The cast will also perform 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11-14 and at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15.
Tickets are available online at the department’s website or the IU Auditorium box office.
Tickets are $25 for general admission, $20 for senior citizens and $15 for students.
“Pride and Prejudice” was published as a novel in 1813 and follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet and her five unmarried sisters in 19th century England.
Two bachelors, Mr. Darcy and Charles Bingley, move into the neighborhood. Bingley takes a liking to the eldest daughter, Jane, and Darcy continually clashes with the second-eldest daughter, Elizabeth.
The story deals with issues of upbringing, morality, class, ?education and marriage in the 19th century.
“It’s a very sweet, classical show,” said Jason West, who plays Bingley. “It’s a classic for many reasons. I hope it lives up to the audience’s expectations.”
West auditioned with the rest of the theater students in late August. He was cast in this particular show, but he said it was his first choice from the season.
The cast started practicing and rehearsing midway through September. Since then, they have memorized their lines, practiced with the stage directions and completed dress rehearsals from 6 to 11 p.m. six days a week.
“I would say the most challenging part is creating a relationship with Jane with the very few scenes he has with her,” West said of his character. “We have a lot less time to do that and take the characters through that journey.”
Because Bingley and Jane are not the main characters, they do not have as much onstage time as Elizabeth and Darcy. Unlike the attention they receive in the original novel, there is a lot less time to develop the same relationship for the audience.
To create that same relationship, West had to make sure the scenes he has onstage are passionate and make sense for the audience.
Despite the difficulty with building the story, West said Bingley is an exciting character to play.
“What excited me was that he’s very similar to me personally, which makes him easy to play,” West said. “He’s very different from other people in his class. He’s more free. He doesn’t care about manners and rules.”
Performing different people is what first got West interested in theater. He started in 2003 when he was in high school and continued in other community ?productions.
He studied theater education and performed during his education at Utah State University. Now at IU, he is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in acting.
“It’s very fulfilling to take on parts that are not you,” he said. “It makes you more understanding and open to other types of thinking. You have to like your character and understand your character to play them. It’s a really human experience.”
In this production of “Pride and Prejudice,” that experience happens quickly for the actors and audience.
Unlike regular plays, this production has no black-outs, or the periods of time when the stage darkens to switch sets and costumes.
This presented a particular challenge for the costume designer, Kelsey Nichols.
During the 19th century, women had very specific outfits for different occasions, Nichols said.
Class was also very important and she had to differentiate those levels with the costumes and accessories, especially for Elizabeth.
“Elizabeth pretty much never leaves the stage,” Nichols said. “She also has the most costume pieces of ?everybody.”
Nichols attended the first rehearsal with the set and lighting designers to collaborate on each part of the show.
She also heavily researched the period to make sure the costumes were not only historically accurate, but also understandable to the audience.
“I looked into ways the period could be manipulated to read for a modern audience,” she said. “Because it’s Jane Austen, there’s a huge fan following. I looked at how audiences interpret the piece and the period today.”
Nichols separated characters into their respective classes to help distinguish them.
The country folk, she said, wear softer colors and lighter fabrics.
The wealthier characters were richer colors and fabrics and have flashier ?jewelry.
“The appearance is very important,” she said. “It’s important to keep them in the same world but maintain that variation.”
The appearances in the production say a lot about the class and society of the time, but Nichols said the show is still an uplifting one.
“When it comes down to it, this is a love story,” she said. “I think people will leave content with what they’ve seen. They’ll leave in a good mood.”
