Event One - Stupid F#@king Bird

Event One - Stupid F#@king Bird

Daily Bruin photographer Stella Huang captured one of many moments in which the show integrates art and technology.
(From left to right: Romy Bavli, Bayleigh Young, and Cooper Reynolds)

Due to the nature of the event, this post contains adult language and themes. Read at your own discretion.

UCLA’s Theater Department has proven that the contemporary genre
of “meta” theater connects seemingly separate disciplines through the production of Stupid Fucking Bird. Written by Aaron Posner and Directed by Michelle Gong, this adaptation of a classic (Chekov’s The Seagull) effectively bridges the gap between art and science.

The show's promotional poster.
(Courtesy of UCLA Department of Theater)

Tech theater and production design specifically rely on math and various sciences to bring a production to life. In the case of Stupid Fucking Bird, this was made very clear to the audience. Posner’s piece is one of “meta” artwork, making the characters aware that they are in a play and interact with audience members throughout the run. Gong’s vision for the piece uses these qualities to bring attention to the math and science involved. Light plots and blueprints were posted on walls onstage prior to the show beginning. Specs of the building and research on the costumes were strewn across the stage floor. The show formally begins when the lead character, Conrad, informs the audience that the play will begin when someone says, “Start the fucking play”. At that moment, all of the paperwork, research, and blueprints are taken away and replaced with the set dressings for the opening scene. The transformation of the stage creates a physical representation for the “third culture” in between art and science. The audience experiences a moment in which they are no longer observing evidence of math and science at work but have yet to witness the art of the play itself.

Accidentally matching the foyer
of UCLA's Little Theater.
(Due to copyright laws, photos
in the performance space
were not allowed.)

The motif of this transition between two worlds, for lack of a better word, is constant throughout the show both in the actual script and in Gong’s choices as director. On one occasion, the medical details of suicide are talked about at length in character and then interrupted by the actor addressing the audience and discussing the mechanics of the prop involved in the story’s suicide. Later, the sound technician is pointed out before discordant duet is sung. The play clearly enjoys pointing out the “less creative” aspects of theater and showing how closely related they are to the art.