I'm sorry—I won't be blogging about Seinfeld this week. This post is about a one-woman play I attended with my journalism class on Tuesday evening. Weird—I know. I'm also required to write a blog post about my experience at the play.
But don't worry, after this week I'll be talking Seinfeld again!
The play is called Sargent & Victor & Me. Even though it was minus a million outside, 60-some Creative Communications students braved the cold to watch Debbie Patterson perform in the intimate Asper Centre for Theatre and Film.
I'd never been to a one-woman play before. When I first found out we were going, I thought of "Why don't you like me: a bitter woman's journey through life"—the play that the gang from Friends attended in episode 20 of the ninth season. If you're familiar with this episode, you'll know why I was expecting the worst out of a one-woman play.
But it actually wasn't that bad! I'm not a theatre-goer, so anything that doesn't make me fall asleep or make me feel extremely uncomfortable is an A+ in my books.
Debbie Patterson is the writer and sole performer in Sargent & Victor & Me. The play is about her battle with multiple sclerosis and social problems surrounding the Sargent and Victor area in Winnipeg.
I thought mixing MS with the deterioration of a neighborhood was a weird combination; these are two completely different things.
Patterson plays a number of different characters who live or have lived around Sargent and Victor, but the character she based on herself takes the spotlight. In a talk-back session after the play, she said that 90 percent of the play's content is based on facts from interviews she did with these people, and 10 per cent is fictional.
I found the Teresa character to be the most captivating. She's based on a teenage aboriginal girl involved in gangs, drugs, and prostitution. It's interesting because I've never met the person Teresa is based on, but I feel that Patterson portrays her very well. I think her character is very believable.
You'd think the character based on Patterson herself would be the most believable, right? She's playing herself; she's playing a character with MS and she also has MS. But she isn't really that believable! Strange, eh? I think her lines are too exaggerated, making the "acting" a little too obvious.
I think the lighting is the most important element in the play. Lighting designer Hugh Conacher does a very good job. Without the lighting, it would've been difficult to decipher between each character. Patterson's different voices helped, but I think the lighting is ultimately what defines each character.
The Asper Centre for Theatre and Film is small. There is seating on three sides of the performance area. I think the size of the venue helps bring the audience into play because the seating is close enough to see Patterson's facial expressions and make eye contact.
I don't know if this is a "good play" or not. I don't have enough experience in the art form to make that judgement. Regardless of whether it's good or not, I can tell you what I think of it; it's weird but maybe a good weird. It combines two things that I've never seen combined before. It left me wanting to know more about the neighborhood around Sargent and Victor. I've always known this is a rough neighborhood, but that's about all I know.
That’s all I’ve got to say about Sargent & Victor & Me. More Seinfeld next week—I promise!
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