The theatre department at UNC Wilmington launched their final production of the year this past weekend, revealing a rendition of Mad Forest by famed playwright Caryl Churchill. The play is directed by Ed Wagenseller, and covers the partially historically accurate accounts of various Romanian citizens during the Romanian Revolution of 1989. 

The performance is based off of actual events and genuine accounts given by citizens in Romania during the overthrow of Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena. Their execution led to the end of communism in the country and was the cause of celebration for many Romanians.   

The production is divided into three scenes that chronologically exhibit what life was like throughout the course of the revolution. Scene one portrays the dreary lifestyles of the citizens before the revolt by showing brief glimpses of their lives and the everyday struggles of each individual.  

Scene two is composed of actual accounts from Romanian citizens on their personal experiences during the violent revolution. This particular act is extremely emotional because of the sincerity of the actors’ sorrow and the authenticity of the grim tales. 

The third part depicts the characters’ lives post-revolution and conveys the hardships of adapting to a post-communist environment. It expresses the uneasiness of the citizens, despite their relief due to the end of their country’s dictatorship.   

One of the crew’s greatest challenges with Mad Forest is that it utilizes props and effects that are not usually seen on the Mainstage Theatre.

“Honestly, this show has been a lot of fun for everyone, but it’s also brought a series of new challenges for us to learn from because of everything we had on set,” said Sean Owens, a member of the run crew. “We used projections, food, fire, guns, and had a large cast on stage multiple times.  Almost all of these are factors that we rarely or never use.” 

Another major challenge for the actors was the fact that each person had to take on multiple roles and distinguish each character’s personality from the others.

“For each role we play, we had to work to understand their significance and purpose in the play,” said Katherine Rosner, an actress in Mad Forest. “Some of our roles, like in part two, are based on real interviews. However, others (like my Dead Grandmother and Matt Carter’s Vampire) have a supernatural element to them. With those we have to figure out, with the help of our amazing director Ed Wagenseller, why the playwright included them and the symbolism behind their existence.” 

Having to portray numerous characters also proved to be tough when the actors had to quickly transition into another persona.

“As far as transitioning between the roles, it’s very difficult. Sometimes we only have a few moments between playing one character and another,” said Rosner. “The best way to deal with that was just to know our characters so well and to have something, whether it be an action or a phrase, that helps us trigger the character we are about to go on as. That way we can hook back into the next character we are playing, and do it quickly, before we have to go on again.” 

The play’s obscure topic certainly sets it aside from others in its category and sparks the audience’s interest of the unknown.

“Mad Forest is unique because it explores a revolution that has been neglected since the 90s, which many contemporary plays glass over,” said Trevor Tackett, a freshman with two different roles in the play.  

The production will continue to run at the Mainstage Theatre in the Cultural Arts Building on April 21-23 at 8 pm with a matinee on Sunday, April 24 at 2 pm. Tickets are $15 for members of the public and $6 for UNCW students.