Sarah Grimke works in performance of all types in the Philadelphia region. They’ve been on stage, backstage, and in the office for years now.
Becca is an Egyptian American actor and poet.
Sarah
What was in your pockets for this one?
Becca
Well, both of my parents are immigrants and I watched them go through many of these struggles. Also, my identity as a woc which became incredibly relevant while watching.
Sarah
I know some of the team on this piece, but not all of them. I had high hopes for such interesting subject matter, but I am fairly removed from the immigrant story personally.
There is so much to say in the regard to immigration and identity and moving and culture and language. I felt like we just scraped the surface. I came back to watch the end and I felt like the beginning could have been very condensed cause 45 minutes into an 80 minute piece, I really felt like we were getting somewhere… Too much exposition maybe?
Also, hey there surprise black face
I think it is also fair to point out that all of the collaborators on this piece are white immigrants or white Americans.
Becca
I feel her experience as a french immigrant prevents her from fully understanding the American context of that action. And if she does and it was intentional, it was ineffective and otherwise ultimately distracting from the point she was trying to make.
Sarah
And that I thought as a people we had agreed blackface was never necessary.
Becca
There are more effective ways to make the audience truly SEE color, while using your own skin and that beautiful black shadow on the white wall right besides her.
Sarah
She’s been here an awful long time to not know blackface is a problem, but fine. It still didn’t serve the story telling. I thought she did a great job physically wearing the grief of her African friends and that it was an unnecessary image.
Becca
The red lipstick is a clear minstrel show reference and that reference becomes ineffective because that man can not wash his skin off like she can.
Sarah
YES. It really took me out of the rest of the play, because all I could see was that moment and how insensitive it was. It shouted over the rest.
Becca
Agreed. I was front row and I think I audibly said “Noooo! What are you doing? That hurts me!”
Sarah
I was in the back and definitely said “oh no” out loud.
Becca
Philly has an obsession with Blackface these days and it goes to show how necessary it is for us to include poc in the making of these pieces.
Sarah
In general her physical performance was her strong point for sure. And I loved the idea of “mixing” and ” spinning ” immigrant stories like a DJ
Becca
Those recordings. I would have just listened to hours of those. My favorite part was in the beginning when she said something along the lines of “this next hour is going to be hard. Lots of accents and Grammer SUCKS”
Sarah.
Me, too. I loved the moments where she displayed how French she still was. I felt really comfortable in her presence because I felt like she was my friend. I loved the times she spoke French at the beginning, because suddenly we were the outsiders and the French speakers in the audience were a club we weren’t a part of.
Becca
Starting the show in French was also amazing because the French audience members were responding and I felt the most like an immigrant in that moment.
Sarah
I thought that was a great device. A taste of her everyday, you know. I did love how she talked about America in the media you consume overseas vs. America when you get here. At the beginning it felt very “yay America” and I wanted some more depth there.
Becca
Yes, I agreed the beginning could have been made more concise, but I loved the setup of the American Dream in that way, because before you come here it is all YAY America.
Sarah
I don’t know. I feel strange critiquing a show about the immigrant experience made by 2 immigrants,
Becca
Totally a valid feeling.
Sarah
Because maybe this is their accurate story, and I wanted more conflict artistically but that wouldn’t be truthful to them. I liked the idealism of America and how she connected it to TV shows we all know. It felt effective, and made me understand the attraction to move here. But I wanted something..more..regarding the reality vs. The expectation
Becca
Yeah, I faced a similar problem after I watched it. I craved a more finished ending. It felt like a cop out to stay here in this country. But that is their truth and the experience is so complex, there are many conflicting realities, which she also touched upon
Sarah
And having a child here conflicts it all more. She’d be picking up and changing the whole life of her family if she moved back, because they are American born and bred and the shock of moving would be just as intense.
Becca
Yes! Oh, I wish I could have felt that more.
Sarah
I felt like I had to infer that for myself.
Becca
But it is such an important point.
Sarah
Maybe they just needed a dramaturg? I felt like this was such an interesting approach to the topic and there is such rich ground here, but it just wasn’t done yet.
Becca
I think it could be amazing. It felt like an early draft. I think the son unit and the next unit didn’t quite connect.
Sarah
Yeah, I think because there are so many topics and ideas to discuss, it is easy to lightly touch all of them, but also easy to not get deep into any of them.
Becca
I really did enjoy it over all. Another example of how a lack of poc on the production team could clearly be felt.
Sarah
Yes, if you are going to represent POC in your story, you should include them in the process. Let’s talk about design. There was no credit for lighting design, but I liked seeing the daylight transition to night during the show. Fringearts has such a beautiful view from the theatre and you normally don’t see it.
Becca
Sound by Jorge Cousineau was also very impressive because she controlled most of it. Some of the interviews could have been a tad louder. Accents can be hard to understand to people who don’t hear them regularly.
Costumes were very cool, although the suit she put on for the minstrel show unit was actually kind of distracting because I kept wondering what she was going to do with it. I kind of loved that her butt stuck out of the costume because it was funny and a new level of vulnerable.
Sarah
Truth. Also, is she a vampire? She was killing that outfit.
Becca
I liked the props, too. The eating alone scene really struck me and it was partially because she cooked real eggs.
Sarah
That egg scene was amazing. I kept internally saying “Is that real? Is it? Oh my god it is.” I love being surprised by something in that way. In general, I felt like I wanted to hang out with her, which is pretty impressive as a performer. I do think she did the people she interviewed justice. Their testimonies were truly moving.
Becca
That was the best part.
Sarah
Yes. I just adored those interviews. Can Jorge Cousineau, the sound designer, please make those a podcast?
Becca
I would love that. The interviews were insanely personal and vulnerable and I don’t know if I would want to hear their secrets unless someone gave me permission to, and she did by introducing them to me as people.
Sarah
I did love the feeling that whenever she meets another immigrant, she befriends them and learns their story. They were truly people in her everyday life. Which reminds me that we are surrounded by immigrants and people affected by the immigrant experience all the time.
Sarah
Yes to all of that. I think everyone needs constant reminders that everyone around them is leading an intense life that is unique and hard, and this show did that wonderfully.
Becca
Yes agreed. Overall a very powerful piece with some faults. I hope it grows.
Sarah
Me too! I would love for them to get feedback and come back to it. I would see a new version for sure. I hate that 5 minutes of the show kind of destroy the rest of it for me.
Becca
I think that goes to show how careful a creator has to be with what they put out there, but also, that you really need to seek out diversity in the creation room, especially if the subject matter includes a group you don’t belong to.
bonaly 