{"id":170659,"date":"2026-02-26T22:40:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T22:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/170659\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T22:40:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T22:40:08","slug":"ou-school-of-drama-opens-gender-fluid-play-orlando-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/170659\/","title":{"rendered":"OU School of Drama opens gender fluid play \u2018Orlando\u2019 | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The OU Helmerich School of Drama kicked off showings<\/a> of \u201cOrlando\u201d Tuesday at the Gilson Lab Theatre inside the Beatrice Carr Wallace Old Science Hall.<\/p>\n

The production uses playwright Sarah Ruhl\u2019s<\/a> adaptation of \u201cOrlando,\u201d a 1928 novel written by Virginia Woolf. The showings will run through Sunday.<\/p>\n

According to Penguin Random House<\/a>, \u201cOrlando\u201d features a protagonist who transforms genders midway through the story.<\/p>\n

Orlando begins the story as a nobleman who spends his days working as an aristocrat for Queen Elizabeth and evenings writing poetry. In his 30s, Orlando wakes up in a woman\u2019s body while serving as an ambassador in Constantinople. Over the course of the story Orlando is involved in multiple love affairs with men and women, eventually settling down with her husband.<\/p>\n

Dramaturgy sophomore Nola McKee said the crew had to take into account the different time periods experienced in the story, which jumps from the 16th century all the way to the 21st.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of our research revolved around the costuming. What one wears in the 16th century is very different than what someone would wear now,\u201d McKee said. \u201cThere was a lot of attention paid to \u2026 the way people would act.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

As with any adaptation, not every detail made it into the final cut of \u201cOrlando.\u201d According to McKee, he played a major role in merging two scripts of the adaptation by Ruhl into one \u201cfranken-script.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the book, we would cross-compare to make more sense of the script and certain things that were more meaningful, \u2026\u201d McKee said. \u201cWe would go through both of the scripts together as a cast, and talk about which lines were the best to keep and exactly what to merge based on what\u2019s best for the story.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKee said the end result of his work on the script was rewarding.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was watching them perform, and knowing that funny line they said, I put that in there. This all came together because I was able to mesh it all together,\u201d McKee said. \u201cSitting in the audience and watching the audience members understand what\u2019s happening onstage was nice because I took part in helping with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keira Hays, an acting junior who plays the character Orlando, said the role is significant to them because of their personal connection to the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is such an important story to me because I love Shakespeare and heightened text,\u201d Hays said. \u201cAs a nonbinary actor, to be able to do a show that goes through both male and female genders, it is very rewarding for me, and also important for the political standpoint of everything, and to be able to share a story that\u2019s unapologetically itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hays spoke about the preparation that went into understanding the mindset of Orlando.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe starts the show as a man at 16, and so (I brought) myself back to when I was 16, and how I felt about life, \u2026 the uncertainties that I felt with the future, as well as my dreams for it and allowing those to transform and mutate into what he wants and how he views his life, \u2026\u201d Hays said. \u201cI often see myself as an actor as a vessel for the character.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of Orlando\u2019s love interests in the production is the Russian princess Sasha.<\/p>\n

Alex Fish, an acting sophomore who plays Sasha, spoke about her goals when it came to portraying the character on stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s sultry and very feminine, and she is the second of Orlando\u2019s lovers throughout the show,\u201d Fish said. \u201cHer and Orlando\u2019s relationship represents a very youthful and exciting kind of young love, and I want to be able to capture the whole excitement of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because Sasha is a Russian character, Fish worked with a dialect coach to enunciate her lines accurately. The dialect coach had a Russian woman record Sasha\u2019s lines, which Fish practiced imitating to prepare for the role.<\/p>\n

According to Fish, the production begins with a Greek chorus<\/a>, which tells the audience the story of Orlando\u2019s life. Throughout the show multiple love interests appear, and actors playing those roles leave the chorus to become those characters.<\/p>\n

Fish said it\u2019s important to find your own identity, referencing Orlando\u2019s journey of going through many lovers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re trying to discover things about yourself or come to terms with your identity, you\u2019re not going to find the answers in another person,\u201d Fish said. \u201cYou\u2019re only going to find the answers within yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hays enjoyed the message of vulnerability that Orlando exemplified.<\/p>\n

\u201cVulnerability is a strength. \u2026 It\u2019s a story about love and how we love ourselves and how we love the world around us, \u2026\u201d Hays said. \u201cLeaning on others is not weak; it is something that is necessary for human compassion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets, $7 with student ID and $9 for adults, can be purchased by calling the Fine Arts Box Office at 405-325-4101 or by arriving at the theater one hour prior to curtain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This story was edited by Macey Thaxton, Audrey McClour and Madisson Cameron. Larkin Bock and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.<\/p>\n

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