Abigail Hebert

Last Friday and Saturday, Masque & Gown welcomed audiences  to “Doing David,” a collection of eight short plays by playwright and novelist David Ives. Directed by Julia Starck ’26, the three performances took place in Pickard Theater before students, faculty, staff and community members.

Each of the eight scenes lasted approximately 15 minutes, with cast members taking on both leading roles and supporting roles throughout the show.

The skits featured absurdist and comedic plots, requiring actors to quickly develop characters and narratives for audience understanding. Ellen Salovaara ’26, who played a washing machine in one skit and a mayfly in another, emphasized the importance of fully embodying each character to bring the stories to life.

“We tried very hard to make them super snappy to fully develop characters,” Salovaara said. “I think a lot of the character development came through the physicality of the characters, especially because a lot of our costumes were all very similar, and we just added a few props to each character. We had to trust the script to go through the story and especially leaned into the comedic elements to keep the audience focused.”

Mateo Nix ’29, another cast member, highlighted both the opportunities and challenges playing these characters presented. Nix first embodied Edgar Degas in “Degas, C’est Moi,” bringing the 19th-century painter to life in modern-day New York City. His second leading role in “Universal Language” required him to speak a nonsensical language incoherent to the audience.

“Playing Degas, you have to play a very eccentric character. So that one was very fun to do because you just get to ramble a little bit. [‘The Universal Language’] was a lot harder to memorize because the process involved both learning a language that was fake … memorizing those lines,” Nix said.

The skits juxtapose complex tropes and literary themes with preposterous settings and characters. Salovaara’s washing machine in “Soap Opera” seduces and entraps a repairman, generating questions around human existence and the bounds of love. She explained that this contrast pushed her boundaries as an actor.

“It was very sort of comedic and absurd. But I was really excited, because I’ve never played a femme fatale character like the washing machine was,” Salovaara said. “I definitely kind of nerded out for it and did some research, and I read articles on different plays and small characters and watched some clips of my favorites to get some inspiration for the voice and embodying that character.”

Salovaara also noted the cast’s focus on onstage narrative rather than broader character development in the show’s abbreviated format.

“I think the biggest difference would be just not having to stress about character development over different scenes. Once you’re on stage, you’re that character,” Salovaara  said. “Once you’re off stage, you’re no longer that character. I think that helps just think about their story in a more succinct way.”

Nix and Salovaara both highlighted the lighthearted nature of the show and the connections made between the cast members. Salovaara owes this chemistry to Starck’s directing and casting.

“[Starck] is incredible as a director and as a person. She keeps it very fun while also keeping us on track and in line,” Salovaara said. “I trust her judgment a lot. She chose a cast of really dedicated, but also just very enthusiastic and energetic people to play these very good, absurd, comedic plays. I think you have people with big personalities…. We had a ton of fun behind stage.”

Nix noted the differences in content between what Masque & Gown usually performs and this show as a driver of fun behind the scenes.

“[In the fall Masque & Gown] show, I had a little bit of a larger part, so it was a lot more to deal with. It was long, two and a half hours, but this one was just a lot more fun to do,” he said.

Phoebe Kreutz ’28 attended Friday night’s performance and appreciated the myriad of roles each actor performed throughout the night.

“I enjoyed the play because we got to see each of the actors playing a variety of different roles that showcased different acting and comedy skills,” she said in a message to the Orient.