Miss Julie - "What a Life"

The fall of 1985, My forth year at Brockport, would be my first year as both the staff Technical Director and Lighting Designer.

Our season that year was: Miss Julie, The Miracle Worker, Scapino and A Little Night Music.

Miss Julie by August Strindberg was produced in our smaller Black Box Theatre and directed by Oh Kon Cho.

The set was designed by a student and had been entered in the American College Theatre Festival which meant that the production, if selected, would have to tour.

I think this have been the first set that I built that was all hard covered flats instead of traditional canvas ones.

We used only hard covered walls when I worked in the photo studio but up to this point working in Theatre I had only used hard covered, or Hollywood Flats, for smaller special units.

Miss Julie

The floor was covered with 1 foot square tiles made out of Masonite with a 45 degree bevel on each edge.

Putting the bevels on was a pain and very messy and was done long before a sawdust collector in the shop.

Like most set pieces we saved them and used them again about four years later for the floor in Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.

We had to make about a third more for Jimmy Dean and of course we still have them and they have been used many times over the years and have paid for themselves many times over.

I even lent them out once for a tour that went to a museum and they glued Velcro on the bottom so that they would stick to the carpet that on the floor.

Both the show was good and the set were good but it was not selected to go to the festival.

One of my favorite moments of the play was when the director, Dr. Cho, could not get Jeff, who played Jean, to give him the line reading he wanted.

I remember it as if it was yesterday:

Dr Cho: Jeff say “What A Life.”

Jeff:      “What A Life.”

Dr Cho: No say “What a life.”

Jeff:      “What a life.”

Dr Cho: No say “What a Life.”

 Jeff:     “What a Life.”

Dr Cho: No say “What A life.”

Jeff:      “What A life.”

Jeff could not hear what intonation that Dr. Cho wanted neither could anybody else.

Needless to say poor Jeff was at a loss as what to do.

Now I will admit here that I am not an acting teacher, coach or expert, but later I tried to work with him.

I told I was not sure what he wanted but if he said it like he meant it the audience would get it.

Running away to live with the rich and beautiful Miss Julie; “What a Life”.

In the middle of the play when Jean and Miss Julie are off having sex in the back peasants or local workers come in and have a party and dance about.

The daughter of one of the dancers was one of my work study students this past year.

Time does fly.

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