The lights dim, the incessant French music pauses, and all focus is directed towards the stage as warm lights pour into the black box theatre. Rhinoceros, performed by the acting conservatory from March 27-28, is a play renowned for its critique on the sudden upsurge of Fascism and Nazism during the events preceding World War II, and explores the themes of conformity, culture, fascism, responsibility, logic, mass movements, mob mentality, philosophy and morality.
Levvy Butler, a senior in the Creative Writing Conservatory, said, “I liked the style and the dialogue, I liked how they coordinated overlapping conversations and the speed of it.”
At the heart of the play is the evolving dynamic between two characters: the prideful Jean, played by Sevan Cash, a senior, and the kind-hearted, often-inebriated Berenger, played by Matthew Guthrie, also a senior. Their relationship is charged with tension, often highlighted through their comedic exchanges. As the townspeople slowly transform into rhinoceroses, symbolizing the spread of mass ideology, Jean and Berengers’ ideological differences come to the forefront. Cash’s commanding presence as Jean contrasted sharply with Guthrie’s earnest and bewildered portrayal of Berenger, making their scenes especially gripping.
The director embraced the play’s absurdity, incorporating dynamic staging that heightened the tension and comedy. The transformation sequences, in which the characters succumb to the rhino plague were particularly striking with the cast’s physicality adding to an unsettling realism to the surreal presence. The most notable and detailed of these transformations was Dudard played by Emma Yniguez, current senior, who’s descent into a rhinoceros showed many of the mind processes of some who may initially resist the herd mentality that arises with facism, but ultimately end up joining the cause. “It was the best senior show I could ever have asked for the cast was incredible. The crew was incredible, which is crazy, because we all work together and like, I feel like every show has at least, like, one or two problems this show, I couldn’t think of any, but, yeah, it was amazing the whole two months,” Yniguez said.
Dudard, who is an esteemed lawyer within the french provisional town, used a lot of legal and complex jargon. “When I first got the script, I did script analysis, so I went through all of Dudard‘s lines, and I had to find where the lawyer-ish areas were, because Dudard is a law graduate. So I looked up, like, a lot of laws and stuff like that that related to the lines. And then, yeah, that was really fun. A lot of the words I did not understand myself, so I took about, like, maybe three weeks to fully understand the lines and then just try to be professional.”
The technical elements of the production also played a crucial role. The lighting shifts mirrored the characters descent into hysteria, while the sound design underscored the growing presence of the rhinoceroses with eerie music, moments of loud thumping footsteps, and the incomprehensible rhino roars that increased in frequency during the latter acts.
Ultimately, Rhinoceros challenged its audience to consider the dangers of blind conformity. In a world where ideological extremism is increasingly prevalent and continues to manifest in people in positions of power in our country, the play’s message remains relevant as ever. The Acting Conservatory’s production successfully captured both the humor and the haunting gravity of Ionesco’s play, leaving audiences with much to reflect on.
Making The Yearbook