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THE ORDINARY AND THE POETIC

Bates theater stages Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull”

By Bates College

March 7^th, 2025

Artists who are building something

“There is an important, meta-theatrical aspect to The Seagull that I think is relevant for students who are creating art, for artists who are building something.”

— Joshua N Hsu, the guest director for the Bates production of The Seagull, highlighting the play’s self-awareness about theater and the act of artistic creation — about artists, actors, and writers, and their struggles with success, failure, and artistic purpose.

The Seagull, written in 1895 by Anton Chekhov and first produced in 1896, reflects on its own form, blurring the line between performance and reality, making it especially relevant for the Bates students who discovering their own creative voices.

The play was staged at Schaeffer Theatre, March 6–10, 2025.

Giving Voice

Prior to the final dress rehearsal for The Seagull, Kati Vecsey, a senior lecturer in theater who is the vocal director for Bates theater productions, gathers the cast and the play’s guest director, Joshua N Hsu, for vocal warmups on the stage of Schaeffer Theatre.

Moon Magic

The prop moon overhead is full, but waxing poetic. High above the stage, the celestial body illuminates longing and contemplation — the kisses, the fights, and the tragedy.

Their faces say it all

“I have always felt that there are times in The Seagull where the characters are speaking to me, the reader. So there are moments where our actors just turn to the audience and speak to them, about art, family, love, and legacy.”

— Hsu, talking about how the Bates production tries to lean into a conversation with the audience.

From the fatigued resignation of the weak and ill Sorin (Professor of French and Francophone Studies Kirk Read) to the disgust of the bewildered Irina (Sophia Cattalani ’25 of Skaneateles, N.Y.) themes of love and loss dance across these actors’ finely tuned facial expressions.

LOOKING FOR LOVE

“Every production of The Seagull is vastly different in terms of how they approach it. I’ve seen productions that go avant-garde and that go traditional. I’m of a mindset of history. A perfect fusion, in my world, is a respect for history, a respect for why now, and then finding a balance between those discussions.”

— Hsu, who during his career has served as a production consultant for The Seagull, has acted in the play, composed for the play, and now is directing the play at Bates.

Enter folie à deux — or trois. The Seagull is a masterclass in love triangles and complicated interpersonal relationships.

Lights, Camera, Action

“So if we’re going to deconstruct a Chekhov play, what does that mean? How do we pay homage to the history as well as the production that we’re trying to tell? So I hope our audiences see what we call a ‘deconstructed dacha’ in the second half, this traditional Russian home that we’ve broken apart.”

— Hsu, on exploring and deconstructing the tension between two artistic movements in Chekhov’s time, literary realism and symbolism

A collaborative process

“As a director, I believe my job is to craft the overall structure of the play and let actors come in and fill in those details in between. It’s a collaborative process.”

— Hsu, describing his goal as director: to help the Bates actors know where they are and how to perform, and “keeping it mellow. It’s theater. We’re making theater, and so I want it to be fun.”