PRU PAYNE at ATC: A Force of Nature — BLOG POST
Originally published for Arizona Theatre Company’s Cohort Club — 3 August 2019
To set the scene: last night was was the first staged reading in Arizona Theatre Company’s New Play Development Program and my second day in attendance as a member of the Phoenix Cohort Club. And yes, I will connect the dots between THIS AMAZING SUNSET and the play reading. Here we go!
The play: PRU PAYNE by Steven Drukman. A story about love, (memory) loss, and how people deal with it all. It was an emotional roller coaster of a story, especially considering my personal connection to family illness and grief, and I left the reading simultaneously filled up and empty. Filled up with emotions and the shared energy of experiencing art with others. Empty of energy and at capacity for social interaction for the day (truth be told).
The story gave me the opportunity to ponder the phrase “force of nature.” Gus Cadehy, affectionately known as Gus, calls the titular character Pru a “force of nature.” He says that that is how he wants to REMEMBER her. I’ve heard this phrase before, and perhaps you have, too. Many of us have people in our lives (or had) who fit the character description. A person in our lives who is full of energy and light. It is devastating when they then face illness and atrophy.
My aunt Kathy was a force of nature. Kathleen Marie Wright. Lived life to the fullest. She was bold, funny, beautiful: the life of every party. Perhaps a different kind of force than the play’s protagonist Pru Payne (purposeful alliteration there, read the play, you’ll know why), yet they share a kindred spirit. Kathy barreled through life as best she could until (ultimately) lung cancer took over her body. It is never an easy process to say goodbye to a loved one, and I remember saying my goodbyes with Aunt Kathy at Christmas the winter before she passed. This post is not my preferred place to tell all, but I will share that she and I knew our goodbye was happening on her mental and physical upswing. In between bouts of Kathy’s fatigue and nausea, we shared memories of summers at the beach, terrible (wonderful) family holidays, and stories about all of the crazy cousins (Boston Irish Catholic family, enough said). This was the picture of Kathy painted in my memory and how I wanted to remember her. Vivacious, quick-witted, kind, generous, full of love, always ready with a story and a joke. The life of every party. A force of nature.
Serendipitously, the play PRU PAYNE takes place in New England, and Gus Cadehy’s Boston accent shot me straight home to the South Shore. Although I grew up primarily in upstate New York, I spent childhood summers and family holidays in the Boston area, where my parents grew up. With Aunt Kathy. The combination of Gus’ humor and Pru’s quick wit brought back memories I didn’t even know where stored inside of me. For me, the dust never truly settles on memories of a loved one. Everyone experiences grief differently, and each remembrance takes its own shape. Perhaps we want to remember the good times. To help through the bad times. Perhaps we want to move on completely. Let the past go. Take life one day at a time.
Time. Another theme that weave’s through Pru’s story. Loss of time. Remembering time. Where does the time go? Add elements of dementia and memory loss, and the story climbs to another level. Playwright Steven Drukman handles the poetic nature of senescence beautifully. The juxtaposition of “high art” quotes and colloquial New England phrases is a curious harmony and one that delights and offers moments of levity and laughter as the story goes on. It is theatrically fascinating and personally exhausting to watch a relationship blossom in the midst of decline. Sometimes that’s how life (and love) goes. Forces of nature included.
I am so thankful that Steven wrote this play and that ATC invited me to participate as a Cohort. What a blessing to witness the growth of this play from the first read through to the staged reading, to share space with fellow, local artists, and art-lovers, and to reconnect with memories of my aunt. There are other personal layers at work as I write this, and for that, I am also thankful. What an exciting time, and there is more adventure on the horizon!
EPILOGUE: For those of you who know me well, you know that one of my “destressing” activities is roaming the aisles at superstores and bargain outlets. After the play reading last night, I went to Nordstrom Rack (not joking) to window shop and ease my mind and body. I stepped outside and witnessed the most beautiful Arizona sunset I’ve ever seen. Bold, beautiful, dashing across the sky. A force of nature indeed. Well played, Universe.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
