Two seniors, Mo Zhou '09 and Jason Finkelstein '09, are putting new spins on two classic plays as they respectively direct "Miss Julie" and "Of Mice and Men" this weekend and next week.
Written by August Strindberg in 1888, "Miss Julie" is the story of a strong-willed woman of high status and the daughter of a count. She flirts with Jean, the count's servant, who is engaged to Kristin, a cook. Miss Julie is self-loathing as well as gender- and class-confused. "She hates men, but she can't help flirting with them," Zhou said.
On a midsummer night's eve, Julie and Jean sleep together, and the play unravels from there.
"It is a play about desire, about flirtation, about ambition prescribed by social norms," Zhou said.
Zhou first read the play last summer in a European modern drama class she was taking at New York University. She felt that she could relate to Julie, and she also fell in love with the language of the play.
Originally written in Swedish, many of the translations of Strindberg's plays maintain the misogynistic tones that he wrote into his texts. However, a group of feminist playwrights are rewriting his works. Zhou chose an edition rewritten by Helen Cooper, who plays with Strindberg's language to give power to female characters.
Zhou only recently started directing at Bowdoin. A native of China, Zhou spent 10 years training as a Chinese opera singer but had no experience with theatrical directing. However, during th efall of her junior year, she took a course with Associate Professor of Theater Davis Robinson. From there, she was the first student to participate in the Lincoln Center Theater Director's Lab, which is, according to Zhou, a director's boot camp. There, directors worked seven days a week, for three weeks, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day.
Zhou is now applying to graduate school for directing.
For Zhou, "Miss Julie" still has relevance at Bowdoin 120 years after it was written.
"I hope that everyone can face their hidden desires because desire is sometimes very dangerous," she said. "I've heard of some people who are disturbed by Bowdoin's social scene, and 'Miss Julie' has some resonance with college relationships. In both cases there is the question: 'Was it sex, love, or something in between?'"
While Zhou chose a foreign play to interpret, Finkelstein adapted an American classic.
The quintessential high school book, "Of Mice and Men," has meant different things to Finkelstein throughout his life.
"I came to it fearful that it is being made an archaic text, or even worse, an irrelevant one," he said.
Written by John Steinbeck, the story follows two migrant farm workers, George Milton and Lenny Small, in their search for land and the American Dream. George is intelligent and cynical and looks after Lenny, a big, strong man who is mildly disabled.
In order to highlight its relevance to today's society, Finkelstein strove to bring the story's controversial aspects to the forefront.
"When this book is read in high schools nowadays, there is a huge focus on the friendship aspect of the story," he said.
Elements such as race, sexuality, and the integral challenge of the American Dream are much more interesting and relevant, said Finkelstein.
"They rest at the nexus of our cultural identity as Americans," he said.
Finkelstein adapted "Of Mice and Men" for the stage over Winter Break.
"Writing is the easy part, directing is harder," he said. In addition to this project, he also directed "All My Sons" and an independent study called "Spics" last year.
When casting the play, Finkelstein said that he was "looking for reality over acting experience."
"I wanted people who were visceral and human. Working with developing actors gave them a certain honesty about them that is difficult to reproduce," he said.
Finkelstein identifies with Steinbeck over any of the characters in the play.
"I see what he's trying to create. He is challenging the status quo," he said.
That is precisely what Finkelstein plans to do.
"Miss Julie" will be performed tonight at 7 p.m. in Memorial Hall 108. "Of Mice and Men" will be performed Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Chase Barn. Admission is free to both shows.