Portrait of an Artist: Brandon Weber produces, directs, survives

In an effort to explore the indigenous arts scene on campus, The News-Letter has decided to profile the previously unexamined student artists who have successfully showcased their works in the D.C. metro area. "Portrait of an Artist" will spotlight students who have contributed to the Hopkins arts scene. The piece will be written by the student him-or-herself in order to preserve the artistic integrity of the work, as well as to highlight the artistic process.

Being a part of the production of David Ives' Ancient History has probably been the most stressful and rewarding thing I've done at Johns Hopkins thus far. Though I wasn't involved in theater much in high school, I got started in college quickly after arriving in Baltimore as a freshman last August. Until recently, I had acted in plays for the JHU Barnstormers and Witness Theater, directed plays for both groups and also helped write the popular JHUconfessions play for Witness last Intersession, but I had never taken the helm of an entire production before.

I had co-directed another play by David Ives this fall for the Barnstormers' Freshman One Acts and read other works by him, and I wanted to see what it would be like to run an entire production of a play of his that I had really enjoyed reading and felt was very relatable to both me and the "modern college student."  That play was Ancient History.

It follows the lives of Ruth and Jack, a couple in their mid-30's living in New York City. They seem perfect for each other, as the play opens in Ruth's bedroom the night of her birthday party, but, as it continues, the differences between them are brought to light, and things are not as perfect as initially perceived. It has a great balance between comedy, with many corny puns and humorous situations, and tragedy, where the relationship between the two characters falls apart, and they're left confused and vulnerable. It has an ending that, without spoiling it, reflects on the play itself and different cycles people take part in throughout life. It really reached out to me on a personal level, and I was compelled to bring that feeling to other people in the Hopkins community.

In mid-October, I approached Eric Beatty, the Director of the Homewood Arts Programs and asked him if it would be possible and/or feasible to produce a play independently of the established on-campus theater groups and if there was any budget left to help subsidize it.

He was more helpful than I ever could have imagined. After coordinating with the other arts groups, I was given a weekend of theater space in Arellano Theater (in Levering Hall), money to license the rights to the play and a small budget for props and set (which ended up more than covering my costs for the production).

I worked with a friend to design a poster and began advertising auditions, holding them shortly before winter break. I held auditions over the course of a weekend, call-backs the next weekend and rehearsals began shortly after Intersession started. Since the show only calls for a cast of two people, rehearsals were very intimate, as I got to work one-on-one with each actor when needed, and scheduling was also more convenient.

It was a long process, and it seemed like the further we worked into the play and the closer it got to opening night, the less sleep I was able to get. While serving as director of the play, I also worked as producer and created a budget for the various props and set pieces needed, procured said props and set pieces, worked with the set and light designers to create the overall aesthetic value for the play, continued meeting with Eric Beatty about the show's progress, scheduled and reserved rooms for all rehearsals, designed the show's program/playbill, created a team to help publicize the show and served as stage manager until tech week. By the time I even began to design the sound for the play, I was understandably exhausted.

All of the hard work paid off, though, as almost eighty people came to see Ancient History between the three nights it was performed in the Arellano Theater. They even seemed to enjoy it! I was very impressed with the entire production as a whole, and I was surprised how much the ending really got to me emotionally every time I saw the play (even during rehearsals) without losing its poignancy and vigor. I had to end a rehearsal early once to recover from the emotional intensity of the last scene (and I could tell the actors could use some time to recover from it as well).

One of the actors got sick a few days before opening night and almost wasn't able to perform or speak loud enough to hear in a theater, which prompted an afternoon full of running back and forth from the Digital Media Center trying to hook up a wireless lapel microphone to the Arellano sound system, which ended up not even being necessary.

All in all, though, it was a huge learning experience and something I'm very proud to have helped to come to fruition. My tech crew, actors and friends that helped in various ways (even if just to calm me down after a particularly stressful day) are all wonderful people and should be proud of themselves as well.

For right now, I'm looking forward to finally being able to sleep more than a few hours a night, but I'm also excited for whichever theater project I end up involved with next.