Forget Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, and Pamela Anderson Lee. The Drama Department will attempt to dispel the stereotypical depictions of women in pop culture with a special presentation in the Balch Arena Theater on Sunday and Monday evening. Collectively titled I am..., the performance features a series of three one act plays connected through both their thematic representation of women's issues and the fact that all are directed by women.
The Drama Department traditionally focuses on its three annual major productions, and does not ordinarily produce a minor. But enthusiasm on the part of both students and faculty led to the creation of a cross-representative and collaborative approach to the female experience.
Kyna Hamill, a graduate student in the Drama Department, and senior drama major Kristin Leahey, had originally discussed proposing their plays as Pen, Paint, and Pretzel (3Ps) minors. But when they learned that faculty member Virginia B. Johnson also had a piece that she wanted to direct, the three decided to put them together to create a performance through the department.
"The idea of bridging the gap in the department -between undergrad, graduate and faculty - sort of presented itself on its own," Leahey said.
"Each [play] is very different, but they're all about a woman finding her place," added Hamill, who directs Blade, the opening piece in the trilogy.
Loosely based on a true story, Blade discusses the role of the media in society and how women are consistently perceived as sex symbols. Focusing on a town befallen by a series of murders, the play zeroes in on the particular struggle of Angela (freshman Emily Baraf), a college student mistakenly portrayed on the news as a prostitute. By playing up her relationships with her friend Connie (senior Heather Vergo), her boyfriend (senior James Foster-Keddie), and her mother (design faculty member Judy Staicer), the play explores the various ways in which women relate to each other and to men.
"I think it definitely shows that the media feels it's more important to report the most sensationalist aspects - it's easier to believe the worst," Hamill said.
Hamill specializes in fight choreography and intertwined her expertise into this production creating what she described as an "interesting type of crime scene."
When the events tie together, the stage instantaneously transforms into the next segment, leaving no pause or curtain call so as to emphasize that the works are interconnected. Hunger, directed by Johnson, the Drama Department's resident costume designer, is a collage of several pieces of drama and poetry dealing with eating disorders, strung together into a singularly intense presentation.
"It explores all the different types of eating disorders, not just anorexia and bulimia," explained senior Seren Levinson, one of seven actresses featured in the piece. "It shows the distorted views and the drastic measures people take to change them."
Levinson is among the few actresses that have had previous experience on the Tufts stage - a fact that Johnson says is no accident. "I made it a point to give people outside of the department a chance to perform," she said, "and also to cast women of different body types and ethnicity."
Johnson's presentation is particularly striking because she dresses the cast in form-fitting black undergarments to emphasize the difference between what the characters perceive about their appearance and what they actually look like. As the play progresses, the actresses sporadically dress at varying intervals, each donning loose clothing in black and gray tones.
"Even if you don't have an eating disorder you have to buy into the way that you look with garments that alter your appearance," Johnson explained, citing that she didn't realize how popular the seersucker foundation garments were with women of all body types until she went to purchase them for the cast.
The focus turns to a lighter side after intermission when Leahey's piece, The American Century, takes center stage. The play, which takes place in the 1940s, parallels historical themes with the concept of maintaining relationships within the nuclear family. It complements the other two plays with a storyline that focuses largely on the ways that women interact with the men in their lives.
Senior Rachel Evans, a member of Cheap Sox and a veteran of this semester's 3Ps production of Stop Kiss, plays Margaret Killroy, a woman who dreams of one day achieving the "American Dream" for her family.
"Even though she's the stereotypical 1940s house wife, she's the one you end up liking the most," explained Leahey. The others in the cast include freshmen Chris Bonewitz and senior Marty Keiser - both of whom have previously performed in several Arena productions.
Leahey, who is double majoring in history and drama, chose the play because it deals with women within a historical context. She said that her biggest challenge was actually fitting these ideas into her interpretation of the play.
Monday night's performance will conclude with a multimedia tribute to David Medeiros an active member of the Drama Department who passed away from cancer a few weeks ago.
'I Am...' opens Sunday night in the Balch Arena Theater at 7 p.m. and will also present two performances on Monday evening, at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.
