LLoouuiissiiaannaa SSttaattee UUnniivveerrssiittyy LLSSUU DDiiggiittaall CCoommmmoonnss LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2009 TThhee rroollee ooff YYuusseeff AAkkbbaarr AAzzzziizz AAll--NNaassssaarr GGaammeell EEll--FFaayyoouummyy aanndd tthhee ccoonnssttrruuccttiioonn ooff ssppeecciifificc rreellaattiioonnsshhiippss iinn tthhee ppllaayy TThhee LLaasstt DDaayyss ooff JJuuddaass IIssccaarriioott bbyy SStteepphheenn AAddllyy GGuuiirrggiiss Kaluhath Kenneth De Abrew Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Theatre and Performance Studies Commons RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn De Abrew, Kaluhath Kenneth, "The role of Yusef Akbar Azziz Al-Nassar Gamel El-Fayoumy and the construction of specific relationships in the play The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Stephen Adly Guirgis" (2009). LSU Master's Theses. 625. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/625 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE ROLE OF YUSEF AKBAR AZZIZ AL-NASSAR GAMEL EL-FAYOUMY AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF SPECIFIC RELATIONSHIPS IN THE PLAY THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT BY STEPHEN ADLY GUIRGIS A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in The Department of Theatre by Kaluhath Kenneth De Abrew B.A., Ohio Wesleyan University, 2005 May 2009 DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis with love to the late Mr. Subramainam, aka the Sri Lankan Shakespeare, who for some reason thought that I could act when I was no more than thirteen years old. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would not be an MFA acting candidate without the help of many individuals. Acknowledging every one of them is an impossible task simply because there are so many. Therefore, I will thank a few who have specifically helped me in this project. George Judy, thank you for your confidence and kind support. Thank you to my classmates (Andrew, Yohance, Scott, Leigh-Erin, Jessica and Amber) and friends. Nick Erickson, I thank you for guiding me through the process of documenting my work. Thank you to my teachers Joanna Battles, Christine Menzies, Rick Holden, Molly Buchmann, Michael Tick and Les Wade at Louisiana State University. I will also never forget the guidance and inspiration I received from my teachers at Ohio Wesleyan University. Thank you, John Dennis and Dr. Rabby for your constant guidance and inspiration throughout the years. I thank my brother and my parents who supported me while not knowing exactly what I do. I thank you all for just trusting me when I chose to make a living as an actor. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION………………………………………..…..…………………………………….....ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………...………………………………………….iii ABSTRACT…………………………………………….....…………………………...……….…v INTRODUCTION……………………………………………..………………………………….1 TEXT ANALYSIS……………………………………………………………...……...………….3 PREPARATION……..……………………………………………………………………………7 Background Story……….....………………………...…………..………………………..7 Scene Analysis Key…………….…………………………………………………………8 Relationship: Henrietta Iscariot….……………..………………………………...……….9 Relationship: Mother Teresa………………………..………………..………….......…...10 Relationship: Simon the Zealot………..…………………………......……………...…...11 Relationship: Freud…………………………………………….……………………..….12 Relationship: Caiaphas the Elder………………….………………….……….…...…….12 Relationship: Pontius Pilate…………………………………………...…………...….....13 Relationship: Bailiff…………………………………………..…………...…………......13 Relationship: Judge Littlefield…………………………………………….……………..14 Relationship: Fabiana Aziza Cunningham…...……………………………….………….14 Relationship: Satan………………………………………………….…………..…….....15 Physical Score…………………………...…………………………………..…………...16 PERFORMANCES………………………………………………………………………………62 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………..63 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………………..64 APPENDIX A: FLOOR PLAN....…………………………………………………………….....65 APPENDIX B: PRODUCTION PHOTOGRAPHS......……………………………………........66 VITA……………………………………………………………………………………………..75 iv ABSTRACT The following document consists of a written interpretation of an actor’s work on approaching and eventually performing the role of Yusef Akbar Azziz Al-Nassar Gamel El- Fayoumy in a production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. This play was written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and performed at the Louisiana State University Hatcher Theatre in 2008. A specific focus is given to the separate and significantly different relationships between El- Fayoumy and ten other characters. The document also represents an actor’s struggle to be clear and precise while being free and imaginative. v INTRODUCTION The Last Days of Judas Iscariot was performed at the LSU Hatcher theatre from December 2 to December 7, 2008. It was directed by Scott Woltz and George Judy and the cast was as follows: Satan, Yohance Myles; Gloria, Lauren Stotts; Mother Theresa, Jessica Wu; Judge Littlefield, George Judy; Caiaphas and St. Matthew, Andrew Fafoutakis; Loretta, Mary Magdalene, and Sister Glenna, Sarah Smith; Bailiff and Simon the Zealot, Josh Dawes; Sigmund Freud and St. Thomas, Alex Galick; Pontius Pilate, St. Peter, and Uncle Pino, Nick Rhoton; Matthias of Galilee, Natalie Meyer; Jesus of Nazareth, Reuben Mitchell; Judas Iscariot, Scott Woltz; St. Monica, Michele Guidry; Henrietta Iscariot, Josephine Hall; Butch Honeywell, Scott Siepker; Fabiana Aziza Cunningham, Leigh-Erin Balmer; Yusef El-Fayoumy, Kenneth De Abrew; understudies, Steven Bailey (Butch