By Kathryn Olsen
Well-known for its forward-thinking productions, Plan B Theatre is releasing Art and Class, a world-premiere audio drama by playwright Matthew Ivan Bennett, exclusively online. As part of their 30th anniversary series, this work was rehearsed via Zoom for the safety of the actors and the audio tracks were synced from four vocal tracks to produce a single work of art. As it is inspired by the controversial firing of educator Mateo Rueda in 2017, I was curious to hear the way that Bennett could mold the factual elements into a fictional work.
Lucia (Flo Bravo) is an elementary school art teacher with a masters degree, Spanish as a first language, and a job in Cache Valley, Utah. She is also the current provider in her household, as her husband Riley (Bijani Hosseini) is recovering from an injury. When her principal Leland (Roger Dunbar) calls her into his office shortly before Christmas, she is ambushed with reports of a complaint made by a student about her teaching. Mindy (Stephanie Howell), the student’s mother, has reported that her daughter’s peers were looking at “racy” works of art in Lucia’s class and subsequently body-shaming her daughter. While Leland tries to salvage the situation, Mindy takes to the court of public opinion and demands justice through social media. The result is a struggle in which no one is a clear victim or villain of these circumstances and no relationship, from friend to husband, is left unscathed.
Bravo’s performance is the most varied. Her character is certainly a chameleon, as she is able to navigate educational discussions as well as shared community. She is at home in each setting, but regularly gets Othered and this is cleverly manifest in true-to-life ways. Her husband banters lovingly with her in Spanish, but laments that she doesn’t appreciate the mountains surrounding her home. Mindy acknowledges the good Lucia’s done as her daughter’s educator, but makes insinuations about her moral standards as both a foreigner and a member of a different faith. Lucia is certainly the protagonist in this work, but the audience can find reasons to find fault with her in one scene while siding vehemently with her in the next. It takes a masterful actor to express this and Bravo is well-cast in the role.
Hosseini, as her first counterpart, is the most captivating of this ensemble cast. At Riley’s core is a defensiveness that never changes and the ways in which it shapes each of his scenes is what Hosseini excels at. It is this character trait that makes others take notice of ways to mitigate catastrophes, but also makes him sometimes intractable. Hosseini is able to intone both sympathy and regret without necessarily putting those things into words.
While Hosseini and Howell are counterparts, Dunbar plays an excellent friend and foil as Leland. His depiction of this authority is, more than anything, the tie that expresses the tension of the edntire play. Like Lucia, he is in a no-win situation that conflicts with his duty as well as his principles. He is almost as much a chameleon as his colleague, but cannot be seen as sympathetic because he stands in the stead of the administration and Dunbar depicts this marvelously.
Dunbar and Howell play smaller parts on a briefer level, which are remarkable in how separated they are from their other characters. The rampaging Mindy is also an inoffensive auto attendant, while the Leland who jokes around about coffee with Lucia is transformed into a bigot who wants to see Lucia’s documentation. These moments are almost establishing shots in the landscape of the audio drama, but effective nonetheless.
Director Jerry Rapier helms this wonderful cast with a definite attention to nuance that speaks to his nearly forty productions for this theater and a profound understanding of cultural tensions. Sound Designer Cheryl Ann Cluff and Sound Engineer David Evanoff are responsible for the technical mastery that allowed this ensemble of four, guided by Mic Technique Coach Jay Perry, to sound as if they were experiencing the drama on the same stage. The ambient noise is also enriching, as heartbeats and the sound of a clicking pen mark emotional beats in the plot, while Evanoff also provides background music.
As noticed on the digital playbill, this would receive a film rating of PG-13 or a TV rating of TV-14. Before listening with teenagers, parents should be aware that it covers bullying, sexual harassment, suicide, mental illness, and prejudice of a racial and religious nature.
This is certainly a work based on a thought-provoking circumstance and resulting in a memorable piece. It is streaming until April 25 online and accommodations can be made for patrons who are deaf/hard of hearing and/or blind/low vision. Audiences will be appreciative of currently relevant meaningful discourse and should take this opportunity to enjoy it.
Plan B Theatre Presents Art and Class; by Matthew Ivan Bennett
Apr 15-25, 2021; available 8 PM on the first day to midnight on April 25.
Tickets: Pay What You Can
www.planbtheatre.org
Contact: 801-297-4200
Plan B Theatre Facebook Page
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