Comedic actors tackle serious roles in emotional play

Through family secrets and mystery, “Psalms of a Questionable Nature” explores the relationship between two sisters who are complete strangers as they connect over tragedy.

Half-sisters Greta and Moo, played by sophomore acting major Mary Taylor and sophomore musical theatre major Lauren Fivek, have never met before, and their only connection is through their recently deceased parents.

Estranged and in her mid-40s, Greta is attempting to prepare her childhood home for sale while keeping herself emotionally detached, but 19-year-old Moo has another goal in mind — she hopes to build a relationship with her sister.

Moo is rebellious and hides behind a veil of quick wit and humor to avoid stressful situations and to protect herself. She acts like she is 6 in what Greta perceives as an attempt to gain attention, but Fivek said this is how Moo actually feels since she received little care from her parents.

“She has a rough exterior but a soft interior like a twinkie,” Fivek said. “She wants to be loved, but she is afraid of getting close to people.”

Taylor and Fivek consider themselves to be humorous performers, and the deep and emotional nature of the play has been a new experience for them.

“Since we’re both comedic actresses, everyone thinks it’s going to be a riot, but it’s deep stuff,” Fivek said.

In addition to emotional conflicts, Moo works through confusing feelings over a secret she is holding over the death of her parents.

Greta has inner turmoil of her own, revolving around a recent life-shattering occurrence with her own daughter. As she struggles to reassemble her life, Moo helps her to “break down barriers enough to understand that forgiveness and moving forward are possible, just not in the way she thinks,” Taylor said.

Unlike most scripts students perform, this one has not been officially published. The author Marisa Wegrzyn is a friend of Karen Kessler, an associate professor of theatre and the mentor for the Cave Studio Series. This draft is from 2005 and has been performed two times on record.

Megan Holder, a junior theatre directing major, is the director for this production. She said this experience has been a way of stepping out of her comfort zone, since she usually works with scripts that tell stories out of sequence, and this one does not.

“This play is really about relationships,” Holder said. “Sometimes in theatre, we lose sight of them, and we are getting back to the roots.”

One aspect of this production especially interesting to Holder was the use of unconventional props. These kinds of items included a vial of small pox and a Bible that was cut to hold a hidden flask, the latter of which she expressed to be her “favorite prop ever.”

“When I was cutting it up, my Catholic roommate was very confused,” she said. “I have this obsession with keeping books perfect, so I really had to force myself to cut up a Bible.”

Holder said she hopes the show’s themes of making meaningful connections with strangers will help them to “think about who they are passing on the street and what they’re going through, and that sometimes, a smile is all they need.”

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