by Alok Ganguly
Staff Writer
During the weeks of October 22nd and October 29th, a new student-run play was being showcased. This Black-Box play, Independence, was directed by senior Emily Brown.
The play itself had a very small cast, with only four actresses, sophomores Maggie Basinas and Katie Kandra, and freshmen Maia Cataldo and Jasmine Gutbrod.
Independence is about a family of a mother (Basinas) and her three daughters (Kandra, Cataldo, Gutbrod) living in Independence, Iowa, and how they live their lives together as adults.
Basinas was the character of Evelyn Briggs, who during the play, was 53 years old.
“[My character] tends to put my emotional well being before anyone else’s. [She] is kind of all over the place a lot of times, and [she] can’t stand the fact of being alone, and [she] is a little bit crazy,” said Basinas.
Kandra played the role of the oldest daughter in the family, Kess Briggs, aged 33. Her character had left the family for four years to live her own life, and during the play, is returning home for a visit. She also came out to her family as a lesbian, which her mother (Basinas) does not wholly approve of.
“[My character] is a very broken woman, because of her whole life experience, from the time she was born almost, she had to hold the family together, because her parents weren’t fit to do it. She has never really had independence from all the loose ends she left in that town,” said Kandra.
Cataldo was the character of Jo Briggs in the play, who is 25, and the middle child. She is pregnant and in love with a man named Don, who is not played by an actor but is mentioned throughout the play, who is marrying someone else. She calls her older sister (Kandra) down from Minneapolis to help her with her situation.
“[My character] wants to bring the family together, but at the same time [she] really wants to leave to start [her] own family, because [she] is pregnant,” said Cataldo.
Gutbrod played the character of Sherry Briggs, the youngest daughter of the family at 19 years old. She is still in high school, and spends her time hanging out at bars and with men, which her mother (Basinas) is not happy about. She is also an up and coming artist, who desperately wants to have her talent shown.
“[My character] is kind of the oddball out, no one really pays attention to her. Often, people overlook the fact that she has feelings inside. She feels that people don’t understand her, and that she does not even belong in the family. She wants to escape more than anyone else. She loves her family, but still wants to be alone,” said Gutbrod.
Brown felt this was one of the more challenging and exciting plays to direct.
“This is a play about the human condition, and no matter how much we deny it, we can all see ourselves in these women because everyone, everywhere, at every moment is searching for freedom, and searching to break away from something that binds them,” said Brown.
