Seton Hall University - Galleon Yearbook (South Orange, NJ)

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' ' A Scrap Of Paper ' ' Opens Theatre Season by JOE DALY S eton Hall ushered in the 1986-87 Theatre- in-the-Round season in October with A Scrap of Paper ' a romantic comedy by Victorien Sardou. The play is set in the mid- nineteenth century near Chinon, France. It makes light of loves lost and new- found loves which develop around an old love note, the scrap of paper. The first act describes a former love affair between Clarisse (Bernadette Zar- nick) and Prosper Block (Vincent Sagona). This up- beat beginning presents an amusing recollection of events explaining why Block never received Clar- isses note. The ensueing two acts follow the characters through a relentless search for the scrap of paper. It is during these two acts that the cast is able to develop their comic abilities. Many humorous asides and whimsical antics keep the story moving and the audi- ence laughing. In addition to the charac- ters ' search for the scrap of paper, the plot centers on mistaken intentions and a romantic entanglement be- tween Prosper Block and Suzanne (Maureen Brady), Clarisse ' s cousin. Mot until the troublesome letter is destroyed is there any or- Vanhove, (John C. Winson) takes a long draw of his pipe and re- flects upon the past. Clarisse (Bernadette Zarnick) and Suzanne (Maureen Brady) finally realize the predicament they ' re in. 28 A Scrap Of Paper ' '

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Hypnosis or an 8 a.m. class? John Kolisch uses a mass hypno- sis technique on a student. Frank Gentile climbed an imagi- nary rope while under hypnosis. Hypnotist John Kolisch 27 .

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Prosper Block (Vincent Sagona) p er Block tries to convince surprised at the news that the love Clarisse of his un dying love for of his life, Clarisse (Bernadette her Zarnick), has married another. Monsieur Thirion (Michael C. Wilbraham) ponders the predicament caused by the scrap of paper. der to those lives it touched. Veteran Threatre-in-the- Round actor Michael C. Wil- braham played Monsieur Thirion, and freshman Cara Godwin played his wife Co- lomba. Solonge, the house- keeper at the chateau was played by Marcia Richards, while freshman Cliff Parent turned in a convincing per- formance as a love sick teen named Paul. Bridgette Lambert played Marthe, the object of Paul s affection and John C. Winson played Vanhove, Clarisse ' s hus- band. Rounding out the cast in the supporting roles of Henri, Baptiste, and Clau- dine, the servants of the chateau were Paul Schia- vone. Bill Ruscica, and Elena Gravelle respectively. Director Dr. James P. McGlone said he chose this particular play because it was ideal for the theater in terms of the conservative amount of scenery and it was the type of production his actors could really un- derstand. He also wanted to expose the undergraduate audience to a type o f pro- duction they don ' t often see. It took the actors many hours of constant repetition to become accustomed to the style of the play. The body language and style of speech is very artificial and exagerated contrary to to- days modern productions. Vincent Sagona, who por- trayed the male lead. Pros- per Block, said, My charac- ter goes from a debonaire world traveler to a man hopelessly in love with his adversary. It ' s a tough tran- sition to make. Another in- teresting point is that none of these situations happen today. It s hard for a man of the 80 s to relate to this ' The set was designed by Peter Reader, technical di- rector and Fred Sorrentino created the detailed cos- tumes of the period. A Scrap Of Paper ' ' 29