Members of JMuse find family in theater

On Tuesday, a group of actors and actresses gazed at their reflections in the floor-length mirror in front of them. Spontaneous bursts of singing interrupted the floor stretches they did in preparation for that evening’s rehearsal.

This group of students formed the cast of “Identify Me,” the latest production from student group JMuse Productionz.
 
The show premieres at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Willkie Auditorium and is free to the public.

“Identify Me” focuses on two parallel plotlines, each of which deals with
questions of identity.

The main storyline centers on a wealthy family, the LeBluffs, and their interactions and relationship between their maid and her son, G-Ross.
 
Throughout the course of the play, G-Ross discovers that his father is Mr. LeBluff, and his sister is Lola LeBluff. This comes as a shock to G-Ross, as he has lived with both Mr. LeBluff and Lola his whole life without knowing his relation to them.

A secondary plotline emerges in the story of Giovanni, a boy who lives with his two gay fathers. Giovanni receives pressure from one of his fathers to adopt a homosexual lifestyle, but he identifies as a heterosexual.

Sophomore Ashley Nelson has been a member of JMuse since she was a freshman, and she landed the lead role of Lola. She said playing a character similar in age to herself makes it easy to adopt her role.

“Though she’s kind of a more uppity, rich girl, there are certain things in her struggles that I’ve been through, similar things,” Nelson said. “I just try and feel things from her point of view.”

Nelson rejoined her fellow cast-mates in rehearsal, taking her place in a circle to sing vocal scales.

Junior Ignoisco Miles is the current president of JMuse, serves as the director
of “Identify Me” and was a part of the team that wrote the play.

“When you’re working with students and you’re not the theater department, it becomes harder because you have to rely on people’s dedication and their love for what they do,” he said. 

Despite these greater obstacles of scale, he said the dynamics embodied in those involved with JMuse are reminiscent of a family and are what allow for the group’s successful productions.

“In being a student I might be able to relate to them. We might have gone through the same issues that connect us,” he said. “You can build a better relationship with your cast when you’re the same age, as they can trust you and feel like they can come talk to you.”

Sophomore Pearl Scott, who plays the role of Mrs. LeBluff, agreed with Miles on the personal nature of the theater company. Like Nelson, she has been a part of JMuse since her freshman year.

“At first, it was just something to get involved in,” she said. “But once somebody new starts to become a member of JMuse, they’re instantly a member. The family aspect is why I did it again this year. I just had to come back.”

Scott returned to the dance floor to join in the number the cast practiced. A male cast member lifted her in the air, brought her back down, and she seamlessly joined into the steps being performed.

“Identify Me” is one of JMuse’s large-scale productions. Throughout the year, the group performs as intermission and introductory acts. Whether a smaller performance or a more high profile piece, each JMuse production has a common thread of morality.

“People go through stuff like this all the time, maybe not this extreme,” Nelson said. “It is good for people to see that college students can take real life stories and real problems and be able to express them through song and poetry. It’s important for them to see this from the students themselves and not some other company.”

Cast members continued to move in and out of the velvet curtains of the practice studio as their choreography was counted out in time. Among shouts of “focus” and “serious now,” each actor maintained a persistent smile.

“I’m very optimistic that a lot of people are going to come out,” Miles said. “I believe that our usual following will come out, but I also think we’ll have some new audience members come, too.”