Recently I had the pleasure of seeing one of the most well known fictional stories, Frankenstein by R.N Sandberg, performed beautifully inside the black box. The set space was minimal  but impactful, with diy crafts being used exceptionally to portray different settings while holding the environment of the 18th century fantastically, implementing an uneasy feeling into the audience, with strong accent, and brilliant dialogue from the characters.

 At the play’s start, the eerie mood of the play quickly was implemented into the audience with a haunting nightmare scenario of three people announcing the death of Victor Frankenstein’s loved ones. It set the tone for the whole play, constantly presenting scenes of Victor’s mind playing tricks on him. 

The young scientist, driven by ambition, succeeds in animating a creature. The triumphant moment Frankenstein

expected quickly became a nightmare through a scene of the creature taking physical action against Victor.  After Victor flees, the creature’s isolated existence brings him hatred through his venture into the world, after he is rejected due to his appearance. Scenes of confrontation between the creature and Victor show the creature’s anguish and miserable experiences while Victor’s disgust and rejection to the creature grows. Driven by anger and loneliness the creature demands of a companion after revealing the pain it has endured. The scene serves as an emotional climax leading up to Victor’s decision to take responsibility. After Victor reluctantly agrees, he begins constructing a female companion but grows increasingly tormented by the moral dilemma of creating another creature. This introduces a scene of his madness taking over his mind with a tormenting vision of the creature’s possible danger and destroys the process of creating the creature’s companion. Enraged by Victor’s destruction of his companion the creature vows revenge and begins his terror against victor’s family shown best through a scene of the creature killing Elizabeth on their wedding night. These tragic events show the consequences of Victor’s actions and are framed through scenes pushing both characters to their emotional limits.

The highlight of the play was Ian Ortiz as the Creature. His portrayal was heartbreaking and terrifying through his remarkable ability to convey the creature’s rage and longing for acceptance, especially through scenes of confrontation with Victor. His unnatural movements and frightening voice brought a chilling and mesmerizing feeling through each scene, creating a climatic and anticipating suspense.

Evan Avery as Victor Frankenstein, was equally as remarkable through his portrayal of a man unraveling through his own madness and ambition. His frantic and paranoid actions captured the scientist’s descent into madness and played exceptionally well,  with the creature’s rage and hatred. The chemistry between both Evan and Ian was amazing making each scene between the creator and creation feel tense, and deeply tragic.

The play was directed by Elena Forbes, marking a great achievement, being the first student directed play in the school’s history. Her Leadership led to a phenomenal and enjoyable play, while also opening up other possibilities for more student directed plays. The play was a new experience for everyone on the theater team following a new process, pace, and structure but ultimately resulted in a masterpiece. 

“ It was really scary but in the end I felt really accomplished, ” said director Elena Forbes.

Overall, Frankenstein was an unforgettable theater experience. The strong performances, atmosphere, and themes presented made it entertaining and thought provoking. The play was my favorite that I have seen so far and recommend it to anyone who is interested in stories that explore deep themes with a great story behind it.