UT theatre students on point with play ‘No Exit’

When I sat next to Andrés Medina during UT’s production of “The Laramie Project,” I saw him as any other theatre major. I even had the pleasure of taking a film class with him last semester. But, right before the house lights dimmed for the show, Medina leaned over to me and expressed his excitement for the upcoming production of “No Exit.” He is the director of “No Exit” and he said to me with humble enthusiasm that “It’s kind of a big deal.” It is a completely student-run production — the actors, the designers and the young director, are all fresh and inspired students and Medina got me excited.
Months later I found myself once again at the Center for Performing Arts, Little Theatre. As I watched “No Exit,” Medina’s presence could be felt at each point of the show. The conceptual set design was very striking, the creation of fellow student William Collar. The set was all white. Three couches dressed the stage and the back drop was a large ascending staircase that twisted all the way up to the catwalk of the theatre. The never-ending staircase is reminiscent of M.C. Escher, and the minimalistic white set is, according to Medina, inspired from Peter Brook’s blank-canvas version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Surrounding the entire stage was a web of thin ropes, separating the audience from the performers. The ropes created the illusion of opaque walls, and which made the audience feel like they had X-Ray vision.
Suddenly the lights dimmed and a trap door appeared in the center of the stage—the characters entered … and they could never turn back the remainder of the play.
The play was about three deceased souls, played by Davion Brown, Olivia Pierce and the tragically hilarious Christina Pinciotti, who were trapped in a room with no exit. These unlikely characters would have to “exist” with one another forever in this room. I would be doing Jean-Paul Sartre a disservice if I tried to summarize his absurdist, existential play any further.
With absurd theatre like this, the success of the play depends on the actors, as they must appear to understand the logic of their own unusually — and unconventionally — written words and actions. The student actors were able to do justice to the characters.
“No Exit” is particularly challenging because all of the actors (with the exception of the Valet) are on stage the duration of the show. Once they enter, they can literally never exit. Even if they are not speaking, they must be aware of their movements at all times — it is existentialism at its finest. Through careful staging, the chemistry between Brown, Pierce and Pinciotti worked wonderfully. I found myself simultaneously listening to Pinciotti’s monologue while watching Brown and Pierce react. Each actor made their presence felt at all times and formed a cohesive group.
Medina handled his material with competence, and was able to stay faithful to the script as well as bring forth his own unique interpretation.
My only complaints were the sequences where the blackouts or music were used to portray the passing of time. In order for the existentialism to work, I think blackouts should be avoided just as much as exits.
Unlike “Henry V” or “Laramie” I found it very difficult to immerse myself into Sartre’s absurdist play. I felt a meta-theatrical, existential crisis, and I wasn’t alone. Other members of the audience seemed just as uncomfortable as me. It seemed like they were rudely shouting things at the stage just to distract themselves from having scary thoughts about their own existence.
At the beginning the characters in the play spoke about the ordinary things we all try hard to ignore, like blinking, breathing and sleep. Then they started panicking, desperately searching for a mirror to see their own reflection. This particular scene was done to show that, ironically enough, without mirrors, we are even more aware of ourselves and our existence. This is how they were able to dig deep into the psyche of the audience and make them question their own existence.
“No Exit” was a scary play, but splashed with humor, making it a delightful experience. It is a wonderful showcase of what UT theatre students can do.
Evan Sennett is a first-year majoring in film studies, and he is also an IC cartoonist.