The Lumberjack

Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: Culture

Media Credit: Torrey Hartman A photo of one of the Insectia drawings. All of the costumes were rendered by Assistant Professor Rae Robison. Drawing photographed with permission.

"Insectia - The Ant Wars," an original, family-friendly production, will be put on by the Humboldt State University Theater and Dance Department at Van Duzer Theatre Feb. 21 through March 1.

Set on the bright forest floor of Insectia, this play is a fantastic look into the life of bugs. With characters including the Butterfly, the Black Widow, the Caterpillar, and the Banana Slug, this student production buzzes with imagination.

"I would call this play physical theater," artistic director Jyl Hewston said. "The action is based more in gesture and movement than dialogue. Since the characters are bugs, they all have their own languages," Hewston said.

Hewston has been teaching at Humboldt State since she was a student here. Trained in physical theater, such as vaudeville and circus, Hewston wanted the play to be as creative as possible.

"This play is more like a cartoon. The soundtrack and the actions do most of the speaking," Andrew Schnell, junior theater arts major, said. Schnell plays the Leaf-Cutter Ant General, hell-bent on defending his territory from the invading Fire Ants.

"Some of the characters have superpowers, too," Hewston said. "The Ladybug, for example, has a superstitious quality of being lucky. She uses that to get out some sticky situations."

If the family-friendly slogan is making you think twice, consider that this is a play about a war. "The Ants have quite a few fight scenes," Hewston said. "[Andrew Schnell] trained them in staff fighting."

"There are also members of the Humboldt Circus in the cast. Some of the characters have been training with poi spinning and rope dart, which is similar to poi but with a longer rope," Hewston said.

"Everyone brought a special skill into this production to make it better, whether it be singing or dancing, or even staff fighting," Hewston said.

Fourth-year theater arts major Erin Voudy did the original sketches for the costume design. "I'm a huge fan of Japanese pop culture and anime, so that influenced the costume design. It's really eccentric," she said.

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