Equus is the story of a boy named Alan (played by sophomore psychology and sociology major Todd Szymuszkiewicz), who, to someone who doesn’t know his story, might seem relatable to many teenagers. His parents fight, but are constantly worried about him, and he just wants to have a normal date with a girl.
Look deeper, however, and you’ll find the story of a disturbed boy who confuses the concepts of God and horse, leading him to the violent act of blinding several horses, which lands him in a mental institution. Equus was certainly something Lakeland College had never seen before, and undoubtedly it was a play that challenged its audience.
“My favorite thing was that I kept getting emails from people saying that after the performance they couldn’t stop thinking about it,” said Charlie Krebs, associate professor of theatre and speech, director, and actor in the play.
“My acting class couldn’t stop talking about it,” Krebs said, “I loved that the play made so many people think—critically think.”
The acting was fairly strong throughout, especially in the leads, and the members of the cast picked up even more power as the show progressed, really getting into their stride in the second act.
The closing to Act I was one of the most dramatic and truly surprising moments of the play as Alan jumps onto Nugget’s (a horse’s) back, standing at the point of the stage that protrudes farthest into the audience, and whoops with joy at the indescribable feeling of being one with the horse before the stage goes black.
“On three of the four nights, there was no applause at the end of Act I, and that was very powerful. That has only happened one other time in my life,” said Krebs.
Krebs played the part of Dr. Martin Dysart, Alan’s psychiatrist and one of the major roles in the play, as well as taking on the role of director.
“What I would change [about the play], I think, is that I wouldn’t act and direct at the same time. It was too difficult,” Krebs said. Although he says that he was happy to play the part and be reminded of how difficult it is to be an actor.
Krebs said that he had to rely heavily on the assistant director, Thomas Gerleman, to help with directing, especially in the last couple of weeks before the show.
There were many unconventional aspects to the performance, and the portrayal of horses had to be one of the most interesting things about the play. There were five actors playing horses. The lead horse, Nugget, was played by sophomore criminal justice and sociology major Yaphay Harvey.
Each “horse” had special shoes with horseshoes on the bottoms that forced them to walk in the same way that a horse would. The actors must be commended on learning to walk in those—it didn’t look easy.
They also wore open masks framed with metal, through which the audience could see their faces, although they were clearly horses. The actors did a great job of moving their heads from side to side and stomping their feet as a horse would; it was realistic.
“My favorite part was the last scene when Alan blinds [the horses]. It was powerful, and it got the audience’s attention,” Harvey said.
The last scene of the play, which Harvey spoke of, was the only thing that could top the end of Act I. With red lights flashing, Todd gave an emotional performance as he ran screaming about the stage, blinding his beloved horses.
“It’s awesome stepping out of my comfort zone and showing my talent in a different way,” Harvey said.
“What I think went well was that everyone came together on all four shows,” Szymuszkiewicz said, “We all got along which just made things that much better.”
It was apparent that the cast had chemistry. Another interesting aspect of this play was that the actors were exposed on stage the entire time. When they weren’t in a scene, they were seated at benches along the outside of the stage.
The audience could see the actors yawn, scratch their heads, or even whisper something to the person sitting next to them, which was an interesting experience. In a way, it took the audience out of the mindset that these people were characters, and reminded spectators that these were actors.
That was the general feel of the play—exposed. Actors wore simple, understated costumes, faces could be seen through masks, and actors could be seen as the human beings that they are. The set had a gritty, metallic feel to it.
In doing these things, the play succeeded in highlighting the acting, which was quite good. The audiences may have been small, but overall, Equus was worth the watch.