As the first show for this Cave Theatre series, “Eleemosynary” will begin the all-female season by delving into the complex relationships connecting three generations of women.
“I was looking for a script with all female characters where the central conflict wasn’t around a man,” director Linda Sherfick, a junior theatre director major, said. “I didn’t want to see women emote about their baggage. This script tells a beautiful story that is relatable to everyone. It is non-linear and metaphysical, using the lens of memory to show how stories change over time.”
This play revolves around the importance of family relationships, but reveals the hidden struggles involved with choosing to love a family member.
“The show is about love, understanding and listening,” Sherfick said. “Everyone is worthy of being listened to, and everyone has to have that understanding to make love work.”
“Eleemosynary” tells the story of three women: a grandmother, Dorothea Wesbrook, played by senior acting major Molly Wagner; a Dorothea’s daughter, Artie Wesbrook, played by junior acting major Sam Sheeks; and Dorothea’s granddaughter, Echo Wesbrook, played by sophomore acting major Shay Stewart.
Wagner described Dorothea is an eccentric, strong-willed elderly woman who has ambitious dreams for herself and her family. Sheeks said her Artie, by contrast, has an analytic mind and struggles between desires to love her family and to escape the past.
Stewart said this stark contrast between Dorothea and Artie — along with events in the past — leads to a strained relationship which has a trickle-down effect on Echo.
“The relationship with her own mother causes Artie to struggle with learning how to love her daughter,” Sheeks said.
When Artie finally flees from her mother, she leaves Dorothea to raise Echo.
Growing up this way has left Echo “a very old soul, but at the same time, she is whimsical, playful and full of hope,” Stewart said. However, this innocent nature has left her as “a person who loves to the point of hurting herself.”
All three of the actresses revealed feeling a connection to their characters.
Stewart indicated that she and Echo both share a “deep-seated love of words” and that she is also “very much an old soul in a young body.”
Sheeks, on the other hand, can relate to Artie since “[the character] is very much like my own mother, and I think that her struggle between wanting something more while still wanting her family is a common thing that many can relate to.”
Like Sheeks, Wagner can relate to Dorothea through the female role models in her own life.
“I see a lot of my mother and grandmother in her,” she said.
Sherfick conveyed that one of the challenges of producing this play was to make the characters “lovable” since she said it can be easy to dislike them.
“These are three beautifully flawed characters who become lovable in spite of it,” Sherfick said.
“Eleemosynary” is being shown in the “round.” This is a theatrical technique, which puts the action in the middle with the audience seated all the way around the stage area.
This allows the show to become more involved with the audience.
“The characters tell you their story directly,” Sherfick said.
The word “eleemosynary” is an adjective meaning “supported by charity,” something that Sherfick said she thinks is evident in the story.
“All of the characters are charitable in their own way,” she said. “And they are also all deserving in their own way — they are both willing to give and to receive.”
In keeping with the all-female theme for Cave Theatre productions this series, six women work on the play: three actresses, one stage manager, one director and one assistant director.
“[It’s been a] very compelling opportunity as a young actress to work with a cast and crew comprised of extraordinarily dynamic women,” Stewart said.
From a director’s standpoint, Sherfick looks back on the process as a journey.
“We have been building the story together, and along the way, we have learned lot about each other and our own relationships with our families,” Sherfick said.
Sherfick said her goal throughout this process has been to produce a show that is relatable and touching to everyone in the audience.
“If I can inspire the audience members to walk away from this play and call their mothers, I will be happy,” she said.
