The School of Theatre and the Oklahoma Children’s Theatre are putting on a coproduction of To Kill a Mockingbird.
This production will be the first theater main stage show of the year, following the Aaron Sorkin script, which is currently on Broadway.
After facing brief legal issues regarding the rights to the show, the School of Theatre was told to use the Sorkin script instead of the original script written by Christopher Sergel. Director Elin Bhaird said she found it weird the Sorkin lawyers wanted them to use the same script that is also being shown on Broadway currently.
“We were doing the original version, and we received a really nasty letter from the attorneys for the Broadway show after we had already received the rights to do the show,” Bhaird said. “They were saying that we couldn’t do the show and threatening to sue and fine us; there was a huge stink across the country about them pulling the rights to this. It was decided that any non-professional company that had the rights to do it before the letters went out could, but they had to use the same script as the version on Broadway.”
As a coproduction with the Oklahoma Children’s Theatre, the cast consists of actors from both OCU and OCT.
“This particular show is college students and adults from our touring production,” Bhaird said.
Gareth Forsberg, acting senior, is portraying the role of “Boo Radley.”
“Boo Radley is this iconic boogieman character, and the way I see it is that the show is about discrimination and human connection within that,” Forsberg said. “Tom Robinson is discriminated against based on his race and his skin color, but Boo Radley is discriminated against because of his past or the rumors that neighbors have about him. While it is not the same beast, Boo Radley is there as a reminder that it isn’t just about race, it’s about how humans treat other humans.”
While this show has been in the works, a recent incident with racist terminology has affected the cast and crew’s outlook on the show, Bhaird said.
“I have talked to the students within the show because there has been a lot of stuff going on on campus lately, and there have been some administrators on campus who have been a little bit wigged out about the coincidental timing between these issues and the show,” Bhaird said. “I asked the theater students how people have been reacting to it because there is some really rough racist language within the script due to the topic and setting. So I asked the students in the show about how they felt audiences would respond to the show with the issues going on within the campus community, and they all said they believed people would be able to distinctly separate the two because the show is an artform and it’s expressing the climate in the setting.”
Due to the nature of the language used within the show, Bhaird said there will be a warning included within the program informing audience members about the more intense moments and language within the show.
Megan Berning, acting junior, is playing “Scout.” Berning said the show is an opportunity for those involved to make a statement on campus about the further change the school still needs.
“As theater performers, we are here to tell the difficult stories. I know for me, my hope for this show is that people will take a look at their own lives and see where they can improve,” Berning said. “I think a lot of these situations arise because of ignorance, which is an explanation, but not an excuse, and I think there are some characters in the show who are also ignorant. I think this show specifically will have the OCU community take a look at our actions and think to ourselves, how can we be better, because there are definitely still ways we can do that.”
Because of the heavy subject matter this show covers, it was decided to include talkback discussions after the evening performances to discuss the show’s topics with community members who have faced such issues.
“The show tells a very important story, but it is mostly white people telling the story. So I think we want to give people of color the voice that they deserve with the show and tell the story in a way that does it justice,” Berning said. “I believe we are bringing in professors, actors and community members to speak with both the audience and the cast after the evening performances, but I think mostly it is a dialogue with the audience members.”
School performances will start at 10 a.m. from Oct. 23-25 as well as regular performances at 7:30 p.m. from Oct. 23-26 and a matinee at 2 p.m. on Oct. 27 in the Burg Theatre in Kirpatrick Fine Arts Center.
Web Editor Luke Barrett is in the show. He was not involved in the writing of this story.
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