GAINESVILLE — Who knew Adam and Eve would not only taste a fateful apple in their garden, but they would be accompanied by computers, microprocessors and digital lighting effects?

Oh yeah, and rotating sets, too.

Well, maybe their surroundings aren’t quite how they were described in the Bible, but the characters in Gainesville Theatre Alliance’s production of “Children of Eden,” which opens with a preview performance on Monday and continues through Nov. 17 at Brenau University, are the same ones you know and love.

The play chronicles the book of Genesis, staying true to the storyline — even including a seductive snake, performed by five women draped in feather boas.

“‘Lounge lizard’ is what we call it,” said Marissa Druzeanski, who is also an antelope during the story of Noah and the flood in the second act. “We have a five-part harmony song and it’s really interesting.”

As is the technology driving the effects of the play, said director Brent Maddox, associate professor of theater for Gainesville State College and Brenau University. Along with about $50,000 worth of computers and projection equipment.

“We’ve got more computers running the show, we’ve got more microprocessors running the show,” Maddox said. “We’ve got eight moving light fixtures that have their own computers built in.”

The actors are surrounded by a set that moves and rotates depending on the scene, and rather than have a static backdrop highlighted by lighting effects, the background is a moving, changing mosaic of digital images and bright colors.

“We’re just kind of making history here with the projections, kind of pushing the envelope,” he said. “The technology is so far ahead of us, we’re trying to keep up with it. And that’s what’s kind of neat.
“So it’s really changing stagecraft.”

Richard Smith, a Gainesville State College student who is running one of the spotlights for the show, said he is really excited to see how the stage has turned out.

“Basically, everything here is very mobile. We’re not just taking everything and moving it, we’re just kind of turning it at various angles,” said Smith, who worked on the set during the summer.

Smith said that from his vantage point, he’s had a unique view of the production’s action below.

“It’s pretty amazing from my vantage point; it’s almost dreamlike, I think,” he said. “I’m way up top, I’m kind of looking down on it from the spotlight angles. It’s such a smorgasboard of color and people.”
But despite the technology driving the set, Adam and Eve are still very much human, with their own needs, desires and emotions that betray them.

Zechariah Pierce, who is both Adam and Noah, said he was a little intimidated at first at the thought of portraying Adam. After all, he did set the stage for all men to come.

“But actually I find it a lot easier to play Adam than Noah, because Adam starts out as a child,” he said. “Brent gave us the direction to start out as, like, when you’re first created and it’s father’s first child ... Everything is new and innocent and everything is being discovered for the first time.

But, alas, the honeymoon has to end.

“Then after eating the fruit, it’s like growing up,” Pierce said. “It’s very clear to see where he goes on his journey through the first act.”

Allie Payton, who is Eve and Noah’s wife, stands by Eve’s actions, however, which got the couple banished from Eden.

“I think she’s just curious; she’s just following her instincts to discover and explore,” she said. “I don’t think it’s something she did wrong ... It was just a precursor for all the other strong women in the world.”
The mix of computers with such an ancient story has been an interesting juxtaposition, Payton said.

“It’s an acting challenge to the max, because we’re trying to get into the world of these characters, but at the same time we have this abstract world going on around us,” she said. “It’s different from anything I’ve ever done, and I’m always into that.”