| Players
to Perform 'Hedda Gabler' |
By Rebecca Plevin
Observer Staff Writer |
| It is clear that actress Karen Jadlos Shotts has worked
hard to understand and internalize her role as Hedda Gabler.
Sitting in the Industrial Strength Theater before rehearsal
Monday night, Jadlos Shotts searches for the words to describe
the character that has often been called the "female
Hamlet." |
| Her eyes sparkle like her stud earrings as she interprets
the heroine she has spent eight weeks learning to channel.
Jadlos Shotts explains that Hedda is trapped-by society, by
the times, by the fact that she is a woman, by decisions she
has had to make and the events that follow. "She is a
really complex woman in a trying situation," Jadlos Shotts
said. |
| Jadlos Shotts, who will lead the cast of "Hedda Gabler"
when the Elden Street Players' drama opens Friday night, said
she studied Henrik Ibsen's 1890 play and researched the era
even before she auditioned for the troupe's winter show. |
| "As soon as I'm cast, I worry I can't do it justice,"
she said. That sense of urgency inspires her to focus on the
character, she said, and makes her think, "Now I have
to really find this woman." |
| To better understand Hedda, Jadlos Shotts said she learned
as much as she could about the role and the playwright, and
she has dedicated time to discussing Hedda's intricacies with
director David Fallen. She said she is constantly learning
more about the character, her motives and her relationships.
|
| "While memorizing my lines I discover things,"
Jadlos Shotts said. She said she strives to portray Hedda
in a manner that is "as multidimensional as I see her." |
| Fallen said the role is referred to as the "female
Hamlet" because it is a difficult role that many actresses
aspire to play. The part is characterized by an element of
"underlying madness," said Fallen, who was a founding
member of Elden Street Players 20 years ago and one of the
company's first artistic directors. |
| Ted Culler, who plays George Tesman, Hedda's husband, said
Jadlos Shotts' rendition of Hedda has more emotional layers,
and is therefore more interesting, than typical interpretations
of the character. Culler said Hedda is traditionally illustrated
as a rigid and cold woman but, "our Hedda is more multidimensional
than that." In this production, he said, Hedda "battles
the need to be strong with some internal vulnerabilities." |
| "Hedda Gabler" is considered a classic play, but
Carla Scopeletis, who plays Aunt Julia, said it is by no means
a musty and dry text. "It is not just a classic stuck
on a shelf," she said. "It's a living, breathing
thing." |
| Scopeletis said the issues that Hedda faces in the play
ring as true today as they did more than a century ago. Hedda's
struggle to find her place as a woman in society "comes
to life on stage" and the difficulties Hedda faces are
"just as real today," she said. |
| Performances of "Hedda Gabler" continue through
Feb. 16 at the Industrial Strength Theater. |
