The empire rose in the Experimental Theatre when the CSUN Department of Theatre presented its latest production, “The Hunchback of Seville.”

The play, written by Charise Castro Smith and directed by Michelle Bossy, ran from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1.

Set in 1504 Seville after Christopher Columbus’s return from the New World, “The Hunchback of Seville” follows the story of Maxima Terribé Seguna, played by Hannah Leigh West, the adopted hunchbacked sister of Queen Isabella, played by Jessica Pantaleon, who is locked away in a tower. When Maxima is called to take the throne, she gets entangled in a world of politics, power and religion, revealing the cost of Spain’s ambition.

“The Hunchback of Seville” was a mix of modern and old century, with furniture and costumes that reflected the 16th century and the use of modern excessive language that added to the satirical spin of the production, including a scene involving a Roomba vacuum cleaning Maxima’s room.

Although there were moments of laughter, the production also explored the greed and dark legacy behind Spain’s rise to power.

Talib Furozh, Maxima’s tutor and lover, is portrayed by Liam Sacramento, who also played Two. Sacramento noted that Talib had become a shell-shocked, depressed and conflicted person, unable to enjoy life because of the millions of innocent deaths he’d seen in Hispaniola.

“He contemplates killing himself to that point, just because he sees how terrible the world is,” Sacramento explained. “Becoming that character was hard. In that fact, as someone who just, like, I’m a very happy-go-lucky guy. … That was probably my hardest tribulation, but it was a lot of fun at the same time, seeing the world in different eyes.”

With the fourth wall being broken several times in the production, the audience was able to engage with the humor and story.

Emily Gomez played the character of Espanta, whose name translates to “spook.” Gomez explained her experience playing the wild, fun character.

“I think, more than anything, Espanta scares herself with the secrets that she keeps and taunts the audience with. So, she was a very fun character to play,” Gomez said. “When I first started rehearsing as her, I had trouble because she’s an older lady, and so I was trying to kind of find that sensibility. But the director was like, ‘just be yourself,’ so I’m kind of like a loud 21-year-old but in an old lady’s body.”

After the production ended, the audience was able to stay and talk with the actors, who spoke in about their experience and characters.

During the session, Rian Schotemeyer, who played the character Infanta Juana, talked about what it was like delivering their lines.

“Some of these lines were actually really, really hard for me to deliver. The line when I first flipped, I actually, I could not say that line for a very long time. I would mess it up every single time because I felt really bad saying it,” Schotemeyer said. “But knowing that it would help impact, it would help build this up, and so it was meaningful towards the end because she is so awful, and I felt like it needed to be said, and it needed to happen to create that.”

The production ended with a twist when Infanta Juana took the throne for herself, leaving the audience to see how even if an empire rises, it eventually falls.

The CSUN Department of Theatre will continue with their last production of the semester, “The Marriage of Figaro,” beginning Nov. 20 and running until Nov. 23. For more information and tickets, visit their website.