Intuitons give 'Alice' a new look

Group's fall show is adaptation of Lewis Carroll favorite Intuitons' fall show, Alison Wonderland, will open tonight in Houston Hall Auditorium. An adaptation of Lewis Carroll's novel Alice in Wonderland, the show will include both traditional scenes and new material. Approximately 15 years old, Intuitons is the "only experimental theater group on campus," said College sophomore Leah Klerr, the assistant director of the show. "We strive to do shows that other groups may not do." In recent years, Intuitons has created work-in-progress productions, without specific original scripts. Alison Wonderland is no exception. It too is a work-in-progress show. Though the basic foundation was taken from Carroll's novel, the cast wrote a great deal of the final product, which includes a combination of real- life scenes and dream sequences. "I don't think anyone has ever done Lewis Carroll like this before," Nursing senior and chair of the Intuitons board Beth Montgomery said. Taking advantage of Houston Hall Auditorium, the cast uses both the stage and the center floor space. Many "real life" scenes onstage will parallel the dream-like events that occur on the floor. As a result, audience seating is limited. Many of the 12 cast members portray more than one character, switching between the scenes in Wonderland and those in the "real world." Cast members emphasized the cooperative effort of everyone involved through writing, set designing, and acting. "It was a big undertaking," College freshman Mark Goldman said. "This is the most thoroughly involved I've ever been in a play." Nursing freshman Shannon Bisbee concurred. "It's a very non-traditional play...We all had a hand in it." "A lot of what the show is is how I'm feeling as a senior," College senior and director Michael Breslow said. "I'm providing people with a way of looking at things, but I'm not giving them the answers." Breslow added that some people have misconceptions about what type of group Intuitons is. "A lot of people will classify the group as strange," he said. "I don't think that's a fair way of describing it. We just don't do mainstream type shows." Using simple sets and costumes, Breslow said he hopes that the audience will pay attention to "the words and feelings, instead of a big rabbit suit." "The show's goal is simply to give everyone something to think about," Klerr said. Alison Wonderland opens tonight at 8 p.m. and will run through Saturday night as well as next Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Tickets are available on Locust Walk for $5.