GSC delights with its turn at Oscar Wilde's earnest pursuit of the name Ernest

Since its inception in 2008, the Garfield Shakespeare Company has focused primarily on the works of Shakespeare when drafting its annual schedule of productions. In recent years, however, GSC has occasionally strayed into more contemporary works so patrons can experience -- and enjoy -- variety in local free theater.

There was Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" in 2011, and Thornton Wilder's "The Matchmaker" in 2013. The "straying" expanded in a significant way in 2014, when GSC took a full year's hiatus from Shakespeare, presenting Jean Anouilh's "Antigone" in the spring and the Lerner and Loewe musical "Camelot" in the summer.

After devoting all of the 2015 schedule to the Bard ("The Merry Wives of Windsor" and "Othello"), GSC is back to straying with its spring 2016 production of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest," an entertaining farce directed by GSC veteran Chris Burton. "Earnest" features a splendid cast that nails all the nuances and emphasis of Wilde's clever writing, leaving few lulls in laughs for the audience. GSC will return to Shakespeare this summer with "Romeo and Juliet" at the park's MacAllister Amphitheater. It also has other plans on its 2016 program; for details, visit the announcements page of the troupe's website.

"Earnest" completed its first weekend of shows with a matinee on Sunday (March 13). Three shows remain -- Thursday, Friday and Saturday (March 17, 18 & 19), all at 7:30 p.m. There is no admission fee, although visitors are invited to leave donations to help the troupe finance future shows and endeavors. Bags of chips and cold non-alcoholic beverages (soda and water) are available for purchase for $1 each during intermission. Although admission is free, attendees are encouraged to call the arts center beforehand (317-327-7135) to ensure/reserve seats.

I photographed "Earnest" at its March 9 dress rehearsal. It was the 11th GSC show I have photographed since "Macbeth" in 2010. You can find a full gallery of images from "Earnest" at my SmugMug site.

I lead off the post with a shot from the play's first scene, one featuring Algernon Montcrieff (played by David Santangelo), left, and Jack Worthing (played by Spencer Elliott), longtime friends and eligible bachelors in Victorian society who are spirited, playful antagonists in a quest for identifying with the coveted name "Ernest." Each man also strives to win the affection of women who, as it turns out, are highly attracted to the gentlemanly name "Ernest" (yet another curiosity).

Photo Geek stuff: I shot the entire rehearsal in RAW format -- and with available light -- with my Canon 6D and mostly with my Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L lens. For a short period in the middle of the shoot, just to get a variety of perspective, I used my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens, but found myself stepping back to get things into the picture frame when using that lens. I set the camera shooting mode to shutter priority, selecting 1/160 as my speed of choice to allow for freeze action but also to capture some movement in key spots where movement was critical to depict. I used ISO 3200 most of the time, adjusting it up slightly in the extreme right and left corners of the stage, where the provided stage lighting dropped off considerably. I used automatic white balance, and because that choice delivered images on the warm (orange/yellow) side of the color spectrum, I slightly adjusted the color level in most images to cooler temperatures during the Adobe Camera RAW stage of post-processing on Photoshop Elements 13. I made reduced copies of my images for use online using the batch feature of Irfanview, increasing the sharpening percentage to 70% (in the advanced settings area of the Irfanview menu) rather than sharpening reduced images individually, which I'd done in the past. I sharpen reduced-sized images because I've found through the years that images tend to lose some sharpness when their size is reduced.   

Above: Mike Harold, playing Algernon Montcrieff's manservant, provides a deft assist to return a hat to Spencer Elliott, who plays Jack Worthing, when the hat took an unscripted topple in an early scene. Worthing is chatting with Montcrieff, played by David Santangelo. Below, the same three characters in a different moment of the same scene, and below that, Santangelo once more. 

Above and below: Kate Ghormley enters the scene as Lady Bracknell, Algernon's aunt and a societal snob who married into the upper class. Lady Brackness is trying to find a suitable bride for her nephew. He eventually falls for Cecily, Jack's 18-year-old ward. Above, she applies a stern hand to her nephew, and below, she faints after Worthing tells her he is interested in marrying her daughter, Gwendolyn, played by Ashely Chase Elliott (far right in photo above).

Above and next three below: Christy Walker (above, left) entertains in a secondary role as Miss Prism, the governess/tutor of Cecily Cardew (right), Jack's ward, the 18-year-old daughter of his adopted father, Thomas Cardew. Cecily is played by GSC newcomer Bita Eisenhut.

Above and below: Rev. Canon Chasuble, played by John Garlick, enters the story when Jack and Algernon petition the minister to christen them. Miss Prism takes a quick liking to Chasuble. 

Above: Another shot of Bita Eisenhut as Cecily, during a conversation with Algernon.

Above: Ashley Chase Elliott, as Gwendolyn Fairfax, Lady Bracknell's daughter and object of Jack's affection.

Above and below: If you haven't gone to the play yet but plan to do so, keep a watchful eye on Jack's butler, Merriman, played by Bill Baker, in the Second Act (after intermission). His antics as butler while standing in the background (including helping himself to his guests' tea and snacks) and his facial expressions while he observes the untangling of the cast's confusion and secrets, are bound to conjure smiles -- if not outright laughs.  

