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SCENE
| October 2, 2003| Send features
tips
Sail
to the Sun
The Yellow Boat, based on a true
story of a child with AIDS, opens tonight
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| The Shorthorn: Mark Roberts |
| Theatre arts sophomores Genese Aycock
and Cody Vaughan, senior Jennifer Rome and sophomore Anthony
Bowling (from left) rehearse for the Theatre Arts Department’s
play The Yellow Boat, which opens tonight. Theatre Arts
associate professor Andrew Guapp directs the play. |
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By Erica
Bryant
The Shorthorn Scene editor
Theatre arts senior Melissa Barnick says plays have two functions
— to entertain and educate. To her, The Yellow Boat, which
opens tonight, does both.
“That’s the best theater,” she said.
Directed by Andrew Gaupp, a theatre arts associate professor, The
Yellow Boat is based on the true story of David and Sonja Saar’s
son Benjamin, who was born in 1979 with congenital hemophilia and
later contracted HIV from blood transfusions. He died of AIDS when
he was 8 years old.
An art therapist helped Benjamin — played by theatre arts
sophomore Cody Vaughan — through his emotional difficulties.
That rehabilitation helped him transfer his physical and emotional
states into colorful drawings.
Benjamin illustrates his pain in the colors red, orange, blue, purple
and green.
“It’s a journey through the center of his guts,”
Barnick repeated from the play.
Gaupp said that Saar, impressed with how his son dealt with his
illness and used art to cope with dying, wrote the play based on
those experiences. The performance, which features nine cast members,
starts at 8 p.m. in the Studio Theatre, 137 Fine Arts Building.
General admission is $8 and $5 for students and senior citizens.
The show, which lasts 70 minutes, continues through Sunday.
The story begins with Benjamin in the afterlife recounting his childhood.
His mother tells him a story of three boats. The red and blue boats
leave and re-enter the harbor but the yellow one sails to the sun.
After questioning his parents about death and what happens afterward,
he said he wants to be like the yellow boat and ascend to the sun.
For this play, Gaupp said, he focused more on the visual aspect
of the set, mirroring Benjamin’s drawings. He said the production
is called a fantasy or dream play because it is told through the
child’s eyes. But cast member Barnick says the play is real.
“Everyone who sees this show is going to cry,” the theatre
arts senior said. “It shows the beauty of humanity.”
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| The Shorthorn: Mark Roberts |
| Theatre arts sophomore Anthony Bowling,
senior Jennifer Rome and sophomores Cody Vaughan and Genese
Aycock, from left, will perform in The Yellow Boat tonight.
The play is based on the true story of Benjamin Saar,
who was born with congenital hemophilia and died of AIDS.
Vaughan plays Benjamin and Bowling and Rome are his parents.
Aycock is Joy, a children’s hospital specialist. |
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Barnick said Benjamin’s story comes
alive through his art, which is projected on stage. The set, lighting
and costumes reflect his drawings, which the story revolves around.
Because the play focuses on a child with AIDS, Gaupp advises young
people to attend with their parents. He said the story could frighten
children, although the play is family-oriented and appeals to that
audience. Though the play is based on a serious matter, he said,
Saar’s humor balances the tone.
“That’s the point of meaningful theatre — to touch
people whether it’s happy or sad,” said theatre arts
senior Micheal-Ann Howard.
Humor, Barnick says, makes it easier to be involved in a production
that deals with such a heavy subject. The only challenge she faced
was preparing for the play.
Barnick is a member of the ensemble, a group of characters who play
multiple parts throughout the play. Remembering choreographed movement,
called blocking, was difficult. Combined with props, the feat was
exhausting, Barnick said.
For instance, a scene calls for the ensemble to throw colored ribbons.
An actor must know where and how to stand so the throwing looks
uniform.
Howard, who’s also in the ensemble, said blocking can be either
simple and complex depending on the scene. Adjusting to different
characters in the play is also a challenge because sometimes costume
changes last only three seconds.
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