Fuddy Meers: Comedy and technical triumph

Photo by Davi Soesilo

Claire (Rachel Swartzendruber) interrogates Millet (Matthew Pearson) regarding her past during a rehearsal for Fuddy Meers.

"A housewife with amnesia. A puppet with a past. Seriously funny theater." This should sound familiar since the tagline can be seen on promotional posters all over campus for "Fuddy Meers," EMU's upcoming theater production.

"Fuddy Meers," directed by EMU theater professor Patrick Reynolds, is a contemporary comedy that focuses on a housewife, named Claire, with a strange variety of amnesia. Whenever Claire goes to sleep, her memory is erased and she wakes up with a blank slate. For anyone who has seen the movie "50 First Dates," this may sound familiar since it is the same form of amnesia suffered by Drew Barrymore's character. The comedy follows Claire as she humorously tries to regain her memory.

The production is Davi Soesilo's senior theater project. Soesilo designed the lights, set and sound for the production. And he didn't hold back. Actor Rachel Swartzendruber said that the show is "so tech heavy that [it is] really going to show people what good design can do . . . the dedication of Davi is just phenomenal."

The set requires four different scenes, Soesilo said, which had do be accomplished without wing space to hide pieces or a fly system to drop elements down from above. Nor did they have the budget for a revolving stage - just the wheels would have wiped out their budget. Soesilo's challenge was to devise a way to create that effect within the show's budget.

Soesilo's solution was to break down the set into smaller elements with the reslt of a four piece set with two pieces that rotate. According to Swartzendruber it takes the entire cast and crew to turn everything around. Stage directions indicate that the set mirrors Claire's mind as it falls apart.

Soesilo has been working all-nighters getting the set ready. and said he is lucky to have friends that help him out. Although he has a full semester load, he said that professors recognize that he'll miss some classes.

The play, written by the award winning David Lindsay-Abaire, will be performed in the Mainstage Theater beginning November 10. The production will run this weekend and the next, November 10-12 and 16-18, and all show times are at 7:30 p.m. A word of warning for those who attend: there is occasional language and subject matter that is intended for mature audiences.

Reynolds said that violence is more cartoonish than anything, the type that involves spraying whipped cream at people or threatening with egg-beaters. However, because it deals with a victim of domestic abuse, the show would not be appropriate for young audiences.

Soesilo recommended that students get tickets early since many were turned away disappointed from the last two plays. Students get one free ticket apiece. Anticipated run time is two hours.

The cast includes Michael Stauffer, Rachel Swartzendruber, Matthew Pearson, Colt Nutter, Jake Ressler, Hannah Gehman, and Shakema Taylor.