The San Diego City College Dramatic Arts Department unveils its second production of the fall 2024 semester, “Stupid F##king Bird,” this time on the Black Box Theatre stage on Friday, Oct 25, 2024.
Written by Aaron Posner in 2018, the play includes a sizable content warning disclaimer and unlike most theatrical performances “Stupid F##king Bird” dives into the meta-theatrics with reckless abandon.
From the moment someone says, “Start the fucking show!” the audience will know this is not going to be a traditional production.
Meta-theatrics or metadrama refers to the reference of theatre or drama within a production, as evident by the breaking of the fourth wall, an imaginary line that defines the playing space from the audience. Throughout the show, actors often break the fourth wall, addressing the audience to express their frustrations and existential musings hoping for a response.
Director Kate Neff Stone, associate professor of dramatic arts, believes the script has deep human emotion that the cast has embraced. Those emotions are portrayed through the acting, not big theatrical tricks, and are best viewed in an intimate setting like a black box theatre, where the audience sits on three sides of the stage rather than the typical proscenium, one-sided seating.
“Part of what’s happening in the story is it’s very meta-theatrical. There’s a lot of references to the fact [that] we’re putting on a play right now,” Stone said. “The characters themselves are often aware that they’re putting on a play, which is really fun. We’re very excited to get audiences in to see it.”
“Stupid F##king Bird” is a contemporary adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull.” It reimagines the classic with modern language while keeping its core themes. The play explores familiar subjects like forsaken love, art, ambition and the existential crisis of life, but in a relatable and darkly humorous way, which the cast delivers wonderfully.
The plot centers around a group of artists, actors and writers struggling with their personal and professional lives. At the heart of the story is Conrad, played by Fortino Aguilar and understudied by Julyun Ray, an aspiring playwright obsessed with creating meaningful art and winning the love of Nina, a young actress played superbly by Lexie Solomon. Unfortunately for Con, Nina is more fascinated by fame and attracted to the more successful, older writer Trigorin, played masterfully by Daniel Savala.
The character relationships are full of love, longing, jealousy and disillusionment, mirroring Chekhov’s original play but with a more raw, cynical and self-aware tone.
“Early on we had figured that if we were ever struggling to make a choice on stage as actors, the choice was usually love,” Savala said. “Whenever we had a gap to fill and we were struggling to find an emotion, we picked love because 99% of the time that’s where it belongs in the show.”
Love, both romantic and familial, is central to the plot. Many of the characters experience unrequited love: Conrad’s love for Nina is not reciprocated, while Nina is infatuated with Trigorin, who is in a relationship with Conrad’s mother Emma, played by Bert Roztler. Roztler navigates the entangled relationships with grace and awareness that can only come with life experience, despite the emotional toll it takes on the characters.
The play also addresses the gap between generations, particularly in the relationships between Conrad and his mother, Emma. Their dynamic reflects a conflict between old and new ways of thinking. Rotzler delivers the more conventional views on art and life, while understudy Julyun Ray portrays Conrad’s desire to break away from the past and create something radically new. This tension between the characters was palpable and executed perfectly.
The self-awareness the cast exhibits gives “Stupid Fu##ing Bird” a postmodern edge, allowing it to both honor and poke fun at Chekhov’s original work, and by extension, the nature of theater itself. It’s a play about trying to create something new in a world where everything has seemingly already been done, and the deep emotional struggles that come with being an artist or simply being human.
Despite the pain and longing throughout “Stupid Fu##ing Bird,” life is always filled with people who support and love those who struggle for happiness. David Thornton, who plays Dev, life long friend of Conrad, stands out with his ability to soften the mood, reminding him and the audience of life’s beauty. While in the end, life may not always turn out to be what we hope for, the journey is oh-so cathartic.
“It’s very clear that Aaron Posner must have had so much fun writing (“Stupid F##king Bird”) and that lends to the actors having fun deciphering the characters,” said Aguilar. “That can lead to the audience having fun and we all need a little bit more fun in our life, right?”
City College’s production of “Stupid F##king Bird” opens on Friday, Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m. and runs through Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. Catch the show by getting tickets here.
