A common movement in theatre is writing a play which blurs the lines of chronological events, so it is about time LSU’s Swine Palace contributed to this movement by producing Doris Baizley’s “Shiloh Rules.”
“Shiloh Rules,” set in present day Shiloh National Military Park, West Tennessee, illustrates the interactions between two groups of Civil War re-enactors, a park ranger, and the ambiguous Widow Beckwith.
The two-act play sets up which actors are in the Union, which are Confederate and their relationship to each other as enemies and as fellow actors.
The second act blurs the audience perceptions of each character, reversing many roles and forcing each actor to come to terms with the role they must play, within the fictional war and their present day lives.
Directed by John Dennis, “Shiloh” is comprised of an all female cast, including Actors’ Equity Association members Jane Brody, Sharon London, Cristine McMurdo-Wallis, Susan Murray, and theatre Master of Fine Arts students Tara MacMullen and Michelle McCoy.
The MFA actors kept up with the veteran actors with seemingly effortless results; their lack of a professional title does not discredit their energized performances.
MacMullen creates a malleable character that visibly absorbs the world around her.
Not to be outdone, McCoy provides garish comic relief and vocal reminders that bring the audience back to the present.
London’s Ranger Wilson slowly lost plausibility throughout the play. She starts strongly as an audience favorite, but when her role becomes more integral to the story, she seems to back down from the challenge.
Meanwhile, Murray’s portrayal of Miss Clara May Abbott never really takes flight. Murray does seem to understand her relationship with the other characters and her important function as a celebrated re-enactor. However, the unfocused delivery of her monologue suggests she may not understand her own character or actions.
Brody, an LSU theatre professor, kept the audience laughing on the edge of their seats with the uninhibited Beckwith. Her antics and precise comedic timing saved some of the dragging scenes.
Brody sets a good example for her students by establishing clear relationships with other characters and playing the peddling Beckwith as if she were to die if she lost her ability to illegally hawk authentic Civil War wares.
McMurdo-Wallis shines as Mrs. Cecilia DeLaunay Pettison. Characters in the play and audience members share moments where the lines between Pettison, the Civil War nurse, present-day Pettison, and McMurdo-Wallis blend seamlessly.
A professional books-on-tape narrator, McMurdo-Wallis brings an elevated level of connectivity to her work and awareness of her character, which is supported by her vocal talent and her strong, purposeful physicality. Her intensity is unparalleled and one could only hope her level of commitment inspired the other actors’ performances, and vice versa.
The set, a national park, is cleverly designed with leaves and tree stumps. Behind the stage is a projection screen, hidden behind translucent sheets that are lightly painted with trees. This screen provides additional lighting effects to set the scene, including nighttime lighting complete with stars and a full moon.
During the “war,” the screen is flooded with clips from a reenactment and gunshots and cannon fire resound in the theatre. However, the film is unnervingly distracting, suggesting the screen is best used for supplementary setting, and the background gunshots sound like microwave popcorn. Both disconnect the viewer from the piece and most audience members cannot reconnect before the end of the first act.
“Shiloh Rules” boasts a strong cast, as an ensemble, and does not require the attention span of typical two or more hour plays in theaters today. The set is magnificent and the relationships are engaging, another slowly diminishing facet of modern drama.