There is exactly one word that sums up Shakespeare’s Hamlet perfectly: madness. And then, there are exactly two words that sum up Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: comedic madness.

A little bit of Hamlet 101 for everybody, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were messengers that had minor roles in Hamlet. In fact, the two had such small roles that throughout the original play, they never once make a physical appearance nor have any spoken lines — only mentioned in passing by other characters onstage. From Nov. 17 to Dec. 3, Granada Artist-in-Residence Michael Barakiva will be bringing Tom Stoppard’s absurdist Shakespearean play to life on the stage of the UC Davis Main Theatre.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, a play by Stoppard based on Hamlet, will be the last production directed by Barakiva, who had previously directed The Zona Rosa Project. For this production, Barakiva has created a unique stage setting by combining 1920s Hollywood silent films and an ethereal dream world. In addition, he will have dumb-shows in the play. A dumb-show is basically the performance of a play without any text and it was quite popular in Elizabethan Times. And the dumb-shows will contribute to the silent film atmosphere of the play.

“The play has several interesting elements,” Barakiva said. “We have Tragedians, actors who have to be able to do a lot without speaking and even play instruments. We have actors who speak Shakespearean text and we make Shakespearean jokes funny. And Rosencrantz and Guildenstern never leave the stage.”

What Barakiva himself finds interesting about the play is that Stoppard plucked the most obscene, rarely seen and used characters from one of the most famous plays in the English language world and created another play entirely just about them. During the process of re-writing Shakespeare, Stoppard also managed to totally transform Shakespeare and make it ridiculous and humorous for the audience. Instead of the usual facial cringes during the many gruesome scenes which pepper Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead had the ability to make audience members fall out of their seats to the ground in laughter.

Mitchell VanLandingham, a junior linguistics major who plays Rosencrantz, admires how the UC Davis production highlights the visual delights of the play.

“From a technical aspect, this production pushes the limits of what magic you can do in the theatre through special effects, set, lighting, music and sound,” VanLandingham said.” On the page, this play reads as the story of two men cycling through a series of bewildering events, but this production of it becomes a fantasy — which itself, surprisingly for a comedy, turns into a nightmare.”

Will Klundt, the second year MFA in Acting candidate playing Guildenstern, also commended on the superb technical aspects of the play.

“What I love most about this production is that it takes advantage of all of the possible ways that theatre can be magical,” Klundt said. “From live music, illusions, juggling, word play, an extraordinary story, to beautiful spectacle and hopefully a deeper understanding of who we are and how we live.”

The two actors agree that besides the striking visuals of the play, comedy is really the heart of everything.

“Come for the existential philosophy, stay for the hat tricks,” Klundt said.

Such an amazing production didn’t come at an easy price though.

“It was definitely thrilling and challenging. There’s no such thing as a standard production so you can really do anything with it,” Barakiva said.

In spite of this, Barakiva hopes that through the play, he’ll be able to give all the audience members a memorable experience.

“I always feel sad whenever I see young people just mainly interacting with their cellphones, which can cause mass misanthropy and the destruction of attention span. The experience of watching a play is different from any other experience you’ll have in life,” Barakiva said.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead will be showing today through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 20 and Dec. 1 to 3 at 2 p.m. . Tickets are $17/$19 general; $12/$14 for  students, children, and senior citizens. They can be bought at mondaviarts.org.

MICHELLE RUAN can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Theatre is one of the most creative forms of expression. It encompasses all types of artistic talent, acting, dance, singing and even visual arts. It is a way for people to express themselves and address important issues. Unity Clap Theatre, a new theatre club on campus, uses performing arts as a way of spreading their message and bringing awareness to important issues.

They are unique from other theatre groups on campus because they focus on multicultural plays. Unity Clap Theatre club started just this quarter. A group of friends came up with the idea last spring and spent the summer planning to turn it into a real club.

“We’re all in the same friend circle, we talked and found a similarity that every person goes through: a struggle or issue that other people don’t see unless they tell them about it,” said Nam Pham, public relations manager and senior human development major. “They might be made fun of or identified in a way that wasn’t appropriate. We felt like if we just tell ourselves in this friend circle about these problems, it’s getting nowhere and we need to tell the world.”

Luckily they were able to transform their ideas into an actual club with specific goals and messages. Every quarter, they will produce a student-written play or a professional play written by a minority playwright. The play produced each quarter will focus on a certain ethnic group and the struggles they go through. They will also address other types of discrimination such as sexism, homophobia and minority perspectives. Unity Clap Theatre club hopes this gives minorities a voice to express themselves and provide opportunities for others to learn.

“Not only are we using the performing arts as a tool to raise awareness of discrimination but we also want to teach the community about the different types of discrimination,” said Felix Cuma, president and senior dramatic arts major. “That way everyone can join. It’s not just for minority students, it’s for everyone.”

Anyone who is interested in theatre or the message that the club expresses can submit a playwright proposal and it will be transformed into an act on stage. The piece can be anything from a play, to a skit, to a song or even a poem. These events are not limited to acting; there are a variety of ways to express these ideas through performance. Additionally, people who are interested in directing, stage managing, lighting, etc. can also contribute to the productions the club puts on.

The first production the club will put on is a one-act play written by UC Davis Chicano students. Cuma came up with this idea after taking a Chicano Theatre course over the summer.

“The play is about how Chicano students go through different struggles such as discrimination, stereotyping, racial profiling and how those struggles pull them down and almost prevent them from continuing their school. It’s a distraction [and] an obstacle for their studies,” Cuma said.

But that is only half the performance. The second part will be improvisation skits written by other students. They held auditions this week for this part of the performance. It will be performed during Winter quarter.