Honeywell;) and John Fletcher, (St. Matthew and Caiaphas). I have chosen to study the role of Yusef Akbar Azziz Al-Nassar Gamel El-Fayoumy (El- Fayoumy) in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot because of the character’s core significance to the script and because it is the most significant role I have played. He is the antagonist to the protagonist Fabiana Aziza Cunningham. I am used to playing smaller roles. These are usually characters that interact with one or two other characters. In this role, however, my character interacts with nearly every other character in the play; therefore I will focus on these interactions. Finding specific relationships with other characters in the play is a challenge for any actor. The unique challenge of this play is the sheer number of characters that have a specific effect on the theme of the story. El–Fayoumy has to have specific, diverse and clear relationships with these characters. He is not in a position to play the same actions or use the same tactics throughout the production since the reactions he receives from each character are unique. 1 El-Fayoumy has to have specific relationships with ten characters. They are: Henrietta Iscariot, Mother Teresa, Simon the Zealot, Satan, Freud, Caiaphas the Elder, Pontius Pilate, Fabiana, Judge, Bailiff. This document will include a text analysis, a character analysis with a background story, ten chapters dealing with a written interpretation of El-Fayoumy’s relationship to each of the other ten roles, a physical score (a document which will have the script in one column and the actions played on the other), a discussion of the performances, a conclusion and other supporting documents. 2 TEXT ANALYSIS Stephen Adly Guirgis has been a member of the LABryinth theatre company since 1994. According to the company’s website, the mission of the LABryinth Theatre Company is as follows: LABryrinth Theater Company is a multicultural collective that produces new plays reflecting the many voices in our New York City community. We are fully committed to maintaining an ensemble that combines emerging artists with seasoned professionals. It is our goal, as an ensemble, to take on all the roles involved in the collaborative process of creating new theater. Through these works, our members are given the opportunity to write, act, direct, design and produce. We support multi-disciplinary growth as well as discovery and exploration. We give artists from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to work. (http://www.labtheater.org/about/history.html) The play seems to directly support the mission of the LABryinth theatre company. One can notice that the style of writing in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is quite contemporary, even “hip.” For example, we find historical and spiritual characters such as Mother Teresa saying “who dat.” The characters seem to not only represent historical and religious figures but also the multi-ethnic community in New York. The staging of the play calls for a minimal set and the focus to be placed directly on the actors and their relationships. It is also admirable to see the playwright introduce major cultural, religious and iconic characters such as Jesus and Satan along with fictional characters such as El-Fayoumy, Bailiff, Judge and Fabiana. In one sense the play is taking place in the current era but it is also taking place in mythic purgatory, a place defined by waiting. In response, our production design concept merged a department of motor vehicle waiting room with a courtroom atmosphere. 3 The contemporary nature of the play seems to call for a fast pace. The text itself is quite long and sometimes the characters take a while to get to the main objectives. On the other hand the lengthy text is all but required given the problem at hand is the biggest betrayal in Christianity. The story deals with Judas’ court hearing in the present day. Fabiana states that Judas should be forgiven and sent to heaven while El-Fayoumy stands by the point of view that Judas deserved his punishment in hell. The title character, Judas Iscariot, is in a coma for most of the play, which raises some interesting questions about whether or not the play is taking place inside Judas’ head. His stillness seems to suggest that his opinion is irrelevant. One of the earlier scenes of the play portrays the dynamic character of Saint Monica (Nag in Heaven) being moved by this stillness. The juxtaposition of the clearly hyperactive Saint Monica and the absolutely still Judas strikes a chord in the audience that words fail to describe. The character of Cunningham seems to approach the trial with logic and theory, but also with heart. Her case for Judas seems to be a personal struggle to relate to God. We later find out that Cunningham had struggled a great deal in her life before entering purgatory. The character of El-Fayoumy seems to make a stand by twisting historical fact and manipulative questioning. Although El-Fayoumy has a personal stake in the result of the case, he does not relate to any character on a personal level. In our production, however, I made the choice to personally relate to Mother Teresa. It is made clear that the Judge would rather not deal with the case of Judas Iscariot, simply out of the understanding that Judas is the betrayer of Christ. The direct and highly emotive language used by the judge breaks our image of the silent judge who speaks without any emotion. We find out that the Judge himself has committed suicide by hanging himself from an oak tree much like Judas who hung himself from an olive branch. 4