Carleton’s own Sock ‘n’ Buskin Theatre Company will be taking on The Elephant Man as its final show of its 2017-18 season. The show, written by Bernard Pomerance, is based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (known as John Merrick in the show), a man born with severe physical deformities living in the late 19th century. With the play set to open at St. James Church on March 16, The Charlatan chatted with Mary Sword, who is directing the show.
The Charlatan (TC): Let’s start with why Elephant Man? What drew you to that?
Mary Sword (MS): I proposed a few shows, and what really drew me towards Elephant Man was the fact that it was a real-life story but also that it was about curing the incurable . . . Just the fact that it was about curing the incurable and trying to overcome something that ultimately can’t be overcome, I found really empowering.
TC: What would you say is the number one thing a director should be mindful of when taking on a production such as this one?
MS: I really think that something you need to be mindful of is the time frame that you’re basing [the story] in. There’s many references to the fact that the show takes place in the 1890s. But you can put your own interpretation on it . . . What I really wanted was for the story to be the main aspect of the show. Not the costumes, not anything like that. The space that we’re performing the show in actually has a mural which depicts the healing of the leper, which is also about curing the incurable and I thought that was a really strong connection between the show and the space and how much it ties into the story. That’s something I really wanted to incorporate into the show.
TC: What challenges did you run into along the way?
MS: Definitely trying to incorporate everyone’s ideas. One thing I was really big on was organic acting, and so if an actor had an idea for a way they wanted to do a scene, it was just making sure everyone’s ideas were heard and tried. Ultimately, the show is a mix of everyone’s ideas, everyone who is in the show has worked incredibly hard. It was just trying make sure everyone’s ideas were heard and everyone said their piece and everyone had their input because I wanted it to be as natural as it could be for them.
TC: Why don’t you tell me a little bit about your cast. What’s it been like working with them?
MS: I have a very large range of ages and disciplines, they’re all Carleton students. I have six first-years, I also have a masters student, two fifth-years, one of my leads is a fifth-year . . . The cast has been absolutely amazing, they’ve all been very aware of the sensitive nature of the subject, they’ve all taken care to be sensitive about the topic. They’ve all been really good about incorporating new people, like I said we do have six first-years, and they’ve been really quick to just jump right in and get involved. It’s been a really good time working with them and I’m really pleased with the cast that I have.
TC: What can we expect to see with the show?
MS: You can expect to see a lot of interesting characters. There’s definitely a lot of interesting personalities in the characters of the show. You can also expect to see a really gut-wrenching story. I’m honestly going to be disappointed if audience members don’t cry, because it is a very sad story, and by the end of the show, there’s just this ominous feeling where you know that something is going to happen to the elephant man. Whether or not he can be cured, whether or not he’ll have to stay in the hospital forever, whether or not the doctor will succeed, there’s really a feeling of no one really knows up until the moment where it’s revealed what truly happens. It’s just a really ominous feeling that goes with that. We’ve incorporated that really well with the space by incorporating the mural that’s in the space that when the elephant man is thriving, that’s when the lights behind the mural are turned on. When he’s at his worst, the lights are turned off. It represents the incurable can’t always be cured.
TC: What influences did you take in while directing this production? Did you draw from the movie, other stage shows, from the book? What inspired you along the way?
MS: I haven’t actually seen the film, that was one thing I didn’t want, I didn’t want it to influence me. I’ve seen clips of it, but I haven’t seen the actual film. I’ve seen one stage production of it before, but this show is quite different from it. The one that I’ve seen was much more light-hearted. Something I really took influence from was music. I really like generally ominous scores, like just instrumental scores and that’s what’s in all of the scene transitions, and it’s played throughout many of the scenes. I just wanted that feeling of ominous terror.
TC: What has your Sock ‘n’ Buskin experience meant for you throughout your time with the company?
MS: I’ve been with Sock ‘n’ Buskin since my first year at Carleton, I joined it in the first month of my first year. I was cast in the show Doctor Faustus, and it was a brilliant introduction to the friendship company. Since then, I did three shows in my first year, I got on the board of executives, and I’ve been promoting any way I can. I’ve made my best friends in this company, and it’s really where I found my home at Carleton. I spend any time when I’m not doing schoolwork or actual work literally just doing anything for Sock ‘n’ Buskin. As I’m on the board, I hold a position right now with marketing where I market the company with my team members. Any time I’m not doing schoolwork, I’m with Sock ‘n’ Buskin and it means the world to me and it’s my favourite place on campus.
Photo by Meagan Casalino
