Brilliant Traces in Sag Harbor
A runaway bride, just minutes from hypothermia, barges
into a cabin in a remote part of Alaska in the middle of a raging whiteout.
She has driven all the way from Arizona in her now filthy wedding gown,
only to stumble in on the last man who wants an unexpected guest –
a hermit running from his own past. All this happens in the first three
minutes of Cindy Lou Johnson’s Brilliant Traces, Skymaker Productions’
upcoming play, directed by Josh Gladstone.
The characters are extreme, but in the end, the play is about something
common to everyone, something basic to and interwoven in all of our
lives. It is a play about relationships. It is a play about how people
must learn to share their pain in order to find comfort in others. And
it is a play that, despite all these things, manages to have funny moments.
There is almost an odd-couple-like sense of comedy that stems from two
strangers being thrown together in the oddest of circumstances. Rosannah,
played by Minerva Scelza, is the runaway bride who takes off in her
car, desperate to outrun a wild energy in herself that even she does
not understand. On the other hand, Henry, played by Joseph Pallister,
spends all his energy trying to remain firmly planted in his own self-imposed
repulsiveness. Once the two characters are together in the same small
cabin, unable to leave because of the deadly storm outside, their two
energies begin to dig into each other. Each has a secret that tears
at them. Each tries to keep that secret locked deep within themselves,
unable to look their pain in the face. And although they are strangers,
each seems to have a knack for unintentionally hitting at and aggravating
the other’s secret. The question is raised, “how can a stranger
reach so deeply into another’s soul, a soul that has worked so
hard to hide, even from itself?”
This question is one of the things that drew director Josh Gladstone
to the play. As a director, Gladstone enjoys the opportunity to be involved
with such an emotional work. He describes the play as having “a
lot of meat on the bone.” He first saw the piece in its entirety
when Scelza and Pallister brought it to Guild Hall’s Naked Stage,
a series of readings and workshops of both new and established plays.
The Naked Stage reading gave Gladstone a chance to see Scelza and Pallister
read the roles of the characters they would later come to play more
fully. Gladstone could “tell they were connected to their characters,”
and felt they were a good fit for the roles. He became “anxious
to work with them on a deeper level.”
Another reason Gladstone was interested in this project is that he believes
in the benefit of local theatre throughout the East End. He feels that
theatre attracts other arts to an area as well, “opening up dialogues
with other artists” and pooling creative resources. It is the
mentality that a rising tide will float all boats.
In addition to enhancing the artistic landscape of the community, local
theatre can also offer some interesting elements and surprises that
more established productions and their space are often are unable to
provide. This production of Brilliant Traces, for example, is being
performed not on a traditional stage, but in a converted church. The
former Sag Harbor Baptist church was built in 1897, but later converted
into a private residence. The current owner, Molly McKenna, who is a
talented actress, suggested, after being involved with the Naked Stage
reading of the piece, that Scelza consider staging the play in her church.
(McKenna fondly refers to her home as the Intergalactic Church.) Scelza,
who started Skymaker Productions (named for her daughter Skyler) last
February, was “interested in staging [the play] in an unusual
way [and was] looking for non-traditional spaces.” After viewing
the church, she was “amazed [at] how perfect the space was.”
The interior of the simple church effortlessly becomes a well-suited
set for the cabin in which the play takes place. Gladstone feels that
“having the audience enmeshed in the set,” which is already
a very non-traditional space, “is part of the reason why this
production is being billed as a ‘theatrical happening,’
as opposed to just a play.”
Scelza is particularly excited to have this production be a considered
a special event. It is her hope that this play is something that the
community will talk about and open up creative discussion and dialogue.
“Moving out east [from New York City] required me to take a look
at how I might be able to lend my voice to a community with a rich creative
history,” says Scelza. “I wanted this theatrical venture
of mine, Skymaker Productions, to center around the talent right here
in Long Island. I want the work I produce to be challenging, vital and
ultimately engaging. I would like to offer actors, designers, directors,
and writers the opportunity to take risks, knowing that an audience
out here will ultimately respect the chance that was taken. I will not
chase an audience, because that will be the death of any possible truth
I can offer as an artist.”
Skymaker’s last production was a cycle of four plays, called Creature
Cravings, by a local playwright, Stephen F. Kelleher. Three were performance
readings and one was a full production that was shown at Guild Hall
last spring. This spring, for this current production, Scelza chose
just this one play, which she first saw in 1989 with Joan Cusack and
Kevin Anderson at Circle Rep. Scelza sees this play as having a simple
story – “Man and Woman attempt to connect under impossible
circumstances.” As an actress, Scelza is excited by the deep emotions
this simple story can yield. “Both characters can, at times, seem
odd, but I believe the audience comes to identify with their fears,
curiosity and loss.” Playing the second of these two characters
is Joe Pallister, a familiar face on the East End theatre scene. Pallister
grew up in Hampton Bays and, after fifteen years in Manhattan, has brought
his acting back to the Hamptons.
– Renée R. Donlon
Brilliant Traces will be performed at the McKenna residence in Sag Harbor
on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, April 12, 13 14, and 19, 20, and
21 at 8 p.m. For reservations, please call 516- 394-1351.
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