‘Children of Medea’
Children of Medea
Studio Theatre - Stage 4
Remaining Performances:
Saturday, July 19 @ 5:00 pm
Sunday, July 20 @ 2:00 pm
Wednesday, July 23 @ 9:00 pm
Saturday, July 26 @ Noon
She says: “A story about immigration, alienation, language and meaning, different ways of killing and dying, donuts and ants. Four years after being abandoned by their mother, two Korean-American sisters struggle with growing up. One dreams of being Alice, but Wonderland ain’t no fairy tale. Medea could have told them that.”
Sheffy’s take: When Sue Jin Song is basking in fame and success as a world-famous playwright, I will proudly brag that I remember when CapFringe premiered her virgin play back in aught-eight. Song, a suburban DC-native actress returning from the stages and studios of NYC and LA, finds her voice and makes it sing in a drama about two sisters who have lost their mother and now struggle with their identities while coping with an overbearing, taciturn father. Actually, she finds multiple voices—the perspective of the younger sister who refuses to grow up and accept responsibility, the perspective of the older sister who had responsibility thrust upon her at age 13, as she was expected to be the mother as well as the immaculate daughter. By staging in the round, the effect of multiple perspectives is further magnified by the audience.
In a story pregnant with literary metaphors ranging from Greek drama to the motherless Peter Pan who refuses to grow up, Song builds on the pathos of Medea, a princess, but also an immigrant, forced to take fateful actions when abandoned by her lover. Although the press kit (press kit!?) requested that I not spoil the plot, it was Song’s lyrical narration and dynamic acting that captivated me. As the older sister struggles for balance in her life, we meet her alter-ego who must navigate wonderland when the walls of pressure and responsibility start collapsing in. Sure, everyone needs an alter-ego every now and then, but I have to admit, I wasn’t sure how escaping to a surreal world contributed to the play’s resolution. The blurry line between her reality and fantasy obfuscated some of the plot’s intricacies.
After sweltering in other cramped, uncomfortable Fringe venues, it’s refreshing to enjoy a dedicated theater space. However, access to an arsenal of colored lights and a light board is not license to make the show feel like a rock concert. With accents, tone, and mannerisms, Song is clearly talented enough to embody each character without the help of personalized light motifs.
See it if: You love your mother.
Skip it if: You’re a budding female playwright and dramatic solo performer but you can’t handle new competition in town.
Tags: Alice, children, immigrant, Korean, Medea, mother, sisters, solo, wonderland
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Dear Sheffy,
I can’t second your praise of Sue Jin Song enough; her talent is truly profound, and her willingness to attack material that is literally as old as theatre, as new and creative as anything I’ve seen to date, and truly dark and shakingly honest is nothing sort of beautiful. I’d also like to highlight the wonderful work of Craig Wallace, the director, who subtly yet powerfully helped Sue Jin sculpt and tone her piece to the true art you saw.
As the lighting designer for Children of Medea, I’d just like to thank you for your fantastic comments about the play. I certainly see what you mean about the design and agree that Sue is strong enough to get by without it. i struggled with the choice to visually differentiate the worlds of the characters. I thought that content of disjointed identity in the piece could mirror the structure and lighting and help prompt a more immediate audience recognition in addition to providing a successful visual balance and variation. It was very ambitious and, due to the time and repertory constraints, very risky and difficult to implement. I tried to be honest about the possibility that I was injecting my own ego into the design in a way detrimental to the show. Ultimately I felt that we could implement the complex design and that it would help the show. the performance you saw was technically troubled, due in large part to my own behind-schedule status and board operating. I will be the first to admit that I could have used more time and subtlety.
I hope that at best, this lighting serves the show and people find it successful, but I truly appreciate your sensitivity to the artistic, thematic and technical content of the show, and your evaluation of the design rather than the imperfect execution.
respectfully,
–TD Smith–
July 28th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
TD-
With a show as fantastic as it was, it was hard to find anything to be critical of, and, for the most part, the lighting design accentuated the characters. I understood that design was meant to highlight each character, but, as we agree, she sometimes rapidly switches between characters, especially at the end, hence the “strobe” effect.
I was unaware of technical troubles on opening night, but if you say that contributed to some of the effect, then it can certainly be forgiven.
I would like to congratulate this show for winning the FringeFest Directors’ Award, as well as my “Pick of the Fringe”.
I’m sure this show has a bright (and colorful) future ahead of it, so I encourage people to check it out in other venues.