Crisis of Character

Written by Jakob Walsh

Part of Sarah Lawrence New Works Festival of Spring 2020

Starring: Aiden Chalfonte as Nate Michelle Cram as Gia Lydia Sims as Allyana

Stuck in arrested development, Nate dreams of being a superhero. To save someone shouldn’t represent a goal, but this is his most dominant desire. He tries bringing this to life through his interactions with his partners, Gia and Allyana. Through the play he will try what he considers not only necessary but his best to“save” them. This play focuses not only how we can fail those in a relationship, but how it can also expose the worst.

I was able to work alongside Jakob in the development of this new piece. I was interested in how Nate found comfort not only in his home but superhero comics. As a director who identifies as female I also didn’t want Gia or Allyana’s stories to be sidelined. This was not altering the script, but trying to understand why Allyana and Gia both found themselves in Nate’s life. This helped the production because the moment we see both of them meet the audience can understand why they are friendly to one another, and are also attracted to Nate. As a reading we did encounter a question as we worked through the piece, which was why people kept coming back to a relationship that isn’t healthy to them. This was applicable to all three characters. Similar to how in superhero comics most aren’t able to keep relationships and if they do, their partner or lover tends to be in danger.