[ot-caption title=”Ms. Ortega’s Realism in Drama class visits MTC’s Hedda Gabler. (via Brooke Bekoff, Senior)” url=”https://pcpawprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Hedda-Gabler.jpg”]

This past Sunday, Ms. Ortega’s Realism in Drama classes took a trip down to Miami to see Miami Theater Center’s production of Hedda Gabler, written by Henrik Ibsen. After studying the play in class for a few weeks, the students were eager to see Ibsen’s words come alive before them.

Hedda Gabler tells the story of a disillusioned newlywed who battles for control in a very oppressive late 19^th century context. In this modern adaptation, director Stephanie Ansin takes the play out of its original Scandinavian time and plops it down in current day South Beach.

Jessica Farr, who played the title character, commanded the stage, as she never left it for the entire performance. Her facial expressions and movements really made Hedda seem strangely complex. The rest of the cast did an amazing job at tackling Ibsen’s unique characters. The set was ingeniously modeled after a fish bowl to give the illusion of trapping the characters, while also having them on view for all to see.

After a quick pit stop at Chillin, the new and trending liquid nitrogen ice cream parlor, the class went to see the show. When it ended, the class was treated with a special talk back with the entire cast and the artistic director. The actors were very impressed with the student’s knowledge of the play and how they seemed to analyze each character.

Senior Nicole Swords mentioned that it was “great to see her classmates out of the classroom. I really liked talking with the actors afterwards because it made me appreciate their interpretation even more than I did before or during the show. Talking to them made their motives more clear.”

Ms. Ortega said, “I was very curious to see how this production of Hedda Gabler translated into a 21^st century context, where the late 19^th century living room private drama became a literal fishbowl for the unraveling of a repressed woman. I think it’s important for students to see how classical themes can transcend time.”

All in all, this trip was a great experience for the students to watch a production of a play they studied with a new, fresh take. Everyone had a great time, the class excited for its next outing. Tickets are still available for MTC’s Hedda Gabler, which plays until November 23, and can be found here.