Trin and Vic’s Next to Normal adaptation masters the power of the unspoken – The Varsity

“Next to Normal” pushes you out, only to catch you up again

Content Warning: This article discusses substance use, bipolar disorder, and PTSD.

Art is not in the music or the story, but in the spaces in between.

Sitting in the basement of the Faculty of Music with the cast of In addition to “Normal” I understood that art is not in the music or the story, but in the spaces in between. As we discussed the themes and pitfalls of the story, I got the impression that these were charismatic, likeable and versatile actors and students who had a deep passion for their art.

Sitting in rehearsal ahead of the Trinity College Dramatic Society and Victoria College Drama Society performance at Theater Passe Muraille September 12-15, I was ready to follow an emotional journey through mental health issues. However, I was soon shocked by the upbeat and upbeat music blaring from the orchestra behind me.

When the second song came on, I understood what the cast had been trying to convey during our interviews. The show is compelling not just because it is fantastical or theatrical, but also because it is real. The music and drama enhance the story while revealing it.

Courtesy of AUDREY PERSAUD

A rough and unsettling experience

The cast’s inimitable storytelling resonates with audiences. In addition to the sound of their incredible voices, the characters’ poor decisions, poor judgment, and awkwardness make the audience feel like, “Shit, I’ve been here before.” — make their tragedy ours.

The stage work was partly taken over by the Theater Passe Muraille: a spectacle that the play’s director, Paul Meyer, described as a “walk”.[ing] Into the building and thought, ‘Yeah, this is it.'” Much of the heavy lifting happened before the crew entered the historic space and set designer Aria Kowal took over.

Meyer said his job as a director was to create a space where the actors could choose how they wanted to feel, resulting in different narrative interpretations that keep the audience glued to every spoken or unspoken word. Technical Director Samara Tower and Stage Manager Caitlyn Grant were present at both the rehearsal and show, creating an atmosphere that immersed the audience in an intense emotional experience.

The crew’s minimalist yet impressive use of the stage and overhead catwalks reflected the characters’ disjointed layers of inner chaos. Dim and warm lighting in moments of familial intimacy becomes harsh and punishing as the main character, Diana (Emma Kidd), falls deeper into clinical depression, guiding the audience through these mental landscapes.

The soul of the story is captured in the moment Diana leads a slow waltz into her seemingly tragic end. She dances alone with her eyes closed – until she is caught just in time by Gabe (Nomi Parsai), who becomes Diana’s downfall. Gabby Noga’s haunting choreography works with lighting designer Shunsho Ando Heng’s dramatic lighting and music director Jo O’Leary-Ponzo’s music to blur the line between reality and illusion.

Courtesy of AUDREY PERSAUD

Sound and Music: Conversations with Emotions

As for Gabe, it is a challenging task for any actor to fill the empty space in his character’s story. Since only Diana can see him, Gabe’s role is unclear. Is he a villain or a ghost? The entire team worked to establish his ghostly presence: cHangings in his shirt color, for example, show the denigration of his omnipresence in Diana’s life, but much of his power lies in his voice, or lack thereof. We see this ghostly significance in his silent presence in the background of the second act, in which he has been largely eliminated from Diana’s mind by electroconvulsive therapy.

When Gabe spends much of the second act offstage, his ability to completely fill a room impacts the audience, as the space he once occupied feels empty.

Vocal director Frank Yu describes this dynamic as an act of “vocal storytelling.” The sonic layers of urgency in a character’s voice as they approach the more intense moments, the ticking of a clock underscoring an intense silence, and the overwhelming energy as all the characters sing at once transport the audience into Diana’s world.

Music that I originally found to be contradictory Besides normalThe subject matter not only disarms the audience, but also serves a larger function: it leaves an empty space between what is expected and what actually happens. After expecting darker tones in the heavier moments, I was shocked by the upbeat melodies, which made the darker undertones of the lyrics more prominent.

Immersed in Misconceptions: Discussions about Mental Health

Diana and her family cope with a borderline personality disorder diagnosis that continues to take hold and affects every part of their lives. She neglects her daughter, becomes estranged from her sometimes stubborn but always well-meaning husband, and gives in to the delusions caused by her BPD. In pre-show interviews, the cast explained how they trained with the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, Sunnybrook Hospital staff and intimacy coordinator Corey Tazmania to portray Diana’s struggles sensitively and realistically.

On September 15th, in the middle of the first act of the final night, I cried into my notebook after completing my judgments. Despite my initial knee-jerk reaction, the cast is unaware of the burden they carry as they strap their characters’ stories to their chests.

The theater societies of Trinity Colleges and Victoria Colleges struck a delicate balance between dramatic intensity and moments of silence and lonely sadness Besides normal their own, demonstrating what they had understood from the beginning: a story told not just in words or songs, but also in the spaces in between.

Disclaimer: The Chairman of The universityThe board of Paul Meyer was the director of Besides normal.