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ARTS & CULTURE
bupipedream.com | March 28, 2023
HPC presents play within a play in ‘Noises Off’ The show depicts a band of actors performing a play. Dane McGrowder
arts & culture contributor
This past week, the Hinman Production Company (HPC) put on a rendition of “Noises Off,” a frenetic, comical bedroom farce about a band of colorful actors performing a fictional play. Considered “the funniest farce ever written,” “Noises Off” by Michael Frayn portrays a cast of messy, chaotic actors as they stumble through shows of an inuniverse play called “Nothing On.” While the production of “Nothing On” appears to be the initial focus of the plot, the characters as they exist outside of the play quickly take center stage. Director Alessandra Antonacci, a junior majoring in English, described the main hallmarks of the show. “One — strange sexual pairings,” Antonacci said. “Two — lots of doors, and three — a borderline nonsensical plot.” Tying “Noises Off’s” plot together is its humor, which kept the show engaging and inspired Antonacci to direct it. “When I talked about wanting to direct a comedy, ‘Noises Off’ was always on the roster of suggestions,”
Antonacci said. “I researched the show and fell in love with the comedy, but also the meta aspect of it being a play within a play.” The meta aspect of “Noises Off” is arguably the most central element of its story, as the actors on stage continuously switch between the personas of their characters and the personas their characters perform in “Nothing On.” While the first and third acts are framed around the rehearsal and shows of “Nothing On,” the play’s comedy and characters truly shine in the second act. Recontextualizing the scene displayed during Act I, Act II is a lengthy, detailed stunt sequence in which characters bicker, drink and threaten each other’s lives mere moments before they return to the performance. Despite the second act employing less dialogue, the fast-paced slapstick comedy serves to both elevate the drama and characterize the actors beyond their roles in “Nothing On.” “There are moments when every character is on stage and three different stunt sequences are happening at once, all of the doors are opening and closing and at least one person is getting threatened with an ax,” Antonacci said. “You have to watch it multiple times to really grasp the full scope of what’s going on.”
caspar carson assistant photo editor The Hinman Production Company put on a rendition of “Noises Off,” a frenetic, comical bedroom farce.
Luke Sullivan, a sophomore majoring in history who played Lloyd, “Nothing On’s” exacting, melodramatic director, also highlighted the interplay between the audience’s understanding of the characters in “Nothing On” and “Noises Off” as a unique part of his experience performing for the show. “It was interesting to see the character work on
different levels,” Sullivan said. By Act III, the play has almost entirely fallen apart as the line between performance and reality dissolved, with actors actively forgetting their lines mid-scene, multiple actors appearing as the same character and props disappearing and reappearing throughout the fracas. During the March 24 show, this degradation had progressed
so far that when actor John Ferrara — a sophomore majoring in biology who played Gary Lejeune — jumped off stage to shake his father by the collar, it was difficult to discern whether or not the audience themselves had been brought into the play’s world. Likewise, building on the discord of the first and second acts, conflicts such as Lloyd’s involvement with actress Brooke and stage
manager Poppy bleed into the final showing of “Nothing On.” In the words of Antonacci, by the final — malfunctioning — curtain of “Nothing On,” we’ve gotten “to know and love the messiest characters you can think of through their jokes, gags and relationships.” The next play produced by the HPC, “Something Rotten,” is set to begin showing in mid-April.
Sikh Student Association hosts first-annual gala The Punjabi gala featured food and entertainment. Revati Gelda
arts & culture intern
Binghamton University’s Sikh Student Association (SSA) decked out the Old Union Hall in colorful balloons, lights and a collage of pictures reflecting Sikh traditions and figures for their firstannual Punjabi Gala this past Friday. Whether it
was food, entertainment or dancing, the three-hour gala had something for everyone. It was evident that a lot of thought was put into the gala, right down to the minuscule details. Each table was beautifully curated with candles and rose petals as the centerpieces, and there was also a place to take photos that consisted of an orange backdrop to reflect a traditional color in Sikhism. Manjot Kaur, president
of SSA and a sophomore majoring in computer science, explained the inspiration behind the gala. “We really just wanted to show off Punjabi culture because it is unique and we do love celebrating it, from the dance to the fashion to the food and just the overall energy in a Punjabi celebration,” Kaur said. “I think we really wanted to bring that to campus and show off to everyone who we are.” Initially, as individuals
Students gathered on Friday night to celebrate the beauty of Punjabi culture.
began to arrive, there was mingling among the crowd and background music that kept the space lively. Eventually, attendees began to make their way toward their respective tables as the lights began to dim and the background music faded softly — indicating the start of the gala. The gala started off with an energetic E-Board entrance from SSA, which set the tone for the rest of the night. This entrance was
caspar carson assistant photo editor
followed by several performances — girls giddha — a popular folk dance for women in the Punjab region — boys bhangra and several coed bhangra dances. Jasmeet Kaur, events coordinator of SSA and a sophomore majoring in economics, described her experience as one of the choreographers for the coed bhangra dances. “Bhangra has been something that has been a huge passion of mine since I was a little girl,” Kaur said. “I love doing bhangra. I’m on the BU Bhangra team and I’m so glad I get to be able to continue doing it in college. This was my first time choreographing any type of bhangra dance, so I’m glad I got the opportunity.” All of the performances proved to be infused with high energy, and artistically showed off Punjabi culture. The combination of traditional bhangra music, the performers’ intricate hand and feet movements and their traditional South Asian attire worked to create various mesmerizing performances. Kaur explained her favorite part of putting the gala together. “I loved coming up with decoration ideas and [deciding] how to make our
event unique from other events,” Kaur said. Once the performances came to a close, the dinner portion of the night started. While the dinner proved to be an overall satisfying meal that included naan, rice, palak paneer and chicken tikka masala, it was the gulab jamun — fried balls of dough soaked in a syrup consisting of rose water, saffron and other aromatic flavors — that gave the meal a full circle feeling. After the dinner portion, there was a food-eating competition with the street food snack golgappa, which is most common in India but is known in other South Asian countries as well. This event added an interactive portion to the gala, as it had a fairly large audience involvement. The night ended with an open dance floor that continued the energetic atmosphere felt throughout the evening and simply brought together all attendees in a fun and carefree way. Kaur described her hopes for future SSA Punjabi Galas. “I think in the future it will be bigger,” Kaur said. “It will be better, we will be able to put on more events once we have the budget and we will be able to do different collaborations.”