"It takes work to not be a bad person...you can't just be the least bad person in a lineup and call yourself good." That line, according to one of the actors, stands as a powerful summation of the struggle faced in a provocative new play currently running at the UIS Studio Theatre.
The two-act, two-character play involves a meeting in the office of "Janine Bosko" a tenured professor of American history at a prestigious university who is an accomplished author and expert on revolutions around the globe and throughout history. Her ambitious student, "Zoe Reed," has come to Janine's office for an early critique of her latest term paper. Zoe believes "a successful American Revolution was only possible because of the existence of slavery" and her paper presents this theory. The meeting with the unfiltered professor and her radical student features deft writing and sharp witty words that escalate into intense exchanges and a clash of ideas about race, privilege and social justice.
The play features Regina Ivy as "Zoe" and Meredith Vogel-Thomas as "Janine" and is co-directed and stage-managed by V. June Chappelle, produced and co-directed by Carly Shank. Scenic and lighting design by Sarah Brewer. I was able to sit down with the cast and co-directors before a rehearsal last week for a discussion about the play, its themes and why it's important people come to see it.
Q: What attracted you to the play/part?
Meredith: "I like to see more authentic representations onstage, characters from minority backgrounds telling underrepresented stories, where the plot doesn't hinge just on who the people are. I love that Janine is a whole person: messy and complicated. It takes guts to be that messy in front of a room of strangers and I've always gravitated toward those kinds of characters.
Q: Why/when did you become interested in the play?
Regina (a current undergrad at UIS): "Carly gave it to me and I read it in one sitting. Zoe is very different than me. She's a little mean, but the more I read it, and the more I perform it, the more I came to understand and empathize with her."
Q: What questions do you think the story raises?
Meredith: "How it's a ruse and a trap in higher education to think that it's not a place for (learning) practical skills. It's easy to lie to yourself in the pursuit of excellence in higher ed because there's a myth of pushing narratives forward and not learning more about diverse people and things."
Q: What drew you to the project?
June (co-director): "I come from a place of understanding, as I have encountered many 'Janines' in my life. I understand Zoe a lot in how I was raised, what I encountered at school and at home. I can relate to her passion, what drives her and what she stands for."
Q: What have you gained or what has surprised going through this process?
Regina: "I find myself examining theories more and trying to understand what Zoe is saying. It's allowed me to look inward, as well as at parts of society. It's made me excited to do things that will help shape a better society and make it the way I want to see it."
Meredith: "It's so refreshing to play this character and be able to walk away each night and know I'm not her. It pushes me to be uncomfortable, to get out of sometimes being a 'lazy white lady,' to be a better person. It's a great leaping off point to understanding privilege."
Q: Why this play, now?
Carly (co-director and producer): "The subject matter seems the right fit in the university setting, especially as so many have established DEI programs, and it's a good time to have this kind of discussion." There's the hope too of establishing the black-box-style Studio Theatre as one of the places to go for these kinds of intimate works. "Everyone I handed the play off to read it in a single sitting. I'm really excited to present it and talk about it at UIS. I've been pounding the pavement (here) because I think it is going to cause a lot of great discussion and I don't want people to end up saying. 'Oh, I wish I would have known about that.'"
The Niceties continues Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 28-30, at the UIS Studio Theatre; limited seating available. Tickets are $20; UIS faculty/students/staff – $15 with ID and can be purchased here: The Niceties By Eleanor Burgess – UIS Performing Arts Center. Curtain is at 7:30. This event is presented in partnership with the UIS Diversity Center and will include talk-backs at the end of each performance.
Mary Young was born and raised in Springfield and has been performing in, producing and directing live theater for decades. She's done film and voice-over work, performs occasionally with local bands and likes to make up funny stuff with improv troupe The Portuguese Rodeo Clown Company.
