
Celine Perron / Contributed Photo:
Alpha Psi Omega, the theater and dance honor society, holds a talkback with Dr. Angela Barlow as the moderator following the Thursday, Nov. 14, production of “Spring Awakening.” The discussion was between cast members, the audience and Barlow with the aim to reflect on the potential issues of the shame, fear, desire and sexual expression as depicted in “Spring Awakening.”
Shame, fear, violence, humor and sexual expression took the stage at Keene State College’s Main Theatre during the play, “Spring Awakening” this past weekend.
On Thursday, November 14, after the show, Alpha Psi Omega, the theater and dance honor society, sponsored a talkback with the actors to give the audience a chance to ask questions regarding the performance, but also the situations and depictions in it.
Such preparation came with the role to depict struggles that come with life-ending thoughts, sexual identity, domestic abuse and the curiosity about human interaction.
It was also a time for the actors to specify the mental process they individually went through to prepare for the performances.

Celine Perron / Contributed Photo:
A scene from the Keene State College production “Spring Awakening.” The play was performed Nov. 13 through the 16 in the Redfern’s Main Theatre.
Dr. Angela Barlow, assistant professor in the KSC department of sociology and criminology, led the talkback by illustrating the connection these past issues have in the minds of people today.
Barlow commented on how matters people still face and deal with today were also an issue in earlier times, homosexuality being one of them.
During the play, “We tried to take people away from the homosexual aspect and make a love scene to make it as believable as possible,” commented Ryan Daniel Demers, 2012 graduate, who played the role of Hänschen Rupert.
Demers added that his character had an understanding of who he was and what he wanted, helping him create the scene, even with the other character being lost in the unknown.
Jon Adams, KSC senior, played the role of Ernest Reinhold, another homosexual character in the show.
“There was so much applause and cat whistles and everything after that scene, that I thought, we have changed in so many ways to be able to celebrate homosexual expression or any sexual expression,” added Barlow.
Suicide was also a big issue during the time period of the play as well, Barlow said. Education was based off of intensive studying and forceful demands, Barlow mentioned.
She also stated that the teen suicide rate went through the roof between 1890-1910 because of the intensive education with an influx at the end of each term when students would receive their grades.
“It was definitely the hardest scene to get right,” Noah Hayden Carmel said, who played Mortiz in the show, “I really struggled with what goes through your mind leading up to the end.”
“I guess it’s more of wanting to stop living then to end your life,” Carmel said.
Carmel mentioned his character had no one to present him with chances.
His character, Mortiz, had been beaten by his father and failure at school led to the actions his character took.
Forest DeCoste, a junior at KSC, played Georg Dieter and Josh Bernard-Kriegl, a freshman, played Otto Ulbrecht. These characters demonstrated the necessity of friendship and support through times of need.
Incest and abuse were not far from sights at the show, as Martha and Ilse were forced to convey these messages.
![Celine Perron / Contributed Photo: Two performers in “Spring Awakening” enact a scene depicting homosexual expression. “There was so much applause and cat whistles and everything after that [above] scene,” Barlow said, “that I thought we have changed in so many ways to be able to celebrate homosexual expression or any sexual expression.”](http://keene-equinox.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/AE62.png)
Celine Perron / Contributed Photo:
Two performers in “Spring Awakening” enact a scene depicting homosexual expression. “There was so much applause and cat whistles and everything after that [above] scene,” Barlow said, “that I thought we have changed in so many ways to be able to celebrate homosexual expression or any sexual expression.”
Martha, played by KSC junior Tamar Teitelman, and Ilse, played by Abbie Leigh Brown, another KSC junior, used real-life struggles of their own to convey their characters to the audience.
“I had to take something in my own life closest to what she’s been through and work from there by deepening it through her words,” added Teitelman.
The character she portrayed (Martha) suffered through child abuse and incest throughout the show, displaying bruises of force.
Brown (Ilse), Martha’s friend who experienced incest as well, expressed that it was difficult to put herself into a situation she’s never experienced.
She added she made herself realize, “This isn’t the life I wanted to live,” making her character turn for support from friends. One of those friends is Thea, played by Allyson Doyle.
Abortion is an issue that the world and the United States still face today, according to Barlow, but faced in different ways than in the 1800-1900s.
She mentioned in the talkback that people would become pregnant and get married very young back then which is slightly different than now.
Senior Amy St. Louis, who played an adult woman and Paul Teitelman, who played an adult man, demonstrated their utmost concern for the events that happened as the play continued to flow.
St. Louis mainly showed concern during the abortion scene, which sends the young and innocent girl, Wendla (KSC junior Kristen Licht), to the grave.
Anna, played by KSC freshman Gabrielle Myska, added, “The abortion happens in this back alley, it’s dark out, middle of the night, it’s really secretive…. It’s kind of ‘hush-hush.’ ”
Although Myska was not the character who acted out the abortion scene, her words rung true amongst the cast on stage.
Sexual repression also happened in this time period Barlow added, which provoked Wendla to express the curiosity her character had during the supposed rape scene.
She said her character really does have no idea what could come but Melchior, played by KSC junior Taylor Jorgensen, knows more of the consequences.
As Dr. Angela Barlow stated, there are still connections of shame, fear, violence, humor and sexual expression with past issues that are on the minds of people today.
Haley Erdbrink can be contacted at herdbrink@keene-equinox.com