Cornell College to present Anton Chekhov’s ‘Three Sisters’

The Cornell College Department of Theatre and Dance brings a poignant portrayal of everyday life to the stage with Anton Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” from Dec. 11 to 14 in Kimmel Theatre.

The play is set in the Russian countryside during the years just before the Russian Revolution and tells the story of the Prozorov family. The main characters, three sisters and a brother, come from a family of nobility that has fallen on hard times and been forced to relocate to the country.

“This play will have a degree of direct address with the audience, giving the show intimacy and immediacy,” said Visiting Artist in Theatre Patrick DuLaney, who is directing the show. “It’s a funny, sad play about how the banalities of life can grind you down.”

There are 10 students in the show, a student costume designer, a student sound designer, and over two dozen students working backstage and on the crew.

Although casting is normally done the block before a performance, this play was cast in the third week of school. DuLaney said that they’re using this extra time to really focus on the acting.

“We are treating this rehearsal process as a workshop, going slowly through the process, giving the actors an opportunity to really think about and develop their own technique, their own ‘way of doing,’” DuLaney said.

Junior Elise Zielinski Gutierrez says she’s learned a lot while preparing for this show, experiencing several techniques for the first time. She’s particularly excited about the opportunity to use “direct address” where she speaks her lines to the audience.

“This play has people as characters, and all of them make mistakes, and all of them are complicated with complicated relationships,” Gutierrez said. “As an actor, I am excited to make unique connections between myself and the audience every night.”

Direct address isn’t the only unique thing about this experience. The cast and crew will also be transforming the main stage into a black box, performing in the center of the stage, surrounded by the audience. This will provide a different experience for the actors and the audience alike, but will limit the size of the audience. Reserving tickets ahead of time is encouraged.