As the lights dimmed and the conversation in the Jewel Theater followed suit, one simple line from an audience member marked the beginning of another Luther College Theater Department production.
“Start the f—ing show!”
“Stupid F—ing Bird” had its opening night on Thursday, April 11 and ran through Saturday, April 13 over the course of four shows. The show was made up of three acts and ran for two and a half hours. The story follows a group of characters all connected by one troubled playwright named Conrad, played by Tolleff Currell (‘26). After failing to impress his star actress of a mother, his life takes a downward spiral that brings the rest of the cast along with it. The characters deal with dramatic love stories, family drama, and skirts with death.
“Stupid F—ing Bird” offers commentary on the theater and literary world through meta-critical moments and numerous monologues in addition to its interaction with the audience; it’s creation was influenced by Anton Chekhov’s 1895 play “The Seagull.” Currell commented on the relationship between the two productions.
“Missed connection is a common theme in Chekhov’s 19th century works, and still today in a world where we are so distracted by technology we often forget to see the people in front of us,” Currell said. “In [The Seagull,] the characters all love the wrong person and cannot seem to connect with the people they so deeply need. [‘Stupid F—ing Bird’] asks why love seems impossible and why we often cannot overcome our differences to connect with the people we care deeply for.”
Associate Professor of Theatre Bobby Vrtis directed the show. In his director’s note for the program, he wrote about his decision to adapt this play, which was originally created by Aaron Posner.
“[‘Stupid F—ing Bird’] reminds us of the deadly consequences of our inability to connect,” Vrtis wrote. “I hope that this play does some small work in helping us grapple with the epidemic of loneliness we are in and see that it permeates this audience, this campus [and] our lives.”
One of the few characters who manages to stay positive and neutral throughout the bleak story was Dev, played by Louie Breimhurst (‘27). The character even manages to find love and marriage by the end of the play.
“What I think is important to recognize in the story is that the characters focus far too much on the bleakness of the situation they find themselves in,” Breimhurst said. “They’re sort of wrapped up in their own heads and allow everything to get to them, it’s kind of like a warning.”
The story also dealt with difficult topics such as trauma and suicide. The Luther Theater Department kindly reminded audience members that discussions of these topics would be prominent in the performances, and had support available if needed. Luther students who need support can find crisis resources here or by dialing the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
Reflecting on the four performances, Currell said that he was “incredibly proud of what the cast and crew was able to create.”
“We made Stupid F—ing Bird our own and poured hundreds of hours of work into creating a beautiful, soul destroying, and deeply honest production,” Currell said.
