the response varies from night to night, in terms of how [students] find the humor of it. People are very responsive to the romantic aspect of it, which I think is very well done in this production,” Van Brussel said.
She also said that the process of directing a play requires a large amount of brain power due to the sheer number of various elements at hand, and the intricacies they all present. She said that costuming, sets, lighting and music of “Pride and Prejudice” all played a big role in the overall production, and trying to keep them all together is challenging.
“You’re kind of like the conductor of an orchestra […] you have your attention on the actors and where to stage them [and] how to move them around the stage,” Van Brussel said. “You’re also looking at the costumes and how those are going to serve the storytelling and getting those built in the shop.”
At the same time, is that challenge is really stimulating it’s really exciting. I’m a big fan of chaos due to all these characters and the story is dear to me,” Van Brussel said.
She added that “Pride and Prejudice” is a story that means a lot to her, and that putting together a staged production was a very rewarding experience.
“I’ve known these characters for a long time, so the chance to actually get to work on bringing them to life with our particular group of actors that we have in our department is joyous, really fun, really exciting.”