Above: Algernon loves muffins, and he keeps dangling them in front of Jack, much to the latter's consternation.

Above: The moment after Gwendolyn accepts Jack's proposal for marriage. 

Lady Bracknell (above) as Jack informs her of his ward Cecily's imminent fortune, immediately changing Lady Bracknell's stance on Cecily's suitability for her nephew Algernon, and (below) after she gives her enthusiastic support of their union.

Above: Jack and Algy, in the throes of another playful tiff. 

When Jack learns of Miss Prism's critical role (and Lady Bracknell's confirmation of such) in ascertaining his true identity, he excitedly embraces her (above) and Algernon (below).

Above: Jack's critical moment of discovery.

For a guy who represents The Butler Way

I've been thinking a lot lately about Andrew Smith, the Butler University basketball alum whose two-year battle against cancer has been chronicled at "Kicking Cancer With the Smiths," a blog maintained by Andrew's wife, Samantha Smith.

Samantha's most recent post updating their fight has been the most heartbreaking to date. Doctors have told her that death for Andrew is imminent, and she grappled with the idea of losing the person most dear to her. "He is afraid of death, and I am afraid of life," she wrote. "I'm afraid of life without Andrew Smith by my side as my spouse, my protector, my best friend, my everything."

Despite the doctors difficult prognosis, Samantha continues to pray and hold out hope for a miracle ... and to give her the strength to deal with what lies ahead.

Andrew came to Butler via Covenant Christian High School on the Westside of Indianapolis. In his senior year there, he led the state in rebounding, was named All-City player of the year and was selected as a National Christian Schools Athletic Association All-American. The 6-11 center accepted a scholarship to Butler, beginning with the 2009-10 school year, and in his four years there did his part to represent the "Butler Way."

He was fortunate to have played on both Butler teams (2010, 2011) that played for the NCAA national championship before graduating in 2013. Smith dabbled briefly in pro ball in Lithuania late that year, but that was cut short in January when Smith discovered a bump on his neck, which began the ordeal he and Samantha are on now. Though things have not been going good for a few months now, Andrew and Samantha attended Butler's game this season against Purdue in the Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Dec. 19.

My primary allegiance to a college basketball team is with the University of Wisconsin; I grew up and went to school in Wisconsin and still hold strong sentiments to the teams I followed from childhood. But I've been a Butler basketball fan since the new millennium or thereabouts, and I've been fortunate to photograph three games at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The second, on Nov. 1, 2009, was an exhibition against DePauw University, and it also was Smith's first game with the Bulldogs.

Because it was an exhibition, then-coach Brad Stevens made a point to play a lot of his squad in that game, so Andrew ended up in a lot of my photos. The same thing happened the following year, on Nov. 4, 2010, when Butler opened the season in an exhibition against another Indiana team, Hanover College, the third Butler game I photographed.

With Andrew on my mind, I decided to devote a post to him with photos of him that I took in those two games. What you see aren't all of them, but they're a lot of them. Probably my favorite with Andrew in them is the one leading off the post, simply because of the symphony of arms, hands -- and one leg -- and the intensity of all of those athletes going after a free ball under the bucket. A few frames after I took that shot, Hanover player Mike Case -- the off-balance guy in the blue uniform in the foreground -- had fallen out of the picture ... except for an arm tugging hard on Andrew's jersey. I've included that image below.

My thoughts and prayers are with Andrew, Samantha and their families.

Above and next two below: Other frames in the sequence depicted in the lead-off photos. In the photo immediately above, you can see Hanover's Mike Case beginning to fall to the ground. Two photos below, that's his hand grabbing Andrew Smith's jersey.

Above: Case and Smith were going one on one again in a tussle for the ball. 

Above: Smith (second from left) with fellow Bulldogs on the bench (from left), Erik Fromm, Shawn Van Zant, Matt Howard, Shelvin Mack, Alex Anglin, Garrett Butcher, Zach Hahn and Ronald Nored. 

Above: Smith on the bench, flanked by Erik Fromm and Shelvin Mack, as coach Brad Stevens directs players on the floor.

Above: Smith watches a ball laid up by Hanover's Ryan Nowicki. 

Above: Smith under the basket late in the game.

Above and below: Two frames from a shot Smith took. Not my best focusing work, but ... it's close up.

Above: Smith, taking the floor as a Butler Bulldog for the first time in the 2009-10 season, is third in line. Behind him is Gordon Hayward, a sophomore who would be playing his final year for the Bulldogs before making himself available for the NBA draft. 

Above and below: DePauw's Joe Bergfeld guarded Smith a lot in this game.

Above: Smith and the Tigers' Tony James in a scrap for the ball.

Above and next two below: Smith in up-close frames taking shots around the basket.

Above: Smith defends Tom Callen in the corner. 

Above: Smith (left) sticks close to Bergfeld on this offensive sequence in the second half.

Above: Another sideline capture of Smith on the bench near coach Stevens. 

Above: A rebound caroms Smith's way. 

Above and next two below: Smith and Bergfeld go at it again.