The MIT Shakespeare Ensemble

The MIT Shakespeare Ensemble One all-too-common misunderstanding Ive encountered about MIT is that no one at the Institute appreciates, let alone participates, in the humanities or the fine arts. Well, I dont know about No One, maybe he doesnt like the arts but the truth of the matter is that MIT students have quite a bit of respect for drama, music, poetry, and all the other artsy things you might not expect engineering students to be involved with. In fact, there are over 50 different music, theater, and dance groups on campus, specializing in everything from improv comedy to jazz music to ballroom dance. I bring this up because, last weekend, a friend and I went to see the one of these 50 student groups in action: specifically, the MIT Shakespeare Ensemble, which was putting on its summer production of Dirty Hands, by the famous French philosopher and dramatic Jean-Paul Sartre. To be honest, I mainly went because my friend Dennis 08 was playing the lead part and kept inviting people to watch him perform. Because really, one of the best parts about college theater is watching your friends be absolutely ridiculous on stage. (And the play was free! Cant beat that.) Dirty Hands is, first and foremost, a political drama about an assassination except that the identity of the assassin and his target are known from the beginning. The real question is whether the assassin was acting out of personal reasons, political ideals or both. Essentially, the play is a framed narrative where Hugo, the idealistic assassin (played by Dennis), having just been released from prison, recounts the events leading up to the murder to Olga (Deirdre 10), his confidant and advocate within the Party to which she and Hugo belong. As the play unfolds, the audience delves deeper and deeper into Hugos mind (which is not a very happy place). Along the way, we meet Hoederer (Yoni 10), a divisive but popular leader within the Party; Louis (Eric 10), a Party leader opposed to Hoederer, who gives Hugo his orders; Ivana (Sara 11), a Party saboteur; and Jessica (Bianca 11), Hugos attractive and cunning wife. The cast is rounded out by Slick and Georges (Sabrian 09 and Brian 11), Hoederers bodyguards; Prince Paul (Oliver G); and Kasky (Arnaldo 09). Although I dont want to give away the plays ending you can rely on Wikipedia for that ;) I had a great time watching Dirty Hands. The set was amazing, especially for a summer show. They even put together a promotional trailer on YouTube (warning: its PG-13 for about two seconds near the end). I also loved how the director, Kellas 10, used color as a reflection of the characters personalities and ideologies. For example, Hugo starts out wearing black (because hes an assassin, yo), but eventually is shown to wear yellow to indicate his loyalty to Olga and Louis in opposition to Hoederer and his bodyguards, who wore blue throughout the play. Meanwhile, Jessica (and only Jessica) wore red to set herself apart from the other characters. All that said, let me just conclude with a few photos of the play. I couldnt take any during the play, but fortunately my friend Sara 11 (Ivana in the play) let me use some of hers, including a few glamor shots from backstage. Enjoy! An unlikely assassin. Engineer by day, bodyguard by night, Sabrina is double majoring in computer science and being a badass. Proper care of your weapon is just one of the many unconventional skills MIT students master. In Saras words, Requisite pensive dramatic mirror picture. Dirty Hands is the fourth performance Sara and Bianca have performed in together. Aww. The mind-blowing set. Another view. Yoni and Sara want you to join the Shakespeare Ensemble!