Zoo Play Overlaps Realms of Dream and Reality

Author: Elizabeth Braunstein

Shocking portrayals of violence and love through surrealist and humorous scenes comprised "I Guess I'll Have to Dream the Rest," two one-act plays performed on Friday, Feb. 20 and Saturday, Feb. 21.
The first play, "You Belong To Me," written by Keith Redden and directed by Benjamin Fainstein '04, juxtaposed three characters' irrational desires to kill one another with the actual murder.
The second play, "Sweet Dreams: A One Act Treatment of The Minneola Twins," written by Paula Vogel and directed by Daniel Pruksarnukul '04, focused on identical twins living very different lives in the 1950s, but each trapped by her own personifications.
"You Belong To Me" starred Rebecca Kanengiser '05 (Beth), Becky Martin '04 (Joyce), Susanna Preziosi '05 (Georgette), Jake Jeppson '06 (Larry) and Alex Horn '05 (Ted). The play began with Beth (Kanengiser) looking through a photo album containing nostalgic pictures of good times shared between her and her husband, Ted.
Redden constructed the play as a string of silent scenes between these two characters that illustrated their failed marriage, interrupted by scenes where the three other characters each acted out their deepest murder fantasies.
These outlandish and often overlapping scenes were overly dramatic and comical and contrasted with the intensity of Ted's final and realized violence. Jeppson commented, "I think we explored almost every possible representation of the piece. It was a wonderful road to go down with the cast and especially Ben, the director, because we were constantly pushing new ideas, trying to find the balance between comedy and just plain old freakishness. Seriously, Ben had incredible vision. The mime scenes aren't in the original script, and he conceptualized all of that."
The use of a three-tone color scheme (red, black and white) and a Patsy Cline jukebox also embellished the surreal nature of the play, placing the characters outside the boundaries of reality.
The varied music, from jazz to mellow instrumental, also moved the audience in and out of the realms of truth and dream. "Sweet Dreams" starred Sarah Peters '03 as twins Myra and Myrna and David Moan '04 as Myra's fiancÈ Jim. The play takes place in Minneola, N.Y., at the height of the 1950s convention and beat rebellion.
The play began with black-and-white footage of atomic mushroom clouds set to the tune of "My Favorite Things" from "The Sound of Music," setting the tone of this dark and constantly conflicted play. Peters' performance skillfully created two characters who were so deeply connected yet also divergent.
She said, "Playing the roles of Myra and Myrna was both a wonderful opportunity and a great challenge. In addition to discovering and developing two contrasting characters, I had to determine their relationship with one another by means of the dream sequence monologues, primarily the first."
Working off stereotypes of the teen rebel who idolizes James Dean, the repressed and yearning housewife-to-be, and the up-and-coming businessman, Peters and Moan expanded the roles they played. Peters continued, "I strongly feel that this play is not about the repression of women and their quest for sexual revolution, rather it is an exploration of men and women's sense of identity within a specific social context. Jim is just as trapped in his social sphere as Myrna and Myra are."
"I Guess I'll Have to Dream the Rest" successfully illustrated the absurdity of reality by rendering scenes of unreal violence and marital infidelity. Both plays performed complemented each other beautifully with their contrasting and conflicted characters. The themes of social isolation, keeping up appearances, superficiality, and brooding anger were well represented in these two short but poignant plays.