UCLA TFT showcases strength of women in production of ‘Helen’

Daily Bruin Ashley Cleveland stepped slowly onto a dark stage. Her veil swirled around her as she walked, and a recording of Richard Burton saying, “Was this the face that launched a thousand ships?” played in the background.
Finally she paused and removed her veil, allowing the audience to see her face for the first time.
Cleveland, a theater graduate student, will play the title character in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s production of “Helen,” which opens Thursday at Macgowan Hall’s Little Theater.
The show is double casted: There are performances in which Cleveland plays Helen and theater graduate student Beth Lane is in the chorus, and vice versa. The two students have focused on developing physical aspects of the performance, like their onstage movements when walking and dancing to convey the strength of Helen’s character.
[Related: TFT graduate students stage four-play event ‘Project III’]
“Helen” tells a different version of the myth of Helen of Troy. In the production, a vision of Helen created out of clouds is delivered to Troy, said Michael Hackett, professor of directing and theater history. The play focuses on the mythological figure of Helen, who is exiled to Egypt and must figure out how to return to her family.
Much of the world hates Helen because they believe she left her husband for another man and consequently caused the Trojan War, Hackett said.
Helen is a fierce, determined and strong survivor who fights to clear her name and reunite with her family, Lane said.
Lane initially related to Helen because they both have children and have both been married for over 15 years. After rehearsing for nine weeks, she understands the role in the context of the current political climate and sees Helen as a symbol to remind women to have strength in the face of adversity, Lane said.
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