By Jonah Kramer | Staff Writer
Baylor Theatre actors deliberated, bickered and flip-flopped their way through Wednesday night’s “12 Angry Jurors” premiere at the Hooper Schaefer Fine Arts Center.
The performance marks the first of five projected sellouts, as tickets are currently unavailable for the remaining four shows of “12 Angry Jurors.”
The actors performed the modern retelling of the 1957 film “12 Angry Men” in front of around 100 audience members, who sat in chairs surrounding the set.
The play began with the 12 jurors entering the room and surrounding the deliberation table, tasked with determining the fate of a 19-year-old boy who was accused of killing his father. Although, they don’t enter the room alone.
“Everybody in a jury brings in their own story to decide on somebody else’s story,” Waco senior Jack Counseller, who plays juror three, said.
Counseller’s character leads the charge to declare the defendant guilty, and initially, the majority of the jury agrees with him.
Houston junior Aedin Waldorf, playing juror eight, is the lone vote to acquit when the first poll is taken, arguing for the possibility of reasonable doubt.
Despite facing contempt from other jurors, Waldorf takes a stand for the accused murderer, raising questions that the defense lawyers failed to address.
It becomes clear that a poor case presented by the defense isn’t the only factor causing jury members to rush to judgment.
Little Rock, Ark., senior Joseph Tully said his character, juror 10, is “the most prejudiced” of them all.
Juror 10 spews racial bias throughout the deliberation, in an effort to convince the other jurors to condemn the defendant, who is black.
“My director called him [juror 10] the most racist,” Tully said. “I personally linked it to something in his life because he talks about how he has lived among ‘them’ his whole life. His dad was killed by a person of color, which is why he has this huge prejudice against them, [but] it does not make it any better.”
Juror 10’s story shows “even the worst people are still human,” Tully said.
Counseller’s character also carries a bias that affects his judgment.
“He brings in a lot of trauma with his own kid,” Counseller said. “So perhaps that influences his decision with how he thinks this kid on trial should be treated.”
Director Sam Henderson, Baylor theatre and film professor, said he wants the biases presented to raise questions in the audience’s minds. His director’s note states that he hopes the audience views the production close enough to see change.
“What does it mean to be fair in the court of law?” An excerpt from Henderson’s director’s note states. “Who speaks for those who cannot speak for themselves? What does a guilty person look like?”
Hope for the 19-year old on trial looks slim after the initial 11-1 vote in favor of a guilty verdict. But through reasoning and empathy, juror eight begins to gain support for her stance of reasonable doubt.
“I loved whenever I’m convinced that he is not guilty … because it really makes me feel things,” Gambrills, Md., senior Sam Acey, who plays juror 12, said,
As the characters develop and grow throughout the play, so does the vote count to acquit, even as juror three’s stubbornness threatens a hung jury.
A major theme for the cast “was looking at how the 1950s translates to now,” Tully said.
The Baylor Theatre stages “A Monster Calls” for their third and final production of the semester Nov. 29 – Dec. 4.
