The Makings of Merriment

It is the classic shower scene in your standard slasher film. The killer approaches two beautiful women, who, of course, don't know he's there. He raises his knife to strike. Stop action. Reverse. The scene took place within the last four weeks, when a small troupe of actors gathered at least twice a week in the Union to rehearse for the upcoming annual IU Madrigal Feast. On one night of rehearsals, 10 performers prepared for their roles as servants of Lord and Lady Chamberlain who lived during the late Renaissance in England. The director of the troupe, senior Jeremy Cross, asked for volunteers for an improvisational game, and the remaining cast put them in a situation where the actor must play through the scene by his or her wits and imagination. In one case, it was Nick Romy, 13, the first member to play a part in the Madrigal Feast who was not affiliated with IU. A new costume was made for his role as a jester apprentice. Nick auditioned because he attended previous celebrations as a guest with his family. Nick stood alone on an area of the floor set aside as a makeshift stage, while three other volunteers stood offstage. The cast made Nick a superhero who had to fix a hole in a dam. One by one, the other cast members jumped in, as part of a superhero crew. Their special power was named by the previous person to join Nick on stage. Sophomore Hans Fiene was "Bikini Wax Man." In the next group of volunteers, one was named, "Man Who Speaks Only in Puns." He stood, hand to mouth, flabbergasted. The purpose of the improvisational games was to get the cast members familiar with each other's style and find someone they played well with. In another game, two actors took the stage while the cast put them in a situation such as scuba diving or building a house, and quickly threw out genres of film and television which the people onstage had to perform, from French film, to horror film, to beach movie. During the script reading, the cast tried on different accents, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, southern belle or the old English they would use through the entire Madrigal performance. Improvisational acting is like learning to swim the hard way, except buoyed by a sense of fun and camaraderie. The actors laugh and talk like old friends, and put each other in situations such as mining their knowledge of puns. Stop action. Fast forward. The 52nd Madrigal Feast will take place during the first two weekends in December. It is hosted by the Indiana Memorial Union and the IU School of Music. It started in 1947 as a choir performing for dinner patrons and grew to include musicians and actors. During the banquet, guests are transported back to the year 1575, to the court of Lord and Lady Chamberlain, who are entertaining their guest of honor, the queen, with food and song. A madrigal is a short poem, set to music with parts for several voices, unaccompanied by instruments. Known as polyphony, each voice sings either a competing melody, or a melody in accord with the others. Some of the more popular composers were John Dowland, William Byrd and Thomas Morely, according to the Internet Public Library (www.ipl.org). One of Morely's songs appears in the Shakespearean play, "As You Like It." The origins of the style are in the medieval period, but it became more sophisticated and complex over time and flourished during the late Renaissance in England. The School of Music provides the chorus and a brass quintet, and the performers were chosen through an audition process that took place in early October. Fourteen people were chosen from the more than 40 who auditioned. The rehearsals run from mid-October through late November. Festivities include a concert after the dinner, but before the flaming persimmon pudding is brought out, there is a play about a knight who is slain by a dragon, and comes back to life, illustrating the theme of death and rebirth central to the season. The jester, senior Adam Ploshay, introduces the festivities, and Lord Chamberlain, played by senior Brian G. Hartz, gives a short speech inviting his guests to take themselves back to Elizabethan England. The characters entertain guests amid much laughter and singing. Trumpet fanfare introduces the procession of food, including a papier-mache boar's head on a platter, sung to "The Boar's Head Carol." Even if the performers see someone they know at the dinner, they must stay in their roles the entire performance. "What's unique about the Madrigal Feast is that you are part of the performance," says Kristine Ankney, IMU marketing manager. During last year's banquet, while waiting for her companions to arrive, one of the performers approached her and started talking in a thick English accent, complimenting her on her "ear balls," she says. "She was talking about my earrings." The setting makes you feel like you are a guest in a castle, says Ankney. Alumni Hall is vast, with the stage at one end, where the queen sits at a dais with Lord and Lady Chamberlain and the chorus. The stage and the high, arched windows are draped with velvet crimson. Simple metal chandeliers hang over rows of tables, and sconces lining the wall throw off their soft light. Candlelight illuminates the curves of faces lit with smiles and laughter. Glasses clink the coming of the holidays. Anticipation rises as smells of prime rib and Yorkshire pudding waft in, until knives and forks engage in sword play over a feast fit for a king. All the while, servants dressed in 16th century garb work their magic. A musician strolls by playing the mandolin. A fortune-teller reads palms. Jugglers toss balls and rings and clubs in the air, and catch them just at the right moment. Madrigal 2000 Feast