What to say about a show with two people, physically distanced, rehearsing primarily on Zoom, during a pandemic, and raging wildfires throughout our state and the country, and social unrest at the highest levels anyone of our lifetime has witnessed.... Wow.
I can't express what it has taken to do this production. My dream to turn the little Ooley Theatre into a small studio house for use by all types of small productions was not to be realized for another couple of years, but the pandemic brought into sharp focus that in order for our story telling to continue, we had to have a way to reach our audiences. I approached Matthew Timoszyk of Garage Studio Productions to see if he also thought as I did: turn this dream into a reality. And we have. Lots of late nights, research, equipment and more equipment to use the other equipment... It makes my head spin. And that was all before the show even started to rehearse. We continued our slog through technical ordeals right up to opening and here we are!
Amber and Tom recollect their stories from 5 years earlier during their Freshman year at Princeton. At times we are their confidant, and at times its as if we are the college board of "neutral" appointees there to decide if sexual misconduct occurred. We are told that the rule of thumb is "50% plus a feather." What does that mean? If just enough of the evidence shows there was, then that's it. No more debate. But there is so much more to their story. And we hear it all.
This play is such a commentary on race, gender, age, self awareness, fears, love, and ultimately the idea that we so often don't communicate with one another in ways that truly would allow us to connect. These two characters are frought with insecurites, just like most of us. They remind of us our younger years, or our current years if you're in college. Their words ring true, in such heartbreaking ways. It is truly a landmark play about sex and the recollections we will have of it.
“… taut, devastating play… a smart, profoundly painful exploration of murky, treacherous sexual culture… Actually’s great strength, and its great heartbreak, is that it allows us to see both Amber and Tom so fully…Actually’s wit and its intelligence are part of what makes the complex darkness at its center hit so hard. There is brightness in this play, and in these people, and to see its sparks overwhelmed by such fearful and familiar shadows is shattering. In moments, it’s even revelatory.” – New York Magazine
Couldn't have said it better myself, NY Magazine.....
Thank you, all of you who take time to watch this amazing play. I hope it gives you your much needed theatre fix, and gives you much to contemplate as we continue through this incredily strange year of 2020.
- Elise Hodge
Executive Creative Director at
EMH Productions
The Artist's Collective
The Writer's Room
