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This is what Alex and his droogs do for fun in "A Clockwork Orange." The Anthony Burgess novel and Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation that followed are notorious for their brutal depiction of violence toward women. It may come as a surprise, then, that two of Maryland Ensemble Theatre's [MET] main contributors to the company's stage production are female.

Director Julie Herber and fight captain/ensemble member Vanessa Strickland have come to terms with the misogyny. Strickland, an Olney resident who plays some of Alex's victims, says that friends and family have questioned her involvement with the show. Some even made the decision not to see it.

"As strange as it sounds, I feel like a lot of the events in the play have a purpose," Strickland explains. "I feel very confident in this show and what happens to me in it, [and that] could be because I am the fight captain. I staged, move-by-move, all of the things that happen to me, so I feel fairly in control even though I'm acting as if I'm at the mercy of the men at certain points. With the other non-victim characters I play in the show, I do have a few moments of justice where I put Alex in his place, which also helps me as an actor find the balance between being a victim and later, becoming an aggressor."

The story can be viewed as satire. It's set in a dystopian London "in the not too distant future." Alex's behavior is the product of the moral decay of the society that raised him.

"It's very easy to go the route of entertainment," Strickland observes. "But it's important to tell the story. This is this boy's story. It's sort of this dark, demented tale of growing up. It's because of his actions against these victims that he ends up where he ends up."

Herber, MET's associate artistic director and head of the children-oriented The Fun Company, believes this is the darkest show she has directed. Although she hopes the story's place in pop culture will bring in patrons that may not regularly attend MET productions, she and producing artistic director Tad Janes didn't choose "Clockwork" for its reputation.

"I think the message of the play speaks louder [than the violence]," she says. "And it's not all about the violence towards women. [Alex] does violence to a lot of people in a lot of different ways. A lot of the violence gets put upon Alex himself. Alex is a victim as well in this journey."

The film, "A Clockwork Orange," has developed a strong cult following since its release in 1971. The image of star Malcolm McDowell's menacing eyes beneath a black bowler hat has been plastered on dorm room walls for decades. And rogue high school English teachers still enjoy sneaking the Burgess book into their curriculum.

Devotees of the text will be pleased that the MET is using a script Burgess himself penned in 1987. The author was unhappy with Kubrick's ultra-stylized version and wanted to restore the integrity of the novella for the stage. This meant including the book's final chapter (not part of the movie) that sends Alex on a new path.

Beyond the ethical issues surrounding the play, there were challenges in terms of the staging. There are several fights, and many of them involve multiple actors. Considering the company performs in a 100-seat theater, the show promises to be an intense experience for the audience. Strickland, who is appearing in her second MET show, choreographed these sequences. She has stage combat experience, but this her first time as fight captain. To make the job even harder, Burgess wrote little description about what the fights should look like.

"From a staging perspective, we have to figure what's the main focus of the scene, who's involved and what kind of story we are trying to tell through this fight," Strickland remarks.

Portraying both the scantily-clad young wife of a writer and an elderly lady, she screams and takes abuse. It's a tough gig, but Strickland says that a high level of trust has been established among the cast.

"We have such an amazing group of people and everyone — male and female — is very generous and careful and selfless," she says.

Perhaps most importantly, Herber found an ideal Alex in Joe Jalette, whose young face looks the part. In Burgess' script, Alex is only 15.

"Joe has a very charming quality, and I think the audience needs to be charmed by Alex in the midst of everything that he's doing," Herber says. "The whole play has a musicality to it. Joe has a great musical sense. And I know he has a darker side that he can tap into. For a director to be able to work with that and help him explore that, it's exciting for me, too."

jedwards@gazette.net

"A Clockwork Orange: A Play with Music."

For mature audiences

-When: 8 p.m. May 13-14,

20-21 and June 3-4, 9-11, 16-18; 2 p.m. June 5 and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. June 12

-Where: 31 West Patrick St., Frederick

-Tickets: $23.50 for adults, $20.50 for students and seniors. First Friday preview performance is $5.

-For information:

301-694-4744

www.marylandensemble.org