HEADSHOT, an original play debuted at Millikin, kicked off the Mainstage season this semester. It premiered Thursday, Sept. 29 in Albert-Taylor Theater and ran until Sunday, Oct. 2.

Director Kari Margolis conceived the idea for the show a couple of years ago with former Millikin students.“From there, Kari took it to her own professional company that she runs in New York called ‘The Adaptors,’” said sophomore musical theatre major Logan Johnson.

Johnson played one of the members of the Motley Crew in the show, which were a band of eyebrow-less, emotionless factory workers clothed in gray. He said he has never been in a play like this one. In fact, most of the actors haven’t. In theatre terms, HEADSHOT  is described as a devised play, which means that the script is still being written during rehearsals.

Johnson said, “It was definitely one of the most difficult things that I’ve done, but it was wonderful. It was a very rewarding process. It’s a lot of work, but all theatre’s a lot of work, and that’s why you do it. You fall in love with the work.” The play strives to demonstrate the lengths people go to change themselves in order to please others or conform to society’s standards.

“We used actors and this very outrageous audition process as a commentary on the fact that people are always changing themselves. People are always trying to change themselves for others through such things as the difference between impressing the generations or even plastic surgery or things like that,” Johnson said.

Before the show started, the audience watched as the Motley Crew performed various tasks in the background. Additionally, senior acting major Trinity Thomas was front and center, portraying a disturbing Margot Fontayne  by primping herself in front of the mirror. When she showed her face, it was clear that she had multiple plastic surgeries. Throughout the play, she had even more plastic surgery to achieve the perfect look.

Fontayne’s role seemed to be mocked by the Motley Crew, because the Motley Crew embodied the idea of conformity. Fontayne was doing just that by trying to look like someone else.  Interestingly, this was the first production that used the Motley Crew.

“All five of us got to be a part of creating these characters from the ground up, and it was a wonderful experience,” Johnson said. Other actors in the play who got to create their own work were junior acting majors  Ben Brawner and David Blakeman and senior acting major Meghan Bryan. They were part of Mission Control. The part was described to them as a Brechtian Device, which Brawner said was used to “separate, while also serving to move the show forward. We’re also a reminder to the audience that it is a production.”

Sophomore musical theatre major Jordan Luty composed most of the songs, while music and multimedia director Tony Brown wrote the lyrics. The experience that Mission Control brought with their live music made it feel as if the audience were in on the joke with them.  Brawner admitted that even though he’d taken piano lessons for seven years, he hadn’t played the piano in about seven or eight years.

“It was really enlightening to be able to get back into that part. It was breathtaking, I guess, is how I would describe how cool it was to be able to jump into something not new, but something old that made it feel new,” Brawner said. All of Mission Control had to be able to play an instrument. Bryan played the electric guitar while Blakeman played the clarinet. It was spectacular and all a product of constantly changing ideas being thrown out from day to day.

“Kari, depending on the day, was feeling one thing over the other, but eventually all of that coalesced into something that I think was pretty magical,” Brawner said. Last, but certainly not least, there 10 auditionees, or actors playing actors. We watched as all of the actors’ façades gradually slipped away the more they waited and the more they began second-guessing themselves.

Junior theatre major Kathleen Mitchell played Vera Belmont, the oldest actor of them all. She had thick black eyebrows and even thicker under-eye bags. As her façade slipped, it became obvious that Belmont is a conflicted woman. Part of her knew that she had the upper-hand because of her vast experience, but the other part of her knew that she was past her prime.

“Vera was supposed to have this very low, smoky voice and be like, ‘too many martinis,’ ‘too many cigarettes,’ you know? It was a good idea. The main reason we didn’t go with it was because I couldn’t do the voice without hurting myself. So, [Margolis’] like, ‘Well, why don’t you try a more sing-song-y voice?’” Mitchell said. 

Not only did Mitchell get the opportunity to create Belmont’s voice, she also got to bring her own interpretation to the character through other famous examples, per Margolis’ suggestion. “She told me she wanted me to look like Joan Crawford. She’s an old movie star and she’s got crazy eyebrows. And she told me one time that she wanted me to have all the heartbreak and sadness of Judy Garland in her later years,” Mitchell said. Of course, playing an older character isn’t always an easy task, especially when you don’t look the part. Therefore, Mitchell had to wear prosthetic eye bags underneath her eyes and had to have layers upon layers of makeup to contour her face and make her look as old as she was supposed to be.

Although the costume was a difficult aspect, Mitchell was grateful for it, because it allowed her to connect more with the character. From the costume to the spontaneity of the ever-changing script, Mitchell discovered so much. “It made me gain confidence in throwing ideas out there and it was such a different environment, that I think going into other environments, I’ll be better at being prepared and being open to whatever flexibility you have to have,” Mitchell said.

Special thanks to assistant directors Jarod J. Hanson and Denise Myers, scenic designer Allie Wilson, costume designer Barbara Mangrum, sound designer Dani Ryan, lighting designer Therese O’Shaughnessy, and stage manager Brittany Schmidt. Without them, the experience would not have anywhere near the same caliber.

Interested in upcoming main stage productions? Come out for Nice Work if You can Get It in November, Solstice, A Concert of Dance, in December, Mauritius in March, As You Like It in April, and Heathers: The Musical in May.