The Exile of Petie DeLarge, presented by A Collection of Shiny Objects and Son of Semele Ensemble, opens June 18; plays Fri., 8 pm; Sat., 2 and 8 pm; through June 26. Tickets: $15. Son of Semele Theatre, 3301 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; sonofsemele.org. Performs at REDCAT’s New Original Works Festival 2010 on July 22-24, Thurs.-Sat., 8:30 pm. Tickets: $10-$18. REDCAT Theatre, 631 W. 2nd St., Los Angeles; 213.237.2800.
There comes a time when we must grow up and become an adult. But what does that even mean?
Recent CalArts Master’s grad and founder of the production company A Collection of Shiny Objects, Elizabeth English, realized she had been fed a lot of b.s. about life and what it means to be an adult. This was the impetus for searching for a new script and a new way of storytelling.
“I wanted to produce a project of some of the things I’ve been thinking about. Artistically, personally and politically.”
About a year ago English met up with an old college friend, playwright Jennifer Barclay. “Jen said to me, ‘I wrote this play and it’s kind of a cross between A Clockwork Orange, Peter Pan and Lord of the Flies. And Peter Pan is a girl and I think it’s a musical,’” she laughs. “And I said, ‘Well that sounds interesting, I think that might be my play.’”
Once she read The Exile of Petie DeLarge, she knew she would need a strong, collaborative director to bring the text to life. She enlisted Bessie Award and Princess Grace Award winning director Maureen Huskey.
“I really felt like in order to push the play and to get it to its fullest artistic expression, it needed a developmental process where we could really figure out how it needed to work. Keep trying, keep exploring,” says English. “Maureen brings a great physical and dramaturgical sense and can really work collaboratively with the writer, actors and designers - to find a group vision.”
Huskey has been rigorous in investigating and helping shape the world Barclay has created. For instance, there was a part where a character would say something like, “I had a dream…” and then it would shift into a fantasy sequence where you would see the inner life of the character. Unsure of the convention, she confronted Barclay, “Your structure, what you’re doing is so exciting; as soon as you call it out that this is a dream, you’re suddenly reducing it to something very simplistic and mundane. It denies the audience the opportunity to engage in what I think is the real reality you want to create. Which is we don’t know what the real reality is, we don’t know the time - and it closes off the imagination right after you’ve opened it up.” She adds, “That was something she really responded to and I think opened up a new way to explore.”
Huskey continues, “Jen came in and workshopped that last scene with the actors. We had a really rigorous conversation and she went back and rewrote this final scene that just busted it open. I mean it’s brilliant - brilliant!
“Another thing that drew me to this play, like Liz [English], I have a dark soul.” Both she and English giggle. Huskey comes from a working class background and was taught to not trust those with education and money. “There’s a rebellion aspect to this piece. I was facing ideas of culture, which I didn’t grow up with, and the status quo. Feeling like an outsider.”
“For me, I love being able to work form and style. I really want to push those boundaries for myself. And one of those areas is with the physicality and musicality.”
“When I really spent time with it [the play], I discovered it’s really a piece about repressed intimacy and fear of being emotionally ostracized.” There are also elements of violence that add on to the emotion. “There’s a sense that all these characters are wounded in some way.”
English poses the question, “How do you approach that [violence]? Do you take it literally? Or do you try to open it stylistically. What conveys a greater sense of discomfort?”
Huskey references Andy Warhol’s 1965 experimental Vinyl. It’s supposedly an adaption of A Clockwork Orange but if you didn’t know it, you’d never guess. True to Warhol fashion, there are moments of the absurd, and a hallucinogenic quality, then “you have these moments where all of a sudden it is real. Real, authentic human emotion. You go from a very stylistic world to something so deep and personal.” Huskey reflects, “I think that was the challenge with this piece. How far can we go with the style and form and physicality and yet still come back and have the actors reveal [the emotional vulnerability]?”
In both A Clockwork Orange and Lord of the Flies the breakdown of language is important stylistically and thematically. Barclay has purposefully broken down language for this piece. English comments, “There is not a wasted word on the page. The actors have to be precise and word perfect.”
English commends the incredible ensemble of actors and their dedication to the process. “This piece is exceeding my expectations in so many ways,” she shares. “It’s so much more beautiful and exciting and nuanced. It’s opened up so many more ideas to me and that’s a beautiful gift.”
Music is a vital element in the world of the play. Huskey recalls, “We were looking for something that organically comes out of this play. Like if it was six kids in a field with a trash can and a broken guitar and they’re singing because they get high and do that - what does that sound like? And it still has to sound good to an audience.”
English adds, “We’re going to keep trying things and hopefully it [the play] will create its own sound and its own aesthetic.”
English stresses that Petie DeLarge is still in development. After seeing the play, she hopes people will stick around afterwards and talk to them about it. Help it grow.
Huskey discusses the importance of workshopping plays. “It’s something that’s not always understood by funders but it’s an integral part of the process. For audiences to be able to be a part of something in stages, it’s an evolution. And ideally, you hope this evolution is going to be something that impacts the art of theatre.
“I think Los Angeles is a fantastic theatre community and it really needs to be cultivated - and to cultivate the audience.”
English agrees. “Stuff comes out from New York and people get really excited. But we can do that here! We just need our community to know that is what we’re trying to do.”
Huskey assures, “The piece is incredibly funny, wacky; it’s bizarre…”
“It’s loud,” interjects English, laughing.
“So the challenge is to make sure the deeper chords are being rung,” admits Huskey.
“I’m excited about how unique this piece is becoming,” says an amazed English. “It’s also reflective of both my personal aesthetic and political belief of what we can do with theatre and performing arts. And I’m really grateful to Son of Semele and the support we’ve gotten.”
For Huskey, it’s an accumulation of everything she loves about theatre. “From the experimental text to the challenge of integrating movement and physicality and music. And really true collaboration.”
So what should audiences expect?
Without missing a beat, Huskey asserts, “I really do hope they experience a hallucinogenic musical that punches them in the gut.” We all laugh at the prospect.
“I hope they want to see more,” sincerely replies English. “I hope people will get invested in us. And want to intellectually engage with us. Say, ‘I liked it at Son of Semele, I want to come see it again at REDCAT.’ To really push us forward.”
She brings up a valid point about well-known experimental or progressive theatre companies. It’s not just about the work created; it’s about their relationship to their audience. “People see them develop. And have that aesthetic dialogue. I really believe in access - I want to develop work that larger audiences would want to see but not in a watered down kind of way.”
Huskey knows that Petie DeLarge will resonate with Generation Y (ironically, this generation is also referred to as the Peter Pan Generation). “The actors are all under 24 and they are excited about this play because it speaks to their generation. And that’s exciting.”
The rebellious theme is also reflected in the form. English believes people will watch this and say, “‘I didn’t know you were allowed to do that [in the theatre].’ And that’s the point of the story. These kids aren’t allowed to do what they do - they just do it.”
Agreeing, Huskey adds, “The piece is incredibly playful. It is about play, it’s about the play of acting - the piece has been created through play.”
English surmises, “You know, we don’t make any money doing this [theatre] so we might as well have a good time.”
She shares a moment from a rehearsal when one of the actors said, “This is the funnest play I’ve ever been in!” She reiterates, throughout the process there’s been a discovery of “oh, we’re allowed to do that?” English enthusiastically replies, “Yes! You are allowed to do that in the theatre!”
Article by Ashley Steed
