The Department of Theatre and Drama at Indiana University presents The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov in a translation by Milton Ehre of the University of Chicago, November 12, 13, 15-20, 2004, in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre.The Cherry Orchard at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre
The Department of Theatre and Drama at Indiana University presents The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov in a translation by Milton Ehre of the University of Chicago, November 12, 13, 15-20, 2004, in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre.
The pages below discuss the designs, the director, and offer some background to the play.
This is the final production at Indiana University of director Howard Jensen, who has been on our faculty since 1972, teaching acting and directing. He will retire at the end of the 2004-05 academic year. He discussed The Cherry Orchard in an article that reviews his career at Indiana.
Scenic designer Fred M. Duer assembled a collage of images that informed the cast and other designers about the world of The Cherry Orchard. The various sources include book illustrations, photographs, and paintings.
The Cherry Orchard is the M.F.A. thesis project for designer Dixon Reynolds, whose costume designs capture the period of the play and the style of the production.
The lighting design of Robert A. Shakespeare and the scenic designs of Fred M. Duer work together so well because of a strong collaboration between the designers. We present their designs, along with notes from our initial production conferences, on a page that rounds out the world of the production.
Finally, we present two essays on Anton Chekhov, one of which surveys Chekhov's parallel career as a physician. The other essay traces his life and work, focusing especially on his final years when his health was failing and he was thinking about and writing The Cherry Orchard .