“Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus” is a classic story by English novelist Mary Shelley about Victor Frankenstein’s creation and the consequences of his invention. Now, Ivy Laine Posey, a senior studying acting through the Honors Tutorial College, developed a play adaptation of the classic gothic novel, “Victor Built a Body; or, the Modern Modern Prometheus.”
Growing up in New Albany, Posey stumbled onto acting as all of her friends were doing it. After developing a passion for the arts, she realized acting and playwriting were something she wanted to explore during college.
“I wrote my first full-length play in my sophomore year,” Posey said. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is it. This is what I love to do.’ … I like acting a lot. I love it. But there's nothing quite like the fulfillment that writing and directing give me.”
The show took place from April 17-19 and was free for anyone who wanted to see Posey’s thesis project come to life.
“Victor Built a Body” is a powerful story about transgender identities and coming to accept oneself. The play follows Victor Frankenstein, a college student trying to find a way to be comfortable in his skin, and he believes the only way to do this is to use a body that is not his own.
“That desire to make something perfect and being so loathsome of yourself for not being able to attain that perfection in what you made as an artist,” Posey said. “That's how I came to relate to Victor, and everything else sprang forward.”
Posey came up with the idea for “Victor Built a Body” after engaging with the original literature. She saw a larger story and found a way to relate it to transgender experiences and create a narrative that tells of body dysphoria and “trans angst.”
For the last year and a half, Posey worked on developing this story for her thesis project alongside her advisor, Ellie Clark. The process consisted of many revisions to the script and a long, tedious casting process.
“I wrote over the course of a summer, essentially,” Posey said. “I wrote half a draft, but thought, ‘This is horrible’ and started over. Then, I wrote a second draft, and then I did a reading with some of my friends in the acting program and wrote another draft. Then I cast the show in November 2024 and did a reading with them. Then I did final drafts after that.”
Posey said she even learned a lot from the people she cast, explaining that there were times the cast knew their characters better than she did.
“I cast people who I knew understood the characters as well and better than I did,” Posey said. “That was really like what I looked for, people who had really strong presences, who could improvise together and who could draw themes from the characters, the books and the text. The cast came very naturally from that.”
Atlas Nielsen, a freshman studying acting and classical civilizations, discovered the show after Posey was the TA for a class they took. After hearing Posey explain what the show was about, they knew they had to take the opportunity to audition.
“We did a full reading, like a table read of all the scenes at one of the first rehearsals,” said Nielsen. “It was really fun because you could genuinely see how people were already working off of each other and reacting to each other.”
Being the youngest in the cast, Nielsen was nervous about how they would interact with students who were further along in their education. However, they quickly learned that would not be an issue.
“It was me trying to put myself out there and make new inside jokes between these people, and it worked,” Nielsen said. “I have genuine friends who are in different grades than me, and it was so beautiful.”
Molly Nixon, a sophomore studying acting, was more nervous than usual before auditioning for the show, as she had heard about how amazing Posey is to work with. Going into the audition room, she was met with a unique auditioning experience.
“What surprised me is that usually you walk in, do your monologue and leave,” Nixon said. “She had me stay there, and she worked with me, gave me notes and saw how I applied them. So she was testing how I take direction, and I also got to see what working with her would be like.”
Beyond college, Posey hopes to end up in various cities across the world. She is getting her Master's in Literature in Scotland and hopes to travel after that.
The tight-knit cast and Posey’s personal direction and writing made “Victor Built a Body” a special show. Its powerful message will stay with audiences long after watching.
