A twist on a classic Italian comedy will storm the stage of Dunham Hall Theater as the Theater and Dance Department opens its 2014-2015 season with a production of one of the earliest scripted comedies, “The Servant of Two Masters.”

Director Chuck Harper said this play comes from a style of performances called comedia — a style which he has a great deal of experience working with.

“It’s based on broad, stock characters and improvised scenarios,” Harper said. “It’s a big goofy comedy that was meant to be performed outside on traveling stages; it’s silly theater for silly people. We are always looking out for our departmental majors; we want to do a wide variety of performances so part of their education is doing different styles and this is one we hadn’t done for awhile.”

Harper said this famous comedy is most known for the table scene.

“‘The Servant of Two Masters’ is about this goofy servant who decided he can make more money and get more food if he becomes a servant to two different people. But he can’t let the other two know about each other, or he’ll wind up getting fired,” Harper said. “The big scheme of this play is when they both end up at the same inn ordering dinner at the same time. It’s a very famous scene. It’s a lot of fun [and] it’s a lot of choreography.”

Senior theater performance major Josh Funneman, of Teutopolis, is playing the role of the servant and describes it as his dream role.

“There is a line in the show that says, ‘He’s either incredibly stupid or really, really smart’ and that best describes my character,” Funneman said. “The entire action of the play is driven because he’s hungry, and he’s trying to get food, and this leads to a whole lot of nonsense.  This has been my dream; I’ve been performing in plays at SIUE since I was a freshman and this is the most ‘Josh Funneman’ role that has ever existed.”

Harper said the play runs 2 hours and 15 minutes, which is long for a comedy. However, it is a fast-paced production.

“If it slows down at all, the audience gets ahead of it and it’s not as funny,” Harper said. “For the actors, they have had to get the lines to the point where they can do them fast. That’s been a real challenge; getting to the point where they feel comfortable enough with their lines so they can improvise, play and feel free to go a little bit crazy.”

Harper said the casting process for this play was easy compared to previous productions.

“A lot of times when you cast a play, you need people who are age appropriate, or certain physical types. With this one, I didn’t care what anybody looked like, I just wanted to know who was the funniest,” Harper said. “I think it’s a good opportunity for students to play certain types of characters they wouldn’t normally get to play. In this one, we’ll just put on a goofy costume and give you some makeup and a wig and you can play anybody — as long as you’re funny.”

Head of design and technical theater Laura Hanson said the costuming team is building the costumes from scratch for this contemporary take on a historical play.

“I looked at 18th century fashion as part of my research. I also looked at more contemporary clothes that use 18th century detail. I let my imagination run wild,” Hanson said. “It’s interesting to me as the designer that I could really put some of myself and my imagination into it; mix contemporary fabrics and shoes with a little tweak here and there that are 18th century.”

Hanson said when she thinks of the comedia style of productions, the overriding image that came to mind was a diamond pattern.

“That will be my unifying feature here; we want it to be bright and bold,” Hanson said. “Everyone is going to have diamond patterns in their costume; they will be different sizes and colors, but that is the unifying feature for the design. It was really fun to shop for because it was like, ‘Where can I find all of these bright diamond patterned fabrics?’”

Hanson said productions are not all fun and games. There is a lot of work that goes into it as well.

“In addition to doing the research and buying the fabrics, a costumer is also responsible for every pair of shoes, socks, wig and makeup design; that’s all part of the overall look of the character,” Hanson said.

Harper said the set for this play is not huge, as the production was originally written with no set.

“The set can be as big or small as you want,” Harper said. “It’s written into the script that the characters tell where they are; they will say something like, ‘Well here we are at the inn.’ We’ve created a set; it’s not a huge one but hopefully it’s created in the same spirit as the costumes. We made it as an Italian street scene that has this updated feel to it.”

Hanson said the production team wanted everyone involved in the production, including the audience, to enjoy themselves.

“The way we are presenting it is to have fun,” Hanson said. “We aren’t trying to get across any serious message here, it’s pure entertainment. It’s fun, it’s silly and it’s a laugh a minute.”

Funneman said everything about this production gives audiences a reason to enjoy it.

“Do people still like laughing? Because if people still like laughing at stupid humor, there is something in this show for everyone,” Funneman said. “People are going to walk out with a big smile. This is the show, they need to see it and they will be very disappointed if they don’t. And bring your sunglasses;­ the costumes are outrageous and bright.”

Harper said there is only one reason to see this play — to have a good laugh.

“I do all kinds of plays,” Harper said. “Sometimes they are deep and philosophical and ask really big questions. In this play there is no deeper message or call to action, you don’t have to think about anything at all. It exists for one reason only, and that is to make people laugh.”

Article/ Layout design by Caitlin Grove

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