By Emily Saks, Staff Writer
The Bi-College Theater Department’s fall show, Deathbed Edition, directed by Mark Lord, held performances on November 8–10th and 14–16th. The production is based on the works of renowned poet Walt Whitman and weaves in tales about zombies, 19th-century poetry, nature, and social media—all of which is brought to life by a cast of fifteen students. The ambitious performance sought to address the question: how does the advent of the internet and social media, which are transforming human consciousness, impact our living—as students, as artists, and as citizens?
The script was largely made up of poems from Whitman’s Leaves of Grass (the deathbed edition), including “The Sleepers,” “Song of Myself,” and “Song of the Rolling Earth,” among others. The story’s characters were zombies that lived in a different world and were brought back to life to warn us of the dangers of technological advancement and climate change. The production utilized the performance space and sound in creative ways, incorporating intriguing visual imagery, haunting melodies and layered voices to draw the audience into the characters’ world.
Understanding the production of the show requires a close reading of the poems themselves. In the first poem performed, “The Sleepers,” the narrator describes wandering through the darkness and observing the sleepers around him. In the poem, sleep symbolizes death. The narrator states that he becomes one with the other dreamers, merging with them. During this section of the show, all of the actors were lying on the ground, with an image of the ocean projected on the walls around them and on the floor below them. The work implies that they are sleepers, each coming from diverse walks of life. The poem itself also hints at the concept of reincarnation and passage of time, themes that appear throughout the show. The ocean visuals reference parts of the poem that describe a swimmer who struggles to stay afloat but ultimately drowns. The sea could represent a spiritual or dream-like state, a bridge between consciousness and unconsciousness.
Deathbed Edition stands out among Mainstage productions done in recent years, and was evidently the product of extensive research done by all those who took part in bringing the show to the stage. While thought-provoking and deeply reflective, the show also provided moments of humor and clarity. Overall, Deathbed Edition was a unique and immersive experience, a self-aware commentary about the changing world we live in.
Image credit: Bryn Mawr College
