God Save Gertrude

Anne Sorey

1.) Directorial Vision-

a. I have only seen one production directed by Ashlee Wasmund, so I can’t say I

saw the director’s thumbprint.

b. I think Ashlee did a great job serving the play and the story. I was sitting on the

side of the Blackbox in an unfortunate seat, but I could see everything very

clearly that happened, so being aware of all the seating is a difficult job, but

Ashlee did very well.

c. The moment that stood out to me was having Gertrude laying on the ground

singing. It was such a pivotal point and having her on the ground singing was

such a powerful moment, showing her despair and losing her sanity. Another

interesting point was when Ashlee had Adrian play guitar in the audience.

2.) Performances-

a. Ashley was incredible, even though she is so young I believed she was a mother.

I could really understand the struggles she was going through, and she

connected well to all of the other characters, and entranced the audience with

the passion and intensity in her eyes. I think the rest of the cast had very one

dimensional characters. Ashley was almost on a different level than them. The

blocking was great because I could see what was happening even though I was

sitting on the side of the Blackbox. Everyone’s face was visible most of the time.
 b. Ashlee was able to pull emotional truths out of everyone, except it was difficult

to understand Charlie’s character. I was generally confused about what Charlie’s

purpose in the show and who he even was at the beginning. Callista seemed

very fake in her performance, as I thought her character wasn’t strong. I think

her character could have been likeable-but instead she made her annoying,

which I wasn’t a fan of.

c. I believed Ashley and Adrian’s performance in relation to the directorial style, as

it was very truthful and they both had strong characters. They fit the “angst”

vibe very well.

3.) Design Choices-

a. The design for the show fit perfectly in the Blackbox, and it filled the whole

space. At the same time, it never felt too crowded. The bar was great, and

having Adrian on television was a genius idea. I believe having such a detailed

set helped the cast develop who they where and what setting they were in.

Especially the light up door, and I noticed dust fall from the ceiling, which I didn’t

know if it was on purpose or it was happening because Bardo was dirty.

b. The aesthetic fit perfectly for the story. It was dark and angsty, which helped

with the ambiance of the place and the messiness of the posters and trash

everywhere almost resembled Gertrude’s mind and psychology.

4.) Overall Experience-

a. The production kept me intrigued for the most part. There were lapses where I

was a tiny bit bored and had trouble paying attention. However, this happens in
 most shows. It was somewhat difficult to understand in places, like how all the

characters connected to one another. For instance-what did Callista’s character

serve? I’m still not sure. I don’t think she added anything to the plot.

b. I did not feel moved emotionally, socially, or spiritually by the production. I just

couldn’t relate to any of the characters or story, so it was just interesting to

watch but made no impact on me.