Dorm Drama

Dorm life usually brings to mind dining halls, study lounges and
floor socials. But the somewhat infamous “Frederick of
Hedrick” adds a little something extra to the Hill by
providing anyone the opportunity to get involved in a theater
production, regardless of previous experience or major.

English Professor Frederick Burwick, who is also a
faculty-in-residence at Hedrick Hall, has been directing a
historical revival play every year since 1999, sponsored by the
Office of Residential Life. This year’s production,
“The Haunted Tower” by Donatien Alphonse Francois,
better known as the Marquis de Sade, will be performed this
weekend, March 3-5, at the Northwest Campus Auditorium.

Burwick procured the musical score for this operatic production
from the Drury Lane Theatre archive in London as part of his annual
search for inspiration for the following year’s theatrical
production. On his return, Burwick discovered that, coincidentally,
the sole surviving manuscript of the Marquis de Sade’s French
version is in UCLA’s Clark Library, and the original
manuscript of the English adaptation is in Pasadena’s
Huntington Library.

And so Burwick went to work. He held auditions just before
Thanksgiving break, and rehearsals began the first week of winter
quarter so the cast would be ready to perform by eighth week. Come
ninth week, Burwick, or Fred as he is known to the cast, likes to
take the play on the road.

“I like to give the cast more for what they
invested,” Burwick said.

This year “The Haunted Tower” will be performed for
a conference at Cal State Long Beach on March 9. Some of the cast
will also be joining Burwick in Grasmere, England this summer as
part of the English department’s two-week travel study
program on romanticism.

Burwick sought a challenge for himself and his cast this year in
performing “Tower,” which contains 29 operatic
songs.

“Fred is very ambitious,” said Kristin Crawford, a
fourth-year English student who has worked with Burwick for four
years and plays Lady Elinor in this year’s production.
“This (play) is very challenging, but it helps that Fred puts
so much faith in his actors. He trusts everyone and believes in all
the cast. It requires a lot of commitment and time but in the end
it is so rewarding.”

The castmembers describe their director as exuberant and
passionate, with a motivational attitude.

“Fred is like a conscience ““ no one wants to
disappoint him,” said Brian Hayden, a fourth-year English
student who met Burwick when he participated in last summer’s
program in England. He was subsequently encouraged to audition for
this year’s production where, he said, “Fred adopted
me.”

The play itself is very unusual. The Marquis de Sade was
notorious for his pornographic ways (Burwick describes his novels
as “hard core”), so although “The Haunted
Tower” is a toned-down version of his style, it still retains
his characteristically raunchy humor.

“(“˜The Haunted Tower’) is harmlessly naughty,
no worse than a PG-13 (rating),” Burwick said.

Crawford explained how the juxtaposition of the Mozart-like
musical compositions and the bodily, sexual jokes make for a
dynamic play.

“There is an interesting flow to it, moving very fast from
high to low art, and it takes the audience with it,” she
said.

This production, as in previous years, provides a unique
opportunity for UCLA students. In putting on a play through the
dorms, Burwick encourages those who may not necessarily see
themselves on the stage to get involved.

“It’s so exciting to meet students with enthusiasm
and talent,” he said. “A lot (of students) feel
insecure about their talent but I like to help them develop it,
polish up their skills. Acting requires certain skills that we all
need in life, such as memorizing lines which can help (them) to
cram for exams, and so whether or not my students go on to pursue
an acting or musical career, they have all learned
something.”

Burwick’s plays also give those students who would like to
be involved in theater, but are not following it as their academic
path, a chance to act.

“It is the only opportunity if you want to do musicals and
you are not in a musical program,” said Yvette Holzwarth, a
first-year English student who heard about the play through friends
in Hedrick Hall.

The impact of Burwick’s plays extend beyond the final
curtain fall. Second-year student Amy Cox originally came to UCLA
to study electrical engineering. But after performing in last
year’s production and attending the program in England over
the summer, Cox decided to study English instead.

“This whole thing is a great way to explore,” Cox
said.