SU Drama to premiere dramatic play ‘The House of the Spirits’

UPDATED: Nov. 9, 2017 at 10:07 a.m.

Every family is complicated, but Clara del Valle’s half-century’s worth of journal entries expose the twists, turns and ghostly illusions of her family.

Based on Isabel Allende’s novel, “The House of the Spirits” will premiere on Saturday at 8 p.m. and will run through Nov. 17 at Syracuse Stage/Syracuse University Drama Complex. The show, told through flashbacks by one of the protagonists, Alba, follows a Chilean family tormented by its patriarch, Esteban. Alba struggles with thoughts of her mother and grandmother’s lives in her family’s history.

Celia Madeoy, a professor at Syracuse University and director of the play, was the mold for both the story and everyone involved.

“When we first started the rehearsals, the director had a huge hand in bringing us together,” said Daniel Ramirez, the actor who plays Esteban, the story’s villain.

Clara, played by undergraduate senior actress Sarah Herrmann, has psychic abilities, and in one scene she has to pet the ghost of a dog. After swaying from the original script, the play’s cast and crew decided to create the dog using tricks of lighting and some music.

“We did a lot of movement work because the dog in the show isn’t really a dog,” Herrmann said. “It’s just air and footprints and a projection. I had to do a lot of mime work to prepare for that. It was tough.”

Zachary Pearson’s favorite parts of the show are the different obstacles he faced in playing his part. Pearson, who plays Pedro Tercero, was originally intended to portray the dog as well as Pedro, but the actor soon realized he wasn’t going to be choreographing a puppet.  

“Through the rehearsal process I find out that I’m playing the dog in terms of music and drums, so the idea of the dog is just the sound of the dog,” Pearson said. “Magical realism is a big element of the play.”

Herrmann prepared by practicing miming, Pearson prepared by listening to Chilean music and Ramirez prepared by placing himself in his character. Being a more intense show, the actors have had to devote much more of themselves to its production.

“I know that the show has definitely encouraged us to be more comfortable with our sexuality,” Herrmann said. “There is a lot of sex in the show, so we’ve had to be more comfortable and open to things.”

Due to the story’s heavy and emotional plot, the cast is committed to conveying that same vulnerability expressed in the script.

Herrmann said she hopes “to make people laugh and make people cry. I either want one or the other, or both. This is definitely both.”

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, the headline misstated the host of “The House of the Spirits.” The play is a Syracuse University Department of Drama production. The Daily Orange regrets this error.