Dripping with sweat and caked in makeup, a small group of students toils late into the night. They've been working on the play, "Love's Fire" since December, and now opening night is close at hand. Things are tense, the cast is on edge. On Feb. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in Strother Theatre, it will be showtime.
But for now it's dress rehearsal.
In the middle of a scene, a voice came from the outer darkness. The actress lifted her hand over her eyes to see past the blinding spotlight.
Assistant director of Theatre and Dance Kyle Matthews asked if characters like hers would wear ponytails.
"Why, why wouldn't they?" Director Tom Murray responded.
"I don't know. I mean she's kind of motorcycle, you know? It just feels kind of inconsistent," Matthews said.
This is the sort of thing that most Ball State theater patrons don't get to see. This is how it all comes together. This is the making of "Love's Fire."
"We've been working on this play for a long time now, I think it's been pretty rewarding." Tom Murray said.
Murray, a Ball State senior is not a virgin to the world of directing. "Love's Fire" will be the fifth time he has sat in the director's chair while at BSU.
"This play is totally different than anything else you'll see at Ball State. For one thing, it's written by seven playwrights." he said.
William Finn, John Guare, Tony Kushner, Marsha Norman, Ntozake Shange, Wendy Wasserstein and Eric Bogosian each wrote one of the seven short plays that make up "Love's Fire."
In the production, each play is unique, but each is united in a common theme: love. Or more specifically: love as it is expressed in the sonnets of William Shakespeare.
"How it worked was each writer was sent a sonnet that they used as a basis for a short play. Each playwright has a very distinct style so you get a very different view of love in each one."
Costume designer Nicole Rudolph is a junior at Ball State. She had the complicated responsibility of clothing the actors who were bringing the sonnets to life. This is complicated because each actor plays multiple parts.
"I sewed 50 different costumes for this play. I didn't have a Christmas Break this year." Rudolph said.
Rudolph said she has worked very carefully so as to avoid any possibility of a wardrobe malfunction.
But in a production, everyone has to be careful, not just actors and costume designers.
Alex Santori is a stage crew member. She said moving props on and off the stage has taught her a great deal about the nature of the theater.
"You have to understand that every aspect of the performance is important." Santori said.
Tickets for "Love's Fire" are currently on sale. For more information, contact the Ball State University Department of Theatre and Dance Box Office at 285-8749.
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