SUU’s Second Studio’s Spring Awakening was an obvious work of passion for many of the students involved. The students gave a fine performance and overall it was a good production – well acted and well directed.
However, there were a few rather glaring technical issues, some of which had the potential to ruin the show. There were issues with the sound design, and the volume of the backing tracks so at some points, minutes of lyrics and dialogue were unintelligible and lost in the white noise.
This production was a perfect example of design students being too artistic and unfortunately, not all of these designs were effective. Some of the most poignant moments of the show were the simple ones, in which the contrasting artistic vision of the multiple designers was not getting in the way of the message.
The choreography was beautiful and cohesive, but there were definitely moments where the actors forgot to act because they were so focused on the movement. In shows with smaller casts, and with such complex and intense themes it is important for the actors to remember their priority.
The stand out performance of the show was given by SUU Junior and Theatre major Tanner Mecham who played Moritz. In my opinion, it would be worth the price of admission to see his performance and the cast’s rendition of “the bitch of living”.
Before and after the show there were discussions and warnings about the content of the show. This was an important and intelligent decision and one that I truly admired and appreciated. This show was a relevant and poignant choice for the community it was performed for, and it was an overall successful production.
Story by: Madison Carter
maddie.shaye.carter@gmail.com
Photo by: Sam Staudt
