Flowers for the one-man show
by P.J.Marquez
A unique one-man production of the Daniel Keyes' short story, "Flowers for Algernon," will be performed January 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the Burman Hall amphitheater.
Peter Jon Shuler, actor and director of the production, presents his version of the book for the second time on the Andrews University campus.
Whether dressed in knickers or writing for the Student Movement, Shuler has an interesting perspective on life. Often humorous, he carries his unique insights into all he does. His perspectives and the vehicles he uses to express them are as individual as finger prints, the marks of which are evidently displayed in his interpretation of "Flowers."
Shuler shared some insights and feelings which-he is experiencing as he prepares for this production. He candidly spoke about the play, the difficulty of directing himself in a one man show, touring and his special feelings toward this homecoming performance.
Like most actors, Shuler is concerned with the message. He feels it is im-portant to see more in his portrayal of Charlie than the story of a retarded man who gains a chance to become a genius.
It is easy to think of it as just an at-tempt to raise the consciousness of the audience to the needs of the handicapped. But Shuler thinks there is more to the message.
He believes "Flowers" is a story about humanity, "a story about human needs and desires. It's more than just a story about a mentally retarded man and a laboratory mouse.
It's about the struggle to break the barriers that separate us from each other -- whether that barrier is the level of intelligence, or something else like color, religion, age, sex social status or fear," Shuler said.
After almost a full year of preparation and performances it is easy to understand why Shuler is so concerned about his audience.
The first thing Shuler had to do in preparation was to adapt the original short story into play form. He said that Keyes' short story was ideal for this type of adaptation. Some of the difficulties of directing oneself led him to accept the challenge of doing a one-man show.
When recalling the early days in the production, Shuler remembers how immense the task seemed. Memorizing two hours of dialogue and having to direct and motivate himself were major concerns. "There were days when I had to force myself into the room to rehearse," Shuler said. "I'd stare at the blackboard and wonder why
I was doing this." The turning point came when he decided to memorize a page a day.
As real progress was made Shuler was able to Overcome the earlier difficulties.
"Besides motivation, never being sure of a line--
its inflection and
characterization --is the most difficult aspect of directing oneself," Shuler commented. The most difficult part of doing a one man show was obvious to Shuler. "Like Charlie himself, being alone, having no one to fall back on when, as they say in the play, 'you pull a Charlie
Gordon', can be difficult," Shuler said.
Last May, more than a year after he started work, "Flowers for Algernon" debuted in the biology amphitheater." It had sort of become a joke around some of my friends as to when I would finish the play. I too had some questions, so I was glad to be able to finish it. But, after I completed
the performance I felt that
was neat, but it seemed a shame to put all that work into it and only do it once."
Shuler did get a chance to Perform "Flowers" several more times. Under the auspices of Sunset Players,w ith the help of Larry Mahlum', Shuler performed "Flowers" at several academies in the area and on the east coast. He enjoyed touring but felt frustrated because each Performance was another "Opening Night. There were no bread and butter Performances," says Shuler.
"There was a great high
and a corresponding let down after each show."
The January 23 performance will mark a homecoming of sorts for Shuler and "Flowers."
Shuler feels this will be his best Performance, "...at the academies I had more room
to experiment and play to the audience. Here I'll be Playing to a more demanding
audience. I feel a good deal of artistic responsibility to this audience." Shuler went on to say that that he felt the audience here will be better able to grasp the meaning and
subtleties than some of his previous audiences. After almost two years of involvement, he has a vested interest in the appreciation of his
work. As Shuler said "In many ways I really identify with Charlie and his struggle." And perhaps as Shuler would say, "needing love makes one human and receiving love makes one
feel human."
Go home.
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Changes last made on: Thu Dec 3 18:06:18 1998