Centerstage with: Broyles and Messer, dueling stage divas in HSU's 'Kerfuffle'

You are:

∎ Dani Broyles: A junior theater education major from Arlington Lamar.

∎ Kathlyn Messer: A senior theater acting major from Wylie.

We've seen you before in:

∎ Dani Broyles: She was Nickie in "Sweet Charity," which HSU did last school year, and Ronette, a doo-wop girl in "Little Shops of Horrors." And if that wasn't scary enough, she had a role in a director's cut show titled "Gruesome Playground Injuries."

∎ Kathlyn Messer: She had the leading role in "Sweet Charity" last year and Mrs. Kirby in "You Can't It With You," also during the 2021-22 season. She was Rapunzel in the musical "Into the Woods."

Roles in "A Divine Kerfuffle": The play begins in the dressing room of ground-breaking French actress Sarah Bernhardt, who is opening a new show. Across the street, a popular actress named Eleanora Duse is opening the same show. On the same night. In the same role.

"It's a big thing about who's going to be better," Messer said.

While both prepare for opening night, a young playwright presents his work to Bernhardt, who realizes this is her chance for super stardom. And gets her rival out of that path. But the rival gets her hands on the work. She comes to the same conclusion that this play is her ticket to the top.

This is a work by Texas' own H. Russ Brown, who, Messer said, wrote "A Divine Kerfuffle" to showcase women in combatant roles. Not just verbally with sharp words but physically, with sharp metal.

The show, in fact, opens with a fight.

"And then they literally fight for the role," Broyles said.

∎ Dani Broyles: Her character is based on a famous Italian actress. She is similar to historical figure that in this production is Bernhardt, who is played by Messer. "Probably not as famous and popular," she said. Maybe the second-most famous Victorian era actress. "She is definitely a firecracker. The very first time she enters the stage, it's like 'Here I am!,'" Broyles said. "She makes her presence known for sure. She and Sarah are similar in certain ways. They are both forces to be reckoned with, which is an actual line in the show."

∎ Kathlyn Messer: She is Bernhardt, a character in 1895, based on the first famous French actress. "She is an icon, for sure," Messer said. Bernhardt is "super confident, very spunky ... she exudes a radiance. She is called 'The Divine Sarah' and adores her public and everyone around her, and wants them to adore her. She is constantly trying ... to know what's happening so she can control it and it can all work in her favor. There is no way anything would not work in her favor because she is The Sarah Bernhardt."

Broyles and Messer said that while the divas initially clash, "after a little bit they are, 'Oh, you're not so bad.' 'And you're not so bad, either.'" They realize their strengths are the different things they bring to their performances make them unique, she said.

Added Messer, "They develop a professional courtesy of each other at the end."

What you've learned in this role:

∎ Dani Broyles: "That was a little bit of a challenge," Broyles said of taking up a weapon and using it believably. "I have experience with dancing, so I kind of just viewed that as like choreography. 'Oh, it's just dance steps. But with a sword. But dangerous," she said, laughing. "I did pick up on it pretty quickly once I had that mindset."

"Dani has picked it up very well," Messer said of her co-star's fighting. "She is excellent in her swordplay."

She was challenged by having an accent − she is Italian. Other performers are British, German and Spanish. "It definitely has pushed me out of my comfort zone," said Broyles, who had to do a New York accent for Nickie in "Sweet Charity." "That came a little easier." She watched YouTube videos, and HSU professor Victoria Spangler worked individually with actors on their accents, she said.

∎ Kathlyn Messer: "This role has been really tough, mainly because of the language in the play," Messer said. "It's very wordy, and not in a way like Shakespeare that's hard to understand. It's written beautifully. I learned to work with the words while maintaining the heightened level of farce. It's an entirely different thing to have funny words and do funny things with your body and remembering the timing ... it's very, very specific and very good for me as an actress who is used to following my instincts." She likened the performance to choreography due the structure it requires "so that the humor hits."

What the audience will get out of this production:

∎ Dani Broyles: "I know that audiences will love it. I know people will enjoy the sword fighting. I don't think I've even seen sword fighting in a show before.It's a really unique show because it's a comedy, but then you have a little bit of action there, too, but at the root of it, there's a beautiful message of passion ... and sometimes competition's good."

∎ Kathlyn Messer: "First off, I've read a lot of plays. This probably is the funniest play I've ever read. I was in tears reading it the first time I read it. It's hilarious. So, I hope they enjoy it and come expecting to laugh and have a good time. But it also has some really beautiful moments," she said. "You think about what it means to be a performer and the things you'll do for the people you care about. What passion means, how that carries you through the things you love to do. It does have the heart lying below the surface.

What's next for you:

∎ Dani Broyles: She, of course, hopes to be in other productions this season. But Broyles also sees the end of her college days. She will do her student teaching in spring 2024. "So these next two semesters really count," she said.

∎ Kathlyn Messer: She will graduate in May and "this year, I'm very focused on getting a job after college," she said. She has several auditions coming up. This past summer, she was certified as a combatant in broad sword, rapier and dagger. If performance is not her calling, Messer said she would be interested in doing "stage combatant choreography." She said there is a big demand for that and even an organization, the Society for American Fights Directors, for those folks who choreograph and perform combat. Even motion capture for video games and movies. "It's really cool," she said.

Before that, she'd plans to be on stage again and hopes to direct as HSU's season unfolds. Also, she is working toward her senior showcase in the spring. "That's my big thing this year," she said.

Greg Jaklewicz is editor of the Abilene Reporter-News and general columnist. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.

If You Go

What: "A Divine Kerfuffle," West Texas premiere of a work by H. Russ Brown. He is head of theater / artistic director for the College of the Mainland Theatre Program in Texas City. Brown came to HSU to assist in the choreography of the fight scenes. HSU's production is the first since "Kerfuffle" was published.

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Van Ellis Theatre, HSU campus

Tickets: $10 general admission for adults, $5 for military, students and seniors; free for HSU students, faculty and staff

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Centerstage with: Broyles, Messer - divas in HSU's 'Kerfuffle'