'Lonely Planet' Confronts Fear of the Unknown

Author: Crystalyn Radcliffe

Our society is afraid of what it does not understand. We call this fear by many names: racism, sexism, homophobia — fear of anything that is different. We do not understand because we cannot see the other side. We feel threatened by what lies outside the norm and prefer to push it under the carpet to make it invisible.

"Lonely Planet," which was performed in the Hepburn Zoo last weekend, is a play about seeing that other side and finding out what it feels like to be the one who is different, the one who we fear.

The play forced us to look at that which we do not want to see and to identify with that from which we want to distance ourselves.

It puts on display what we would hide and speaks to a part of us that is universal: our fear.

"Lonely Planet," written by Steven Deitz in 1992, was directed by Jacob Zell Studenroth '03 as his Theatre 500-level project.

A two-person play, the script was based on the friendship of two gay men, one of whom presumably had AIDS.

Both characters were absorbed in escaping their reality.

Jody, played by Asa Thomas-Train '05, hid from the outside world and his fear of possibly having AIDS by hiding in his map shop.

Carl, played by John Stokvis '05, attempted to create a new reality without illness by lying about his occupation as a worker in a glass shop and in a museum and fabricating stories about his day-to-day life.

Much time and thought were put into the blocking of the scenes. The symbolism of the accumulated chairs representing the victims of AIDS had an overwhelming visual effect. This was felt most keenly when, during a very tense scene, Carl surrounded Jody with chairs until he trapped him in a circle three rows deep. In a moment of breakthrough, Jody and Carl shouted at each other over the barrier of the chairs, eventually wading through them to meet each other halfway.

The play was painfully intimate, compounded by the physical interactions between Jody and Carl.

The costumes were reflective of the two characters' personalities. Jody's conservative turtleneck sweater, fitted khaki pants and reading glasses added to his sense of quiet intelligence. Carl's loud ensemble of plaid wool pants, clashing vest and beret set him in opposition to Jody's style and reflected his irrational, quirky personality.

The set design was well thought out and engaging. Illuminated maps floated from all sides of the room, framing the set nicely. A map of the globe was at the center back of the stage, reminding us of its isolation in space and the title of the play.

The blocking was arranged so that these maps were referred to implicitly in action and often directly in speech throughout the play, creating a sense of cohesion between the actors, the script and the set.

In addition, the lighting was very powerful and effective in highlighting certain actors and props on stage. For instance, towards the end of the play when Carl brought his own white chair onto the stage to signify his death, it was left at center stage, illuminated, while the rest of the room was dark. The lighting changed depending on who was on stage and the tone of the conversation between the two men. It softened when they were comforting each other or sharing an intimate moment and brightened when the mood was more humorous.

Overall, the acting was engaging and well rehearsed. Thomas-Train's stooped posture and shuffling mannerisms leant his character a sense of aged dignity that was not as evident in Stokvis' part, which was more lively and demonstrative. Although at times it was not entirely convincing that the actors were the age of the characters (who were at least in their thirites), this did not detract from the quality or credibility of the performance.

Many audience members were moved to tears or stifled sniffles by the end of the play.

After the final applause the audience was asked to contribute to the Gay Men's Health Center, an AIDS charity in New York City, by placing a dollar in Carl's cap. The goal for the four shows was to collect $150 in donations, and inside sources have said the goal was exceeded.

"Lonely Planet" was a touching play which was described best by Stokvis's character when he said, "It might change you."

This weekend the Zoo will open its space for the perfomance "TseProTNISTKA: The Secret Project That Nobody Is Supposed to Know About."