 "Photo: Michelle Long")
Director Thomas Riccio, cast and crew opened an engaging and beautifully executed interpretation of Karel Capek's 1921 play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) in the University Theater Nov. 8.
The play was an international success for Czech playwright Capek, and is credited with introducing the word "robot," derived from the Czech word "robota" meaning "forced laborer," into the cultural vernacular. The play was written in an atmosphere of increased industrialization after World War I.
Capek's robots are not machines, as the word implies today, but are simplified human workers constructed from manufactured biological parts.
Rossum's robots are first marketed as an inexpensive labor force and later utilized as soldiers. A newspaper read by robot rights champion Helena Glory (art and performance junior Lori McCarty) and her lady's maid Nana (art and performance senior Rhiannon Delano), cites 700,000 civilian deaths at the hands of robot soldiers in a single country, a clear reference to the stunning death toll of World War I.
Riccio said educating the actors about acting in a melodrama, the prevailing style of theatrical acting at the time R.U.R. was written, was a large part of the rehearsal process.
Each cast member contributed beautifully to the play. They adopted the melodramatic style with accessible poise, maintained a good balance between the expressiveness of the style and the gravity of the subject matter, and executed the tension-dispelling comedic moments without breaking the spell of the story.
McCarty's Helena is the fulcrum of the plot, and the play benefits from McCarty's own ability to mesmerize as she portrays the woman all the scientists and factory staff love at first sight. McCarty said she has the same thoughts as her character, and is concerned by the power of technology in modern society.
"Helena is a powerful and lovely woman and is not one to back down. She stands up for what she believes in. I think she's what all women want to be, in a way," McCarty said.
Art and performance junior Brad Hennigan (Henry Domin) said Domin is himself a machine until Helena appears, because his entire life is about the manufacture and sale of Rossum's robots.
"R.U.R. is not a science-fiction fantasy wonderland... it's an examination of what can be lost when technology and what it represents takes over and squeezes out other aspects of human life," Hennigan said.
Scene designer Dale Seeds has designed scenery or lighting for 175 productions, and his expertise contributes tremendously to R.U.R.
The exquisitely crafted art deco set utilizes the entire stage and creates many levels and entry and exit points.
Jeff Stover's lighting is another asset, as characters looking towards the audience are framed with shadows from the windowpanes, creating a remarkably successful illusion of a real window.
A rotating light projected onto a the ceiling-high clock, set to 9:11, subtly but effectively communicates the passing of time in the story. The halo of light that surrounds Helena Glory when she first appears is a great visual representation of the Helena's effect on other characters.
Frank Dufour teaches digital sound design at UTD, and composed all the music and sound effects for R.U.R. Dufour said the music intentionally transitions from human to mechanical as the play progresses and the robots reverse their circumstances.
The set design was inspired by Dufour's music, and this contributes to the cohesive aesthetic of the setting. The music also contributes admirably to the off-set action. In one act, Helena plays a piano in the "office," a place that seems real to the audience despite the fact that it's off-stage.
Capek anticipates many of the ethical and societal concerns about technology that would arise in the 20th century, but the inexplicable decline in fertility that sweeps the world as Rossum's robots are created by the thousands is particularly prescient.
The quality of R.U.R. reflects extremely well on all involved, and should be met with excitement about the thoughtful entertainment UTD can produce.
R.U.R. was presented in the University Theater Nov. 8-10 and Nov. 15-17 at 8 p.m.
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