In addition to their performances, Unity Clap Theatre also holds bimonthly meetings on Wednesdays in 101 Wright Hall, which is also where they will perform. Each meeting will have a different cultural topic, such as Chicano Theatre, Asian American Theatre, etc. Everyone is welcome to attend the meetings and contribute to the discussion. The meetings will also teach background of the topics if people are not informed about them.

“Personally, I think this club is way different and interesting because we already had our first meeting and even people who are non-theatre [majors]had so much fun too,” said Keyla Suntistbun, vice president and sophomore women studies and dramatic arts major. “Theatre is a form of expression and so for us [it is a way] to express ourselves in front of everyone and to expose ourselves; it’s a pretty big deal; it’s a way to let ourselves go and show who we are and connect with people.”

Unity Clap Theatre uses theatre to bring awareness to issues of discrimination, ethnicity and identity. Although it is a new club and ideas are still developing, this is the main goal. It will bring people of all backgrounds and circumstances together.

“I’m excited for our productions to be on stage and to see that the audience had learned something from our performances. That they are more aware about struggles and issues that go on everyday,” Cuma said.

PAAYAL ZAVERI can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Drake
Take Care
Universal Republic

Review: 3

In a recent review by Pitchfork, Drake was touted as the heir to Marvin Gaye. As it usually is with music critics or critics of any kind, the opinon as stated was hyperbolic.

The Canadian-born singer stands comfortably with the new-school of hip-hop artists that also includes Lupe Fiasco and Kid Cudi and of course, the godfather of this new-school genre, Kanye West. These guys are trying to take hip-hop inward — rapping with honesty about insecurities, and emotional turmoil. Fiasco raps with an incredible speed with meaningless lyrics leaving most of his music bordering on incomprehensible (e.g. Lasers) while Cudi usually raps about being self-involved and sad. Ironically, Drake’s first lyric on the album in the song “Over My Dead Body” is “how I’m feeling, it doesn’t matter”. Since the rest of the album and songs deal with Drake’s feelings, it seems to matter a whole lot.

Take Care shares numerous similarities with West’s 808’s & Heartbreak with sparse minimalist sounds with piano pieces and scathing lyrics confronting himself and those who hurt him. While the sounds and beats of the song appear subtle and low-key, the lyrics are biting. “Shot For Me” has Drake challenging a former lover to “take a shot for” him in the chorus while explaining “Yeah, I’m the reason why you always getting faded”. The song is immensely funny and can easily become the next anthem for couples who’ve recently broken up. When he is not too busy attacking former lovers, Drake also takes on other rappers and lets listeners know he really enjoys spending money.

In “Headlines”, a song about celebrity status, Drake criticizes mainstream music for concentrating too much on “what was or what will be, than what is”. That “what is” for Drake being what it takes to get over someone. Other parts of the album concern Drake getting used to and enjoying the success of his first official album from 2010 Thank Me Later. “In Crew Love”, Drake eviscerates education by saying “but seeing my family have it all, took the place of that desire for diplomas on the wall”. The theme comes back in “Underground Kings” with Drake stating “I drop out, lessons I was taught are quick to fade as soon I realize that term-end papers they won’t get me paid”. Lyrics like that make the album worth listening to. “Make Me Proud” is easily the best song on the album since it either is about Drake’s relationship with feminism or just Nicki Minaj, you can’t really tell the difference, but the song itself is probably the best balance between Drake’s conflict and the sparse truthful pop he’s aiming for.

Drake certainly misses the mark on trying to re-create Fleetwood Mac’s 70s album, Rumors, for the current generation. Drake’s latest stands along with his fellow contemporaries — Fiasco, Cudi, and West, are examples of artists proving that the idea success doesn’t make you invincible. And ultimately, they’re frustrated trying to find out why.

Give these tracks a listen: The Practice, Make Me Proud, Shot For Me, Doing it Wrong, We’ll Be Fine

For Fans Of: Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Lupe Fiasco, Drake

— Rudy Sanchez

MUSIC

The Nickel Slots
Saturday, 10 p.m., free (ages +21)
G Street WunderBar, 228 G Street
The Nickel Slots is a Sacramento-based band that features two UC Davis alumni. The band has recently released an album entitled Five Miles Gone which explores darker themes laced in powerful lyrics. The band is one of five nominees this year for Best Local Band in
Best of Sacramento Magazine. On Saturday, the band will bring their unique alternative country sound to Davis’ new “G street Pub”.

Yolo Mambo
Today, 6 p.m., free
Berryessa Gap Winery, 27260 State Highway 128, Winters, CA
Winters is one of those charming small towns that often gets neglected. Today is your chance to do some exploring. At the Berryessa Gap Winery, the local band Yolo Mambo will be playing their upbeat music to the backdrop of the scenic landscape.

THEATER/MONDAVI

UC Davis Symphony Orchestra
Sunday, 7 p.m., $8
Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center
Christian Baldini, the conductor of the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, will lead the ensemble in a night of classical music. Here’s your chance to catch the celebrated symphony orchestra before they head to Spain this spring for an extensive tour.

ART/GALLERY

The Basement Gallery: Christopher Robert Jones and James Walter Bovard
Today, 6:30 p.m., free
The Basement Gallery, Art Building
It’s a treasure that’s hidden within a building that not many people go through. The show features Christopher Robert Jones and James Walter Bovard’s series of sculptural, sound, and video installation work. Today, come join the artists for their opening reception to introduce their work in the gallery space.

Skype lecture with Ryder Ripps
Today, 4:30 p.m., free
TCS Building, Art Annex
This is the first Skype lecture by prominent new-media artist named Ryder Ripps. This will be an interactive event where Ripps shares his ventures as an artist in the art world. In conjunction with The Basement Gallery reception, audience members are welcome to join and celebrate.

UYEN CAO can be reached at theaggie.org.