‘Edges’ depicts journey to self-discovery through song

QuantUM Entertainment presents its second production of the semester: “Edges,” a song cycle that shows that everyone is a little rough around the – well, edges.

“Edges” is a song cycle, meaning that there is no plot or dialogue. Instead, the songs are connected by a common theme of discovering one’s self.

The song cycle will be junior Danielle Davidson’s directorial debut, as she proposed the production and will serve as the director.

​“I saw this show for the first time last year and immediately knew I wanted to bring it to UM,” she said. “It’s so great to see a show where people like you are singing about the things you and your friends are going through right now. Especially for a college student, the theme of figuring out who you are and who you want to be is really important.”

Since the play revolves around songs, Davidson worked with graduate student Jenna Moore, the production’s musical director, to plan which songs they wanted in the play and which actors should sing those songs.

The actors do not play individual characters. Instead, they play several different characters throughout the play, depending on the song. Senior Adam Bornstein plays Man Two, and he describes the difficulties and subjective nature of a song cycle performance.

“We had a relatively short time to prepare this show, and although there’s no dialogue, the music itself is very complicated, so learning all the intricacies and then making those songs our own was a struggle,” Bornstein said. “I’d personally like to think that my character remains the same throughout all the songs, but that’s up to both my interpretation and the audience’s.”

Even though the production consists only of songs, the actors have some room for improvisation. Sophomore Joe Verga recalls one such improvisation as one of his favorite moments of the play.

“Adam [Bornstein], who plays Man Two, improvises a new monologue each time he performs his song ‘In Short,’ about how he wishes death upon his ex,” Verga said. “His past monologues have included references to ‘Frozen,’ ‘Pocahontas’ and other films, and we never know what to expect next.”

One of the most popular songs from the play, “Be My Friend,” brings out the best in the actors and discusses one of the most important parts of a young adult’s life: Facebook.

“There is a song that the whole cast sings in the middle of the first act called ‘Be My Friend.’ It’s all about needing Facebook to survive and the lyrics combined with the actors’ delivery of the lines makes me laugh every time,” Davidson said.

IF YOU GO

Where: Cosford Cinema

When: 8 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday, 6 p.m. Saturday

Cost: Free

4For more information, visit Facebook.com/HPQuantUM.