California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

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CSUEB’s “The Good Person of Setzuan” Highlights Strugles of the 99 Percent

The campus play used colorful costumes and props to
convey a mesage of hope during economic distress.

Staged three days after the election, the timing could not be better for a college rendition of German playwright Bertolt Brecht’s “The Good Person of Setzuan,” an unconventional play which critiques an economy based on greed, about making a living in the world while still trying to be considered a “good person.”

The story’s main objective is getting the audience to consider “can a thoroughly good person survive?” CSU East Bay’s Theatre and Art Department and director Corey Fischer brought the highly political play to life on the East Bay stage.

“The Good Person of Setzuan” opened on Friday in the University Theatre with a cast of 11 student actors switch roles and portray more than one character. As diverse as the cast is, their acting abilities range as well.

“There are some amazing, naturally gifted actors in the cast along with ones who have the potential to be great, but lack in experience,” said Fischer. The play opens with three gods, played by Belgica Paola Rodriquez, Alex Morales-Giacoman and Janelle Aguirre, who come to earth to find a good person, and they do, but it all goes awry.

The three gods had the look, but lacked forcefullness behind their characters.

The progressive play brought community members as
well as students to CSUEB’s University Theatre.

They had the god-like stature, given the stilted shoes and masks, but there was no power or assertiveness in their voice or state of being, as many other god-like characters try to portray; even with microphones in the masks.

The dramedy’s three main characters, Tiffinee Walker, Marie Ibarra and Nikhail AhPo, had a good sense of persona. They were the characters most seen on stage and had the most dialogue throughout the play.

Walker’s portrayal of Shen Te, the “good person”, was convincing, but like most of the women of the play, she lacked vocal projection.  Walker’s character showed the positive and negative effects of being a good person in a manipulative society and all the things that come along with being good amongst the bad.

She portrays a prostitute turned business woman.

The only actor to stay as one character throughout the show, Marie Ibarra, played Wang the Water-seller.

Wang is a poor man who is struggling with the gods to help find a good person, while also trying to sell water to make a living.

Ibarra’s character is skittish, anxious and is constantly running around.

The student performers were very active in using
their props to make music and beatbox about the
troubles of the 99 percent.

AhPo’s character was a product of the greedy and unforgiving society in which he lived.  The love interest of Walker’s character, Yang Sun the pilot, was an antagonist-meets-misunderstood lover.

While set director Richard Holmstead’s design did create a very unusual and fitting scene, it seemed more of an inconvenient distraction to most.

A few of the horizontal beams obscured the smoke shop sign and the screen behind the set.

Seats on the right of the stage tend to miss the Title slides, located on the left of the stage.

Brecht’s shows didn’t want to hide the fact that we are in a theater; the set had nothing to hide.

There was no masking, you could see the lights, almost everything was exposed.

Even a few of the costume changes were exposed; the original writer and  Fischer didn’t want the audience to have the film experience, they wanted the audience to remember they are seeing a show, in a theater, watching actors.

The musical scenes, while entertaining and creative, didn’t leave anyone wanting more.

Fischer said “Theatre without music is popcorn without salt […] there are a lot of unconventional musical aspects within the show.”

The cast used props to create drum and chime sounds. They also used beat-boxing sounds to make the music more modern and relevant.

A few of the women didn’t project their voices, and left some audience members struggling to hear.

Cheryl Honerlah previously starred as major character, Rosalind in “As You Like It” earlier this summer.

She took a smaller role as both  wife and waiter, this show. Her role was believable, but her vocal projection lacked and she seemed somewhat reserved and shy.

One standout actor, Jasmine Williams, gave a very convincing performance to her two roles as an old prostitute and the land lady.

Four years strong as a theater member at CSUEB, a true sense of spunk and authenticity was shown throughout the entirety of her stage presence.

Sean Hobbs made his theatrical debut on the East Bay stage. His roles as policeman and foreman gave comedic satire to the show, but didn’t give any real support to the show.

Brecht’s play’s usually involve the audience, and the play’s surprise ending gives an unexpected and exciting new twist.

As young students growing and as people in general deciding the type of people we are and are going to be, this play’s is quite relevant to our time.

Fischer said as his first time directing at any university, “There are very few plays that are relevant to our times. It was written in 1943, Brecht was very ahead of his time.”

A fable that asks the question how can an individual be good in a corrupt society, this seemingly left-winged play makes us think: Are we a country of every person for themselves, or are we society in which we take care of each other and are all connected?

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CSUEB’s “The Good Person of Setzuan” Highlights Strugles of the 99 Percent