By Patrick Coy-Bjork ’23 and Birdie Keller ’25
Macalester’s mainstage theater production this spring is Thunderbodies, a dark comedy written by Kate Tarker. Through absurdist satire, the play explores themes of war, climate change, and government power. English department workers Patrick Coy-Bjork and Birdie Keller (that’s us!) are serving as the assistant director and assistant stage manager, respectively.
Working with actors, designers, and the management team on this very wacky show has been an absolute blast. It has been incredible watching many different talents come together to create something “grotesque!” (You have to see the show to find out what THAT means.)
Lucy McNees is one of those super cool talents. She is a Creative Writing major who stars in the show as the character “Grotilde.” We had the chance to sit down with her and get more insight into the experience of approaching the play from an English perspective.
What has been your experience with Thunderbodies so far?
It’s certainly been a ride! The show is outside my comfort zone; it’s like the opposite kind of theater from what I’ve done my entire life, but I think growth happens outside the comfort zone, so that’s why I auditioned. Since then, it’s been unsettling and wild and very fun.
I also think that the absurdity of the show has been a good conversation topic and theme of bonding between cast members. I’m really happy to be back into theater, performing specifically, and I think my experience with the character has been more interesting than any I’ve ever played.
What do you think about the director?
Vladimir is incredibly skilled at pulling the character out of someone and allowing them to engage with the character. He knows how to pull it out of them in a way that is specific to the performer, too, like he knows how to work with Zoe [Grigsby] differently than he knows how to work with me, or Louie [Siegel], especially in relation to the character and their physicality and attitude. I’ve been very excited about Grotilde, saying things off script in rehearsal because they’re part of her attitude… and I think he really nails that, so that’s super cool.
Has your experience as an English major intersected with theater?
I think in my theater world in general, yes absolutely, because the majority of what I’ve done is Shakespeare, so not only was I reading and interpreting Shakespeare as an English major/just reader, I got to bring that into my performance a lot.
This show specifically is really interesting because of all the new and strange language the playwright has developed. [Our] heightened language workshops have made me more articulate and think about the words I’m saying.
I think it’s interesting to overall look at the different languages that different playwrights use, [even] if it’s all in English, the style of writing and the intonation or even dialect of a play is very clear and distinct for each playwright, so I think…that’s something I’ve been able to pull out because I’m an English major.
What can the audience expect from the show or be excited to see?
We’re having so much fun performing, and I think if the story means nothing to you, come for the sound and lighting design. Even the last two days have added so much and it’s ridiculously fun, so I think be ready for some “out there” humor, and everybody having a lot of fun while doing it.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Thanks for the interview, Lucy!
Thunderbodies is playing April 8th (7:30 pm), April 9th (7:30 pm), April 10th (2:00 pm), April 14 (7:30 pm), and April 16th (2:00 pm, 7:30 pm). You can reserve tickets for free using this Google Document.
Keep an eye for a dance that Patrick choreographed, and do NOT keep an eye for Birdie because she’s supposed to stay backstage 😉