Spring main stage play is an ingenious dark comedy that brings together three women from three very different circumstances
By Leona Baker | March 29, 2011
An 18th century Chinese woman, a 19th century British woman, and a 20th century American woman suddenly find themselves seated in the same doctor’s waiting room. One is dealing with complications from the barbaric practice of foot binding, another a stifling corset and a case of “hysteria,” and the third a set of malfunctioning breast implants. And things go downhill from there.
VWC Theatre presents Lisa Loomer's The Waiting Room, a dark comedy in which anachronism is an ingenuous plot device rather than a problem, Wed.-Sat., March 30-April 2 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 3 at 2 p.m. in the Hofheimer Theatre, located in the Fine Arts Building on the campus of Virginia Wesleyan.
“The fictive world of The Waiting Room transcends boundaries of time and place,” writes VWC Theatre Professor Dr. Sally Shedd in her director’s notes. “By placing side-by-side characters from different continents separated by hundreds of years, Loomer is able to raise questions about the objectification of the female body that are more universal than particular.”
Sophomore theatre major Breen Dietrich faced a considerable challenge when she was charged with designing hair and make-up for the show as part of her theatre practicum.
“I had to do a lot of research to figure out how to make certain characters looks Asian or look like they’re from the 19th century,” she explains. “And one of the actors has to be changed from a female to a male and then back to a female again."
By placing side-by-side characters from different continents separated by hundreds of years, Loomer is able to raise questions about the objectification of the female body that are more universal than particular.—Sally Shedd
The majority of the rest of the stage crew is composed of VWC students, as is the thirteen-member cast, which includes junior Kaitlin Harris as Forgiveness From Heaven, the quirky, obedient Chinese woman with an odd affection for bad TV; sophomore Sarah Imbesi as Victoria, the hysterical 19th century wife with a twitch and an obsession with self-help books; and freshman Ada van Tine as the modern, brash and buxom Wanda, who gets to deliver some of the play’s richest material with her best Jersey girl swagger.
In addition to body image, cancer is an important theme in the play—one several characters find themselves dealing with including Wanda and her physician, Dr. Douglas McCaskill (played by senior Kyle Ulsh), and his nurse Brenda (played by senior Meghan See). The results are both humorous and touching.
“Even though this play deals with serious topics,” writes Dr. Shedd, “it does so with humor, joy and hope.”
Admission to The Waiting Room is free and open to the campus community and the public. For more information, contact Tammy Dhority at 757.455.3381 or e-mail tdhority@vwu.edu. Also, don’t miss student one-act plays, April 28-29.