The Importance of Being Asher Huth

How a sophomore animation student feels seen and heard in Blue Demon Theatre

Arts and Letters Hall room 413 was abuzz with impeccable British accents and ample dramatic flair on Friday, Feb. 23 as the Blue Demon Theatre players rehearsed scenes for their production of “The Importance of Being Earnest,” by Oscar Wilde. 

Asher Huth stars as “Ernest Worthing” in the production. He radiates his love for acting, both in character and in plain conversation, though the word plain can hardly describe any aspect of Huth’s personality or past. 

“Acting is not a challenge for me, it comes so naturally,” he said. “I am just able to slip out of my own skin for a little bit.”

He said after reading the play, he came up with a backstory for his character so he could add personal depth to their story.

“Then I can just pause for a moment and go into that person,” Huth said. 

Huth is a sophomore animation major at DePaul, but said he recently added a theater minor because of how much he loves performing, which he has been doing since age nine. 

“I'm autistic and I find that in theater I'm able to jump into another role really easily and the over-dramatization of it all really makes me able to understand the emotions…whereas I can't do that in regular life,” Huth said. 

He said he “adores” being able to let the worries of real life go for a while and take on the life of a complex character. 

Huth said his identity as a queer person also flourishes in the theater, where he is able to collaborate with other queer people and feel accepted. 

“The Importance of Being Earnest” by Irish playwright Oscar Wilde surrounds the idea of identity, especially when it comes to names. Blue Demon Theatre has slightly altered the original production to portray the main character, Ernest, as a trans man.

“For trans people, having a name is really important to us, so we're regarding the importance of names around being trans as well,” Huth said.

Sam Theis, director of the production, said he has always felt drawn to this play because of his own trans experience. 

“I was named after one of the characters originally,” Theis said. “My dead name is Gwendolyn and I have a deep connection with that name.”

He said he understands why many trans people do not like hearing their dead name or talking about it, but said the characters Gwendolyn and Ernest remain special to him. 

“I think it's a beautiful name. It's just not my name,” Theis said. 

The inherent comedy in the show is supplemented by more serious notes about identity, according to Theis. 

 

Huth relishes the fact there is no transphobia in the production, which he said is ironic because Oscar Wilde was jailed for being gay in the late 1800s. 

According to Coya Brownrigg, associate dean at The Theatre School at DePaul, “The Importance of Being Earnest” is generally understood to be “queer coded.” 

“At a time when it was illegal for people to be openly gay in England and Ireland, people who we would now call queer had ways of recognizing each other, like gestures, certain slang, cultural codes,” she said. “Calling someone “Earnest” then was kind of like calling someone fruity today – an inside wink shared by people who were in the know.”

Brownrigg said it is up to the audience to decide what is gained by making the queer themes more explicit.

The play takes place in Victorian era England and pokes fun at the hypocritical and haughty nature of the British aristocracy. It centers around the illusive character Ernest Worthing, an invented persona of Jack Worthing, who needs an excuse to go to London periodically to woo a lovely upper-class lady. 

“Past just the transcoding, the script of this play is so clever and so fun, and genuinely I love Oscar Wilde's comedy, and I love the way that he writes the comedic scenes,” Theis said. 

He said exploring comedic timing with the cast has been an adventure that always ends in ruckus laughter. 

“Exploring the humor and the writing of the piece with other people has been so lovely,” Theis said. “So has getting to see my own vision for the characters, morph with the actors' vision of the characters.”

Though Huth said he is able to get into character easily, the real trouble comes when something silly happens in the rehearsal room. 

“When other people are laughing, I laugh so easily,” Huth said. “While I'm able to jump into the character, if other people in the room are laughing, I really want to laugh along with them, even if it's supposed to be a serious scene.”

Theis is eager to bring the production to audiences and see how they respond to the comedic scenes.

“Hearing other people's reactions to it and seeing how other people take that in, breeds a new life into the show,” Theis said. 

This is Theis’ second time directing a production at DePaul. As a Theatre Arts major at The Theatre School, Theis appreciates working with Blue Demon Theatre and being able to showcase this play at The Theatre Wit on Belmont Street. 

Theis grew up in the theater, with two parents who were actors and a brother heavily involved in the arts. Theis said there is something uniquely beautiful about watching a live production. 

“It feels almost strange to be in a room where there is an entire group of people sitting silently or laughing or reacting and just watching other people lie in front of them,” he said. “I think there’s something so joyous in that”

Huth, too, grew up around the arts and feels lucky to continue performing in college. 

“I just adore being able to actually understand and also being able to jump into that role feels like I can let my worries go and have a regular life for a little while. It's absolutely wonderful,” Huth said.