The Triangle

Issue date: 10/14/05 Section: Sci-Tech
Originally published: 10/13/05 at 11:35 PM EST
Last update: 10/13/05 at 11:35 PM EST

Media Credit: Shyunti Das Some of the props used by Jones to portray the various characters in her play. Only props, no sets, were used in the performance.

"A Right to Care", performed by Sarah Jones in Mandell Theater Oct. 6, was an impressive and moving experience. Details of the play and performer aside, the performance itself was worth the time to see. Having come to write about the play for The Triangle and being an ignorant greenhorn in the field of theater, this was the first time I had heard of Sarah Jones.

The single-person play began with a monologue from an old black lady setting the stage for the characters to come. The backdrop of the play was a congressional hearing of a group consisting mainly of immigrants. In a matter of minutes, almost everyone in the theater was enamoured by her wonderful performance.

Halfway through the show I began to wonder if there were actually many people on stage and what the old black lady had said at the beginning was really true: that there were many other actors doing the hard work to make her famous.

When the Indian physician was on stage, I marveled to think that she would have passed off as an Indian in any place. The El Salvadorian soldier reminded us of the immigrants who were so grateful to their adopted country that they glossed over the injustices done to them. Each character in the play had a story to tell and every story gripped me and made me think about certain realities of life which I rarely have thought of.

The transition from one character to another as soon as she takes off her jacket and dons another. The change of dress seems not only to be of theatrical value but also a sort of mental reminder or crossover point for Jones to move into her next role.

Her sense of humor, mixed with empathy, did not fail to make me think a little bit more at the end of the show about the populace whom Jones' characters represent.

One of the most interesting parts in her play came at the very end when her characters began taking questions from her audience. This was a revealing moment about the depth of her characters and the level of sincerity and dedication she has with respect to her play.

Another indicator of how well she has done her homework to portray her characters was revealed at a reception at the end of the show. Upon being asked about why the Indian physician had an accent which was from the South of India and had a family name of Patel which was a surname from the West of India, she explained about her source. The character was based on a woman whose father was from Gujarat (western India) and her mother was from Chennai (southern India). It all made sense.

Jones' shape-shifting performance is a mixture of talent and hard work, none of which alone would have sufficed in pulling off the show.

Having both at her beck and call, the evening was indeed a treat, one of the best performances of our times.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools