Theatre VCU Presents 'The Elephant Man'

By Tom Gresham

Casey Biggs has been on campus this semester serving as director of Theatre VCU’s production of “The Elephant Man,” which opens Friday. It is Biggs’ second stint as a director at Theatre VCU. He previously helmed the 2006 production of “Three Sisters.” Biggs is a veteran TV, stage and film actor who has directed a number of professional productions in New York and Los Angeles, among other locales. He said Theatre VCU creates a thoroughly strong product from its set design to its costumes to the actors on stage.

“What is astounding to me is how professional every department here is,” Biggs said.

“The Elephant Man” details the story of John Merrick, a hideously disfigured man in 19^th century Victorian England who was also intelligent, artistic and sensitive. Merrick was outcast and despised because of his appearance, though he found supporters, especially the physician Frederick Treves, who rescued Merrick from a sideshow. The play confronts issues relevant in contemporary America, Biggs said, examining fairness, hypocrisy, class structure and society’s steadfast penchant for judging those who are different. He noted that stories are abundant in today’s news media of outsiders attacked vigorously because of their differences.

“The Elephant Man” is a period piece that required all of the members of the production to create an authentic sense of another time and place, and Biggs is impressed with the world that the students working on the piece have built. He said the students thrived on the small details that make a difference, such as a mastery of dialect.

“I would take this production anywhere,” Biggs said.

In Theatre VCU’s previous production, “R & J,” Austin Seay was called on to play the part of Juliet, the tragic figure from Romeo and Juliet. He thought playing a 14-year-old girl would be his toughest role for a while. Then he was cast as John Merrick.

Seay will play the part without the aid of prosthetics to demonstrate his disfigurement. Instead, he will rely on body work that aims to convey to the audience Merrick’s crooked form. He also will showcase Merrick’s vocal impediments, heightening the man’s acute differences.

Seay said the role provides very different demands than a part that is closer to his own life experiences, such as a young man in a Neil LaBute play.

“It’s about the challenge of putting yourself in that man’s shoes that you don’t have any connection to and then through the process you find that connection to him,” Seay said. “It really pushes you as an actor to be focused and dedicated to your character. It pushes you to do things that you never thought that you could.”

Biggs said that “The Elephant Man” typically features a cast of eight or nine actors and actresses with many performers assuming multiple roles. However, with the deep stable of talent at Theatre VCU, Biggs chose to fill a cast of approximately 20 performers, filling out even the smallest roles. Every actor’s work is important, he said.

“A play is only as good as its weakest link,” Biggs said. “If you’re a train conductor in a play, then that play is about a train conductor. These students understand that.”

“The Elephant Man” opens Feb. 10 with a 7:30 p.m. showing. Future performances include Feb. 11 and Feb. 16-18 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 12 and Feb. 19 at 3 p.m.

Tickets are $25 for general admission; $20 for seniors, VCU faculty and staff; $10 for VCU students with a valid ID; and $20 for individuals in a group of 20 or more. Call the ticket office at 804-828-6026, email at theatretix@vcu.edu or visit http://www.showclix.com/events/vcutheatre/tag/.