When two sisters get together at the beachside estate where one of them is employed, they think that they are going to settle in for a late-summer weekend of sibling bonding. But, in Molly Smith Metzler’s dramedy, Elemeno Pea, they also face some truths about their relationship. The play, produced by SUNY Brockport’s Department of Theatre and Music Studies, opens on Thursday, February 23, at 7:30 p.m. at the Tower Fine Arts Center, 180 Holley Street, Brockport. Tickets are $17/general, $12/senior citizens, Brockport alumni, faculty, and staff, and $9/students, and are available at http://fineartstix.brockport.edu, at the Tower Box Office, or by phone at 585-395-2787.
The relationship between siblings is a special one. Sometimes brothers fight. Sometimes sisters get on each other’s nerves. Sometimes, though, siblings are each other’s best friends. Director Danny Hoskins makes a keen observation about siblings (he’s got one of each): “We love them with just as much strength as we judge them, hurt them, want the best for them, admire them, chastise them and celebrate them. We know how to push each other’s buttons and so do Devon and Simone, the two sisters in Elemeno Pea and they do each of these things with wild abandon and shift between them with the flip of a switch… just like real life. The beauty of Metzler’s script is that it hits all the right notes – the human notes – about the love, loss, regret, hope, forgiveness and pain we carry about each of our loved ones.”
Still, the relationship between siblings is lifelong and intimate. Under Hoskins’ direction, the intimacy factor will be ramped up, as the show is being staged in the Black Box Theatre within the Tower Fine Arts Center. Hoskins, who was the artistic director at Blackfriars Theatre before joining the Brockport faculty on a full-time basis, is used to working in a smaller space, utilizing a three-quarter thrust stage. He feels that this sort of space “creates an electricity in the performance – there’s a stronger connection between actor and audience and also a more realistic and natural connection between the actors. They can move in a totally naturalistic way, whereas on a proscenium stage, the actors are always conscious of making sure they’re facing out or angled out to the audience.” Everything becomes more “personal,” he believes, which suits this story of two sisters at two different places in their lives, and – at the moment – in two different social strata.
Making a return appearance in a Mainstage production is William Ruiz ’08, who was recently recognized by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for his performance in last year’s Water by the Spoonful. In addition to being an alumnus, Ruiz is now the Associate Director of the Center of Graduate Studies at SUNY Brockport. As he contemplates his second post-graduate appearance, Ruiz is preparing to modulate his performance to suit the alternate space. On the modifications, he muses that “any theatre space brings out the grandiosity of characters. However, the intimacy of a smaller space like a Black Box does impact how an actor portrays that grandiosity. A Black Box theatre is a great place to experiment with nuance of tone, facial expressions, and physicality. It’s a great place to bring out the ‘crazy’ of a character in a subtle way.” Ruiz’ character, JosB, does have a bit of curmudgeon about him. The actor feels that “on the surface, JosB is an equal-opportunity grouch. His grumpy demeanor toward the other characters is consistent. However, JosB is observant of the relationship between the sisters, and their individual relationships/interactions with Michaela [the boss of one of the sisters]. So he softens up – but not too much – on some characters as he begins to put the pieces together of those relationships.” Hoskins is looking forward to going through the rehearsal process with Ruiz. In his experience, he has “noticed that when you have an outside artist come into the room, it helps to set a different standard for the students. They bring a fresh sense of confidence and calm and focused energy to the room… I can sense the comfort, passion and strength Will has as an actor and I’m looking forward to seeing him take the risks in the room and challenge the students to stretch beyond their expectations.”
Performances of Elemeno Pea are on February 23, 24, 25, March 2, 3, and 4, at 7:30 p.m. There are also matinee performances on Sunday, February 26, and March 5, at 2 p.m.
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