Drama Comes to CAMP Rehoboth: In the Wake to be staged at CAMP Rehoboth
In February 2019, CAMP Rehoboth will produce In the Wake, by Broadway playwright Lisa Kron. The play is a funny, passionate, and ultimately searing script that illuminates assumptions that lie at the heart of the American character—the blind spots that mask us from ourselves, and how the past sows the seeds of the present.
Kron's works are humorous and poignant looks at life by someone who has often described herself as an outsider. Her experiences as a Jewish woman living in a predominantly Christian Midwestern city or life as a lesbian working in traditional theatre provide rich material for her plays. Her reflections from the outside looking in are insightful but not bitter. Ben Brantley of the New York Times says of her: “…there is never condescension in her humor. It is simply a crucial part of her navigational equipment in finding her way through life's absurd course of non sequiturs.”
Kron describes her creative process in her usual humorous and self-deprecating way: “I wish I had more of a technique for constructing these things. I keep banging my head against the wall until it pops through on the other side.”
In the Wake is about a family gathering just after the presidential election of 2000. The main protagonist, Ellen, deals with the political turmoil as well as upheaval in her personal life. And while the play may be about politics, it actually is about love and loss and risk and relationships and never quite knowing who you are or what you want until it is too late.
It is Thanksgiving of 2000 and the presidential election still has not been decided. Ellen insists that her friends and family don't understand how bad the situation really is. But no one—not her loving partner, Danny, nor the passionate Amy, nor the brutally pragmatic and world-weary Judy—can make Ellen see the blind spot at the center of her own politics and emotional life.
Two lesbian characters, Kayla and Laurie, bring a bit of gay sensibility and their strong opinions to the conversation.
The play garnered raves on Broadway, including “Luminous…Kron marries vigorous political probing with pitch-perfect humor and heartache,” from the New Yorker, and “Formidable…full of sharp, smart dialogue…its message rings all too true,” by the Associated Press.
Save the dates—February 22-24—for an engaging event at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center. ▼
Auditions November 27 and 28
Director Kay Cummings is an accomplished artist in her own right, having created and directed works performed at venues such as The Joseph Papp Public Theater, Lincoln Center's Serious Fun, LaMaMa, and L.A.'s Cast Theater. Her work has also been featured on Alive From Off Center on PBS.
Kay found In the Wake after reading over 50 plays to select her next project. She was looking for something about the world now, but not too much of a tirade. According to Kay, the play “…didn’t have to be about gay people or straight people. It needed to have a sensibility toward all kinds of people, because, life is that.”
Auditions for In the Wake will be November 27 and 28 at 7:00 p.m. or by arrangement with Kay.
Auditions will consist of a reading from the script and a short interview. Performances are February 22, 23, and 24, 2019, at CAMP Rehoboth. Rehearsals start in January.
As age is relative, everyone—all ages—is welcome to audition. ▼
Characters (all roles available)
ELLEN–bright, smart, funny, earnest, and self-assured; mid to late 30s or early 40s.
DANNY–easy going and understated, but not simple; mid to late 30s or early 40s; Ellen’s long-time boyfriend and Kayla’s younger brother.
KAYLA–mid to late 30s or early 40s; Laurie’s partner, Danny’s older sister, and best friends with Ellen since they were in college. A freelance writer.
LAURIE–mid to late 30s or early 40s; Kayla’s partner and works as a chef. She’s fierce in her affections and loyalties.
JUDY–mid 50s; Ellen’s long-time friend. She is an international aid worker and has no romantic illusions that the world can be changed.
AMY–intelligent and direct in conversation; mid 30s to early 40s; an experimental filmmaker who expresses her feelings without calculation.
TESSA–bi-racial; 16; Judy’s niece.