Mad Forest

"Mad Forest is the kind of play that literally moves the audience. It force one to think about the events that surround us and the role we play in the state of the world. It cracks the eyes of indifference by forcing the audience to look at the world from a different perspective.

The actor Laura Ilea, playing the schoolteacher, did a remarkable job of embracing the character and I found her convincing and believable. As a frigid schoolteacher who is forced to look at the revolution in a pragmatic way, the actor made the role her own. Her dialogue delivery was very clear. Being of Romanian descent, she had a natural accent, however when speaking in English, she enunciated well enough for the American audience to understand. In terms of speech, her performance was flawless and she had incredible voice modulation. Unlike some of the other cast members, one could hear her voice in the last row. In the scene when she is teaching her students, her voice carried through auditorium very well. The actor also did a very splendid job at controlling emotion. In a play as emotionally intense as this one, it is easy for a performance to become loud and scratchy instead of powerful and moving. To achieve the right amount of emotion may seem as though it is an easy act when watching this particular act, but what she was pulled off is brilliant. She has portrayed the romanian schoolteacher as a genuine victim whose silences speaks as much her words. Her expressions are never overbearing or caricatured. She maintains the humanity and the humility of her character, even in inhuman times.

The same actor's performance as Rodica is the most brilliant piece of acting I have seen on any college campus. While this performance is much more uncontrolled and requires one to be loud and intensely expressive, the actor handles the intensity comfortably and does not sound irritating. She shows amazing range going from being the quiet and reserved schoolteacher to the embodiment of the horrific nature of the revolution. She embrace both characters with the same emotion, but makes different choices for how much she expresses.

Her performance was extraordinary, and the best one I have seen this year at VCU. Being a Romanian herself, the play must have been a phenomenal experience for the tallented actress. She defenitely used the opportunity very well. She has given the theatre departament at VCU a performance that will be remembered and revered. A fantastic character played with incredible ease and remarkable dignity. "

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, 2004