Professional sword master taught student actors advanced fencing techniques

Published in the November 25 – December 8, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life

By Maggie Burback

Three Musketeers perform

Three Musketeers perform
Photo by Michelle Keswick

With 21 student actors and actresses bringing life to their characters, Oakwood School’s performance of “The Three Musketeers” entertained a packed audience of 400 people during the course of its three performances earlier this month.

Taking place in 1600s France, Alexandre Dumas’s classic tale of adventure tells the story of D’Artagnan, a young fellow from Gascony, who travels to Paris in an attempt to join the Musketeers of the Guard. He is granted permission by King Louis XIII to accompany the musketeers on a critical mission.

Oakwood senior Janine Bautista and the three musketeers in particular embodied their characters and delivered a stellar performance.

Bautista performed as Milady de Winter, a conniving woman who was branded with a “fleur de lis” (a stylized lily) designating her as a murderer attempting to run from her past.

Kyle Stickels plays D’Artagnan as a young, brash fellow with not a lot of experience up his sleeve, while Athos, played by Jacob Keswick, is a more mature man with an intense past. Porthos, played by Connor Whitelaw, depicts a jovial and lively musketeer who loves fashion.

Three-Muskateers-web2

Students at Oakwood School in Morgan Hill brought the classic story of “The Three Musketeers” to the stage with action-packed sword play and the intrigue of King Louis XIII’s French court.
Photo by Michelle Keswick

Aramis, played by Sammy Varma, is the final member of the three inseparables, a more soft spoken and religious musketeer who tries to keep manners in order. To fully embrace the time and place, performer wore period costumes.

What made this stage version of “The Three Musketeers” different from other adaptations is that Charles Morey, the playwright, had the writer Alexandre Dumas on stage rewriting scenes as the actors were fighting and became a part of the scene.

While Huguenots and Calvinists were fighting, Dumas aided the Huguenots through rewrites and physically interfering with the fights with books, pistols and a quill.

Not only did the students’ incredible acting bring the show to life, but also the spectacular sword fighting.

To make this show as authentic as possible, director Kathy Abbey hired professional sword master Matthew Carauddo. From basic and advanced fencing techniques to karate kicks, the intense fighting scenes looked surreal.

From a technical aspect, “The Three Musketeers” saw 30 scene changes. Technical supervisor Maggie Burback, along with her seven-person crew, transformed the set of a town named Meung to the quarters of King Louis XIII.

What really embellished the beautifully painted sets and acting was the lighting.

By being able to manipulate the light during isolated scenes, the audience was fully captivated and felt the emotions of the moment.

The actors and actresses devoted many hours of sword fighting and character development to their performances. Those who saw the show know that it was one they didn’t want to miss.

Oakwood School will be presenting the musical “The Wiz” coming this spring.

Maggie Burback is a senior at Oakwood High School. She wrote this theater review for Morgan Hill Life.