Recent Alumni Take on Fringe Festival in Orlando

Put together three college students, a classic 120-year old horror novel, flashlights, masks and material to make shadow puppets and props. What you get is a show that is nothing short of phenomenal.

This production is a multidimensional, multimedia retelling of “The Island of Dr. Moreau” by H.G. Wells. It explores the world of a fugitive scientist who uses his private island to test ways — often with horrifyingly painful procedures — to alter animals and to turn them into humans. His experiments are uncovered by a shipwrecked outsider, Edward Prendick, whose gradual realization about the island leaves him distraught, particularly as he realizes that he has no place to hide and no way to escape.

The story itself is powerful and disturbing. The three “Encampment” actors — University of Georgia students Marlon Burnley, John Terry and Charlie Cromer — make it even more so with creative lighting and skilled puppetry. (Burnley was named top male performer of the Fringe for “Black in the Box” in last year’s Critics’ Choice Awards.) The intimate space of the venue, a small tent in a corner of the Shakes Courtyard, adds to the tension. The greatest strength of the show, however, is the acting — perhaps some of the best you’ll find in this year’s festival.

They have been developing it here in the department of theatre & film studies over the past few months, utilizing a bare bones approach with both shadow puppetry and ventriloquism. Both Marlon Burnley and Charlie Cromer began developing with John Terry while they were in the midst of rehearsing and performing in our final show of last season, Othello (in which they played Othello and Iago, respectively). Professor T. Anthony Marotta (whose puppetry work informs most of his directorial efforts) helped the students develop the puppetry-centric elements of the show and Professor George Contini (Head of Acting Program) provided some guidance for the production as well.