When the lights go up on the Arthur Storch Theatre stage, a hospital waiting room is seen elevated approximately six feet off the stage floor. Fast forward to the next scene, a few years earlier, the six-person cast and crew members transform the floor, rolling panels and bringing out furniture to help the audience time travel to a different year.

It’s tech week for SU Drama’s production of “Next Fall” by Geoffrey Nauffts — their opening this weekend. The play tells the story of Luke and Adam, a couple with differences in religious beliefs whose lives are turned upside down after Luke ends up in a coma. Bouncing back and forth between the years 2005 and 2010, the piece tackles themes of unconditional love and familial drama.

When crafting the season lineup, Drama Department Chair Ralph Zito said the faculty looks to give students different learning opportunities through a variety of shows. Each year, they consider what stories have yet to be told so students have a range of theatrical experiences under their belt by the time they graduate.

In April 2017, Zito and other faculty members began brainstorming for the 2018-19 season. They decided that one of the five shows would feature gay characters. For Zito, it was important to select a script where gay characters wrestled with issues beyond challenges related to their sexuality.

“I wanted anyone in the audience to be able to relate to some of the struggles, even if the play presented it through the lens of gay characters,” he said.

Zito said as someone who’s gay himself, he knew he wanted to direct whatever play was chosen because he wanted to have active role in bringing the show to life on stage.

He chose “Next Fall” because of its timeliness, addressing issues including parenthood, career selection and tensions between faith and sexuality. The show also deals with the loss of loved ones — something that hits home for senior actress Kendra Kirby.

The cast, crew and creative team of “Next Fall” are in their final week of rehearsals. Haley Robertson | Asst. Feature Editor

On the day she auditioned, Kirby received news that her close friend had passed away. Trying to cope with her loss, she wasn’t sure if she still wanted to audition for the show.

But the mother of her late friend told Kirby that her friend would have wanted her to audition. Kirby was cast as Arlene, a character that she said is the “exact replica” of her friend’s mother. Throughout the rehearsal process, Kirby said she has drawn inspiration from her friend’s mother, hearing about what she went through in those final days.

“I want to pay homage to my friend and his mother and everything they’ve given to me,” she said. “So it’s been really great channeling that into Arlene.”

Michael Sloan, the only musical theater major in the cast, also draws from personal experience for his role as Brandon. Like the rest of the cast, he’s playing a character that’s older than he is, but he said age isn’t a barrier — for him, it’s about connecting with the character’s similar life experiences.

“The main thing that I’ve been able to draw from my life is putting aside personal differences with people for the greater good of somebody else,” he said.

For Sloan, preparing before every rehearsal is especially crucial for his more serious scenes. He said Zito allows the cast at least 15 minutes to warm up their voices and channel their energy. The first day the cast rehearsed in the Storch Theatre itself, Sloan said they spent an hour exploring how to project in the space — as a musical theater major, this show is one of Sloan’s only times not being miked for the performance.

The cast’s emotional preparation for the show began early in the rehearsal process, when the company read through the script line by line, noting what each character was thinking in every moment. Talia Fossum-Wernick, who’s playing the role of Holly, said taking the time to tablework the script was beneficial in helping to develop her character’s unwritten backstory.

Fossum-Wernick said the six-person cast has made the show easy to personalize, since she was already best friends with her castmates. She said the transition from offstage to onstage has been very smooth, considering the family-like chemistry that bonds the actors.

“It makes it more accessible to imagine the situations that these people find themselves in,” Fossum-Wernick said.

The dramatic scenes in “Next Fall” are complemented by the show’s humorous moments. The cast’s tight-knit, friendly dynamic helps these comedic scenes flow effortlessly, but sometimes the group has to remind themselves to reign in their energy.

At one rehearsal, Zito said the cast let off “a little too much steam” during a break — the run at that rehearsal wasn’t their best work, he said, because they didn’t take time to reconnect with their characters afterward. He works with the cast to find a crucial balance between the comedy and tragedy of the play while helping to alleviate any pressures the actors may feel from working on an emotionally-charged piece.

For some of the senior cast members, “Next Fall” is their final mainstage SU Drama production since they’ll spend their spring semester in New York City. Zito said he’s watched these students grow as emerging artists since they entered program and has learned more about them throughout the “Next Fall” rehearsal process.

“I think we all fall in love with the play a little more each time we do it,” said Kirby, who sees ending her time at SU with this production a “tying the knot on a nicely-wrapped gift.”

“Next Fall” opens Nov. 10 with a preview performance on Nov. 9 at the Syracuse Stage/SU Drama Complex on East Genesee St. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling the box office. A panel discussion and Q&A titled “Faith and Sexuality: Resolving and Living with the Conflicts” will be held on Nov. 11 after the matinee performance. Panelists include SU LGBT Resource Center Director khristian kemp-delisser, SU associate professor of religion William Robert and Zito.

Published on November 7, 2018 at 10:18 pm

Contact Haley: hrober03@syr.edu