S76 - we are continuous by Harrison David Rivers - 2m, 1w
Simon and his mother, Ora, have always been close. She’s been his champion, his defender, and his friend. But when a life-changing secret comes to light, can their bond survive?
Labels: BIPOC, drama, small cast
posted by Jim Vogel at 3:15 PM
5 Comments:
This hits a lot of the buttons we are trying to stage: Minneapolis tie-in, black actor, gay. It is a string of monologues but the actors are all talking to each other in the first person describing the action. Interesting style. There isn't much action and the set is very sparse. But it's very moving and well-written. Definitely a dark drama about HIV, but you can really feel the compassion and tension with the family dynamics.
This is a strange play. Long monologues and characters seeming to describe what is happening rather than talking to each other. As Jean says, not much action or set. It might make a better radio play. Not something I am interested in sitting through.
In a season where we are trying to find fewer plays that are just narration this whole play is narration. Which is why I was surprised how moved I was and how much I loved it. It made me cry twice just reading it which is rare. I think the staging of this would be a really interesting challenge - we'd want a director with an interest/skill in adding movement and visual interest into the narration. The narration would need to be acted as if the feelings and events are happening now, which is a very specific kind of monologue skill. But I think in the right season mix this would be a powerful addition. Written by a BIPOC playwright with 2 of the 3 actors needing to be black this would add some good diversity into the season if we don't overwhelm our other selections with narration style plays and dramas.
Agree with Julie about the narration balance in this season. It is very moving, but would need a very careful director to make it not fall flat with just first person narration. I can see it being more active with visual symbolism in the lights an setting. Maybe something unique with the dining table in the middle. It would need some creativity so the staging doesn't fall flat. As a story to read it is really compelling and lovely, I really enjoy poetic works like this; however, this script would be pretty challenging stylistically for our audiences. But it would be a black story that we wouldn't have to worry as much about casting.
A beautiful, complicated story that is simple in its telling. I'm all for seeing if there is a director out there who would be interested in finding a creative way to bring it to life.
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