Suffolk University Alumni Magazine 2008/2009 - (Page 47) Right: Purnima Baldwin ‘08, director and co-producer of Infinity. Left Page: (1) Kelley Dooley ‘10 and Kaitlyn Flynn ‘11 in the audience, (2) sack lunches for all, prepared by the cast and crew, (3) Alex Kardon ‘11, (4) Purnima Baldwin and Rachel Kelsey after the performance. kelsey and Baldwin were in new writing and directing territory with Infinity. “The script itself is very experimental,” says kelsey. “There is somewhat of a story line, but it’s fragmented. It examines how we see each other, how we don’t see each other, and what we don’t realize about each other when we’re walking down the streets every day—that there is no difference between us, we’re all looking to just keep surviving and living our lives and finding happiness in some way.” All nine actors switch between homeless and non-homeless roles during the play. Characters start out the same but some face a job loss and begin all worlds, theatre would really make us look at those bigger questions again. Why are things the way they are? Why do they have to be this way?” THE sOCIAL CAUsE LIVEs ON “I was impressed by how rachel and Purnima saw beyond the stereotypes that many of us have of people who are homeless,” says kaufman. “People come to performance or art from different directions. I think for Purnima and rachel, who really have a sense of theatrical art, they come to it from a sense of commitment for social change and as a means of exploring the world. fortunately, they’re good enough so what they do is actually entertaining, too. It’s not just discreet or moralizing.” “There are a lot of reasons why people end up homeless or in situations like that,” says kelsey. …THEY wILL COmE It was April 23, performance day, and the turnout was terrific. “I was sitting in the front row,” says kaufman. “I’d been there all afternoon and then I remember turning around and there were all these people there. It was really exciting.” The actors walked back and forth, delivering separate and nearly simultaneous lines as they switched roles. “There are people who are lonely.” “Do you the script examines how we see each other, how we don’t see each other, and what we don’t realize about each other when we’re walking down the streets every day. a downward cycle of losing everything. The play then illustrates the difference between the homeless characters spiraling down and getting more desperate, and the other characters remaining at poverty level, and the widening gap between them. one scene in particular illustrates this separation with a familiar exchange observed in the city on a daily basis. Some of the characters are scurrying to get to work, weaving around the homeless characters who stand motionless, asking for money, “do you have a quarter?” “I need the quarter.” “Well I need it more.” “Well you’re not listening to me.” “you’re a jerk because you’re not giving me the quarter.” “you’re a jerk because you won’t get a job.” “It was very courageous to try to explore such a painful topic about people who’ve been marginalized and vilified, who we all want to shut out of our lives,” says Jim kaufman, general manager of the Theatre department and weekly logistics adviser to the students during the making of the play. “It’s not very pleasant to think about that, to hold a mirror up to it and say, look, this is what’s going on and is there something we can do about it? In the best of have any change? I just need to get on the train.” “All the money is gone, nowhere to go.” Actresses on the pavilion pronounce the declaration of Independence through bullhorns. “America, land of infinite possibilities…” “We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created equal…” “We all have a path for life. There are different paths to take. My path could be your path but my path is my own path.” “I am alive. I am breathing. I am walking the path that is my life.” And in unison, the nine voices echo, “I will get there. I will get there.” Their voices join softly in “America the Beautiful.” “Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain…” “In reality I know very little,” they continue, bullhorns raised to the sky. “I know what is around me. There are problems that surpass the basic needs for shelter. We’re looking for a solution that may never come. Which voices are we listening to? How will we see ourselves? How will see each other? How will we embrace all of life, how will we decide what to love about ourselves, and one another, and our world?” The actors moved into a line formation, put the bullhorns down, and took a deep bow. And Infinity, the play, was complete. “Many of the stereotypes, which have truth behind them, have to do with drug abuse, drug addiction, alcohol, and mental illness. A lot of schizophrenic people end up on the street, a lot of war vets, and I met all of those people. “But then you’ll meet someone who got in a car accident and didn’t have insurance, and it’s just really bad circumstances that led them to this place. That’s what really changed for me: seeing beyond the stereotypes. It really could be anybody, any one of us. They’re very kind and intelligent people who have a lot to offer, a lot of people realize that but there are so many who don’t. And that’s unfortunate, and that’s one of the goals of the show—to get people’s perception to change a little bit. Like mine did.” “Take a look at the other side for a while,” says Baldwin, receiving flowers with kelsey after the show. “Take a look at that other person. Consider who they are, instead of stereotyping them into who you think they are.” sherri miles is director of communications for the college of arts & Sciences at Suffolk university. SUFFOLKARTS+SCIENCES//2008/2009 www.suffolk.edu [47] http://www.suffolk.edu
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