Jorge Bermudez (The Beacon)
By Jorge Bermudez, Guest Commentary
French dramatist Jean Genet asserts that the real world is full of artifice, which society accepts as "truth." In Genet's work, though, the artificial always breaks down, giving way to a much uglier truth - one that cannot be revealed unless the false truth also appears. This is one of the compelling revelations in the University of Portland's upcoming production of "The Maids," which opens at the Mago Hunt Center on December 6.
Written in 1945, "The Maids" is inspired by a notorious 1933 murder when two maids brutally killed their employers. The play presents the story of two sisters, Solange and Claire, who are involved in a deadly game that mixes one part ceremonial ritual, one part sadomasochistic pleasure, and one part murderous role-play. It collapses fantasy and reality and demonstrates Genet's love affair with what is artificial and fake. This has brought new challenges for the actors, such as mastering the principles of basic stage combat enjoyed by Freshman Education and Music double major Molly Kerns, who admits it has been "fun to learn how to kick someone in the face." Freshman Drama major Tori Dunlap, who portrays Madame - Solange and Claire's nameless employer, states: "The greatest thing about this play is the commentary on what kind of masks we put on. Throughout the play, the three characters are pretending to be something they are not, or are being what they think they should be. I think it's very applicable to our daily lives."
The essence of Genet's theater has been pictorialized by the image of man caught in a maze of mirrors, trapped by his own distorted reflections. Indeed, when approaching this play, director Andrew Wardenaar also utilizes a lot of period style as well as experiential sensation movement work to highlight a woman trying to escape from her own hall of mirrors. Senior Drama major Rachel Thomas, who plays Solange, says she has enjoyed "unraveling the layers of one of the most complex scripts I've ever encountered and making the discoveries."
Genet's greatest achievement has been described as dramatizing the intimate if contentious links between theater, power, and revolution. With "The Maids," Wardenaar hopes that his production will do just that: "pull the audience out of its safe place and put it back into a primal state."
Jorge Bermudez is a first-year graduate directing student. He can be reached at bermudez15@up.edu
