After working with their peers in numerous plays, Daniel LeBlanc and Andrea Graugnard are stepping into a different role as the writers and directors of “Ariel View,” an original performance based on the life and works of the American poet Sylvia Plath. “It’s terrifying to be directing it because you’re not onstage but you’re responsible for everything onstage,” said Daniel LeBlanc, theatre senior and co-director and author of the play. LeBlanc said he and Graugnard chose to write a play about Plath because of a project they worked on together for a class. “We both really like her so we did a project on her for a class based on one of her poems and it evolved into this,” LeBlanc said. LeBlanc said he was also interested in Plath’s life. “She wasn’t popular in her lifetime and today many of her poems have been hyped and misconstrued,” he said. “We also thought her life, her relationship with her husband and her suicide were all interesting.” Garrett Bruce, a theatre junior who plays the role of Frida, among other roles in the piece, said “Ariel View” should not be labeled as a play. “It’s not a play, period,” Bruce said. “It’s a theatrical piece. There is a story line and characters, but it is not plot driven.” Bruce said the theatrical piece is divided into seven chapters. “It is divided into chapters and each of those has a theme and her work has been misconstrued over the years and how they deal with modern times,” Bruce said. Bruce said some of the themes discussed include feminism, craziness and men. LeBlanc said Plath’s works continue to be misunderstood today, but “Ariel View” discusses how Plath did not always understand herself. “It’s interesting how much we misconstrue her and her works, but also she misconstrued her own life in her works,” LeBlanc said. Bruce said the life of Plath is tragic. “Her story is very Greek in that it is tragic and timeless,” Bruce said. Elizabeth Godley, a theatre junior and actress in “Ariel View,” said her favorite part of the play was the love triangle Plath was involved in. “I like the love triangle between Sylvia, Ted and Assia,” Godley said. “I thought it was interesting how Assia was haunted by Sylvia and killed herself in the same way Sylvia did years later.” LeBlanc said he tried to give the actors room for artistic input in the script. “We’ve been writing as we go,” LeBlanc said. “The actors have gone not really knowing what to expect all the time and we’ve given them freedom with the staging and the scripts.” Bruce said his work on the project has been fulfilling. “This has been the most meaningful project I have ever been a part of because it’s a group of your peers coming together and creating something from nothing,” Bruce said. “It’s collaborative, which is what theatre’s supposed to be.” Bruce said the teamwork used in “Ariel View” has made him more proud of his performance. “This is what art is about,” Bruce said. “As a theatre artist this is so important because it’s about getting good theater out there.” “Ariel View” will be performed Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Hatcher Hall Theatre. A suggested donation of $6 is accepted at the door.
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