Essence of 'Balcony' viewed through costumes, audience

(Written by Justin Scott, Daily Bruin)

Set amid a fictional revolution, Jean Genet’s drama “The Balcony,” revolves around a whorehouse where sex serves as an escape from the harsh reality of war. Directed by theater directing graduate student Max Snyder, the play opens Friday at Macgowan Hall’s Little Theater.

According to Snyder, the idea of reviving “The Balcony,” a controversial play when it was first produced in the 1950s, was intimidating at first.

“It’s one of the most enigmatic, puzzling, exciting, political, existential and metaphysical plays around,” said Snyder. “As a director it’s a scary piece because there’s so much to communicate about power and politics.”

And if the theme of “The Balcony” requires that many adjectives to describe, the flamboyant costuming begs for even more. From a prostitute dressed as a horse to a beggar covered in blood, the costumes reflect a wide variety of personalities.

“The costumes really help because there are so many pieces to this play,” said the play’s costume designer, theater design and production graduate student Judy Jou. “But because each character is dressed so differently from the rest, they all tie together in their craziness.”

But the costumes supply more than vivid eye candy. According to second-year theater student Hillary Enclade, who plays the girl in “The Balcony,” the costumes provide visual symbols crucial to thematic elements. For example, at the end of the play, journalists dressed in cash-printed suits appear, representing the profit-driven nature of the media.

Other costumes, like that of the dominatrix (played by second-year theater student Meredith Hines) contribute to the play’s wild feel by showing more skin than fabric.

“It’s difficult at first because you can get really caught up in being practically naked up there on stage,” said Hines. “But, as an actor, you have to look past that because my character is really created in the costume.”

While other student plays often reuse old props and costumes from prior productions to save money, most of the costumes for “The Balcony” had to be created from scratch because of the strangeness of the designs. According to Jou, this necessity has allowed for a distinct visual style that contributes greatly to the production’s uniqueness.

Above all, Snyder hopes audiences will leave “The Balcony” with a lot of questions — not just about the plot, but about their own lives as well.

“If (people) get past being offended, then I think there’s a lot you can take from (‘The Balcony’),” said Snyder. “And if they are offended, I hope it’s because they see parts of themselves in the play.”

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