The Gateway Preview
March 2011

"I think we're finding that balance of darkness and lighter moments by focusing on relationships," Markus says. "In moments of the play, you feel like you're watching a romantic comedy, and then it'll flip to a scene of Quasimodo being flogged in the square. We're creating a full picture. It's not all angst and pain and death. There are so many more layers of love."

Love assumes a prominent role in Hunchback, a theme that has its roots in the original novel. "We're trying to stay really true to the energy of [the novel] because it has a very romantic energy," Markus notes.

The duo that brought this energy to life is Jonathan Christenson and Bretta Gerecke, both formerly at the helm of past Catalyst Theatre productions Frankenstein and Nevermore. This time around, Christenson is directing and composing the show's original music, while Gerecke is responsible for its dramatic, gothic design — an image that has become a trademark for the crew at Catalyst. The result is a unique environment that depicts Hunchbackin a highly stylized fashion.

"You're in a world of life and death," Markus says. "People see life and death on a daily basis. Death is not hidden from them and danger is around every corner: there's dark alleys, there's rambunctious soldiers, there's crazy lunatics on the street calling out the gypsies for entertaining. It's a very heightened world."

This grandiose form of storytelling should play well on the Shoctor stage at the Citadel, which is commissioning a three-week run of Hunchback. Still, the emotional and dramatized character style in the show wasn't what Markus first had in mind for the character of Esmeralda.

"I started in a very different place with Esmeralda, because I didn't realize what [Christenson] had in mind for her, which was quite different from what I had in mind," she explains. "Now we're going to this place of sensuality and sexuality embodied in a person. What Esmeralda is about in this play is about experiencing life."

Describing the show as an "operetta," Markus also details how music is present throughout its entire duration, whether it's sung by the cast or playing in the background. Fortunately, as a member of Christian Hansen and the Autistics, she was able to incorporate her experience performing as a musician to her character.

"I brought all of my dance training [and] all of my movement vocabulary," she says. "I think I'm bringing a body to [Esmeralda] — how she speaks with her body as much as she speaks with her words — defining that extended physicality."

Markus has also received support from her fellow cast members, whom she notes are like family. They have all embraced the show's vision since day one, which she believes is a fundamental aspect to its success.

"The first day of rehearsal, [Christenson] had said to us, 'What I need from you most is your belief. Believe in me and believe in each other and believe in the vision that the company has' […] I think that's the most important thing: to trust."

That trust paid off, resulting in a show that received standing ovations at its previews in Fort McMurray a few weeks ago. Still, numerous last-minute revisions have been made, including cutting pages from the script to trim its hefty running length.

"The greatest challenge is fitting in all the beautiful details that Victor Hugo laced into the novel," Markus says. "There are just so many amazing moments and details and intricate storylines, that we're trying to weave them all in. Not all of them will make it, but we're still looking at how we can get the richness of that novel."

Past adaptations of the show have achieved varying levels of success, but Markus isn't worried that Hunchback's radical take on the original material will turn theatergoers off. The story's darkness may take prominence, but she's confident that the production's underlying themes are totally universal.

"It's about love," Markus says. "It might sound cliché, but why do we always keep coming back to love? It's because we're human, and we breathe it, and our lives revolve around it."

Here's the link to the original article.