Arts
Issue Arts Back Next

Arts

Student and senior women bring life to theater

by Sonja Krefting

College senior Eryn Johnson said that she wanted to create theater that "reaches out to a community" and "speaks for a community." She accomplished that and more with her multi-media honors project, Looking Eye to Eye . In this intergenerational project, a group of Oberlin students met regularly with local senior citizens for activities, interviews and artistic collaboration. The result was an inspirational theater piece about women's biography, voice and communication. But this is not only an important and moving work of art; it prompts a reconsideration of the function of theater as a means of expression.

I came away from Looking Eye to Eye with the feeling that I had been given a gift. The content is rich, and the work is well-crafted and thought-provoking. The cast, made up of both college students and seniors, is generous, honest, and thoughtful in its presentation of the material. For an unconventional theater piece, Looking Eye to Eye is impressive in its scope and accessibility. It deals with themes that almost any college student would find relevant, such as the difficulties of self-expression and the pressures of college life. Movement is intelligently intertwined with text, slides, video and music.

Looking Eye to Eye may be best appreciated as an expression of the unique relationships formed between the Oberlin students and the seniors, the time they spent together and the experiences they shared. It is clear from the group dynamics of the cast that the most meaningful aspect of the project for them was its process. "My generation isn't given a chance to interact with Harriet's generation," said sophomore Sarah Meckler of her partner. One of the primary objectives of the project was to stimulate and facilitate communication across a formidable breach of time and experience.

The group of 10 women started meeting and corresponding with their "partners" from the Kendal retirement community in December. Usually the Oberlin students conducted two formal interviews per week, with set topic outlines. In addition, there were social activities planned. Most participants felt that through the project, they made a long-term friend. Many students and their partners found that they had a lot in common. At the end of a staged discussion of their relationship, junior Audrey Marcus and senior Libby Steele comment that it isn't easy to make a friend, but the joy comes easily.

The piece deals with the idea of voice and story, and how they are used to create a community or a collective consciousness. Family stories of Oberlin students are juxtaposed with stories told by the senior citizens, magnifying both the similarities and the differences between the two groups of women. Repeated movements and gestures are set to the stories, suggesting a continuity and a unity among them.

With lighting design by sophomore Julie Keenan and stage management by senior Julie Coris, the piece set a relaxed, natural and audience-friendly atmosphere. The set, designed by senior Chanda Martin, is intended to create a specific mood and provide a subtle commentary on the piece. The backdrop and props are scattered with quotes by the women and various phrases and objects that suggest the theme of communication.

Photographically, the piece opens by placing slides of Oberlin College with slides of the Kendal retirement community. Later, the slides show students and Kendal residents interacting.

Although the photography provides a good basis for the piece's evolution, the piece itself lacked development. It was structured around individual monologues and "partner pieces," punctuated by full-group interludes consisting of choreographed movement and synchronized text work. It ended rather abruptly, but charmingly, with a musical number performed by Conservatory junior Juliana Snapper and her partner, Nelle Meints.

Looking Eye to Eye is evidence that theater can be an invaluable educational medium, a way of bringing issuse to a specific community, and creating a communal voice.

Looking Eye to Eye runs in Wilder Main Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $3 OCID/seniors, $4 others.


Oberlin

Copyright © 1996, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 124, Number 22; April 26, 1996

Contact Review webmaster with suggestions or comments at ocreview@www.oberlin.edu.
Contact Review editorial staff at oreview@oberlin.edu.