The Blinn Players Present "The Good Woman of Setzuan"

           As directors say in the movie business, “Lights, camera, action!” However, in this case there were no cameras allowed. “All electronics should be turned off for the performance,” announced Bradley Nies, the director of The Good Woman of Setzuan, as the lights began to dim and anticipation spread throughout the crowd. The Good Woman of Setzuan, performed on February 18^th through the 21^st is the latest pride of the Blinn Players and most certainly not the last. Written by Bertolt Brecht in 1963, this in-depth story is one that takes place in the harsh streets of China, where almost everyone is poverty stricken and almost no one can afford a conscience.

The play opens a new perspective to the audience and portrays a troubled young lady known as, Shen Te (performed by Carolyn Lacy) being forced to live a life of promiscuity in order to survive. Once granted a surplus of money from the three Gods (Bryan Pope, Casey Glynn, and Wade Belew), Shen Te is forced to create a manly alter ego known as Shu Ta. In order to keep the money and still be a good person, Shen Te is torn between two personalities. Throughout the story the character Wong (Andy Burian) monitors her goodness and acts as a narrator for the audience. As the play continues, Shen Te becomes more reliant upon being Shu Ta and develops a deeper connection with that personality. In the end, Shu Ta winds up influencing her own good personality and is ordered by the Gods to abandon the character. This plot can be related back to many conscious thoughts of how we live our lives today. It is meant to teach the audience to measure the consequences and benefits of being good all the time.

Upon entering the auditorium of the O’Donnell Performing Arts Center one is greeted with tribal music reverberating off of the walls and onto the seats of the awaiting audience. Wooden huts of various sizes and lengths, with dangling arrays of shapes were placed on stage and colors bounced in every direction, striking one’s eyes like a rainbow colliding into the sun. As characters began to gather on stage with pointed round hats, similar to those in China, one can start to believe that they are really in the Far East.  The exotic overall atmosphere is further reinforced by the lighting effects, music and dramatic costumes donned by the Blinn Players.

In the end, the is asked audience to think of a better ending for the “good woman” other than what was created by Shen Te. This audience inclusion, otherwise known as Epic Realism, is what Bertold Brecht was famous for in his plays and what was brought back to life by the Blinn Players.

Some parts of the original play were changed to make the production more family friendly, Andy Burian (Wong) revealed that some scenes and lines had to be cut or changed from the original version. As well as the raunchy scenes, other scenes had to be cut due to the length of time allowed.

“I would’ve liked to do a little more exposition with Shen Te’s increased reliance on Shu Ta, but unfortunately there was a limited time frame,” explained director Bradley Nies.

Despite the alterations to the script, the plot still portrays many of the ideas towards the vices of today’s modern culture that such as money, love, and lust. It then goes on to analyze how these vices might go on to change one’s personality.  When given money one might obtain greediness, when love is taken one could develop sadness or anger, or when lust is found it could create blindness. The play shows that when a weakness overcomes you, you have no choice but to develop strength or hardness from it.

Being the most recent and most explorative production of the Blinn Players The Good Woman of Setzuan was performed and entered into the 2010 Texas Community College Speech and Theatre Association Play Festival where they will get feedback and advice based on their performance. Good Luck!