The photo above was taken at a recent rehearsal of ANIMAL.  Somehow the grainy image of this picture adds to its power.  It is a deeply intimate and heartbreaking moment in the play that not only beautifully captures ANIMAL, but also the brokenness we all sometimes feel.   Sometimes we need a shoulder to cry on and a brother to hug us.  We need the comfort of grace, compassion and love.  No one gets out of this life without being touched by some source of needling pain.  In ANIMAL, that pain happens to be mental illness and how it can have long-lasting effects on those who suffer with it and family members grappling with its unpredictable/chaotic nature.

You may be reading this and you’re thinking of a loved one who is fighting a cancer diagnosis, or you’re dealing with a problem child, an ailing parent or perhaps you’re someone who hasn’t talked to their child or parent in years for whatever reason.  Maybe you’re in a bad marriage or battling loneliness or you’re just plain depressed about life, career and how you matter in this complicated world.  When we close our eyes from the brokenness, we dull the pain – run away from it.   It’s too hard because who wants to run toward pain?  I get it.

In ANIMAL, a crises happens and oftentimes that’s what it takes to force us to look more closely at our own brokenness and find the hope buried beneath the pain….if we choose to dig through it.  There’s a lot of digging that happens in ANIMAL.  No one likes to look back at things that hurt us, it’s just easier for some things to stay buried.  But easier is not always better.  Life can be so much fuller, richer.  Mistakes we’ve made can linger like a foul stench that we learn to tolerate because to reckon with the past takes a great deal of strength and courage.

As you can tell by some of these rehearsal pics, ANIMAL is a physical play.  There’s a lot of running around and confrontation that happens.  And then in the midst of this action, there are some quiet, harrowing moments of reflection.  Much is unsaid at first, but as the play advances and we see the face of mental illness, and we hear more revelations of secrets and lies, the past gradually comes into focus and reckoned with in a cathartic way.   Lies are shattered and hard truths are faced.  Hope is earned.   But it’s not an easy journey…and that’s okay.  We are built much stronger than we give ourselves credit for.

Director Evelyn Long speaking with the cast at a recent rehearsal.

My hope in all my work is to provide a glimmer of hope that, depending on the circumstance, must be fought for.   The greatest battles won are the ones we refuse to turn away from despite the brokenness.  I recently met with my director, Evelyn Long, and we had a great talk about the play and how well the cast is coming together as a family.  Much of our conversation veered toward our own lives and families and this inter-crossing  of life and art.  My goal as a writer is to take what I see in humanity and reflect it in some creative way.  I think I’ve done that in this play.  ANIMAL plays at Alumnae Theatre’s Fireworks Festival November 21-25.  Tickets are $15  To purchase tickets and learn more about the play, visit HERE.