ERIKETA COST
Assistant Life & Arts Editor
Two young siblings, Mia and Henry, live quite a stress-filled life under their mother, Martha.
Polly Stenham’s “That Face” tells the story of this dysfunctional family through a plot filled with comedy, drama and realism.
The Performing Arts Company (PAC), a student-run theater group, will be performing this two-act play directed by senior and B.F.A. musical theater major Melanie McBride.
Martha (Katelyn Crall) is addicted to drugs and alcohol.
Her problematic lifestyle causes her son Henry (Jack Bausch) to become a school drop-out in order to look after her.
Teenager Mia (Gemma Vodacek) is away for boarding school, and she has access to drugs from her mother.
Their lives are both controlled by Martha.
So much so, that Henry’s actions of staying out overnight cause Martha to shred his clothes.
Their father, Hugh, (Jack W. Levenberg) is brought into the picture, all the way from Hong Kong, after Mia gets in trouble for drugging another student named Alice (Hannah Munson/Hannah Hernandez).
Upon arriving, Hugh tries to sort out the chaos of Martha and her children.
Levenberg, a junior and B.F.A. acting major, offered some insight into his role as the father.
“My favorite part about playing Hugh is that he’s a well-written, complex character,” he said. “He’s not all-good or all-bad, but lies somewhere in the grey area.”
Levenberg mentioned that his character is only in the show for a short time, but he loves that he is able to create three-dimensional relationships with the other characters while feeding off of each other’s energy.
“Because I’m only in the last two scenes, I get to sit back and watch an absolute masterclass in acting put on by my castmates through the first six scenes.”
The two-act play will have you laughing in some cases, but it will also leave you pondering on some more serious ideas from the plot.
“I think the most important message that I take away from this show is about recognition,” said Levenberg. “The characters in this show have to recognize toxicity, addiction, immaturity and falsehoods in the people they love the most. It is heartbreaking to watch, but it is important for an audience to be able to recognize these problems in their own lives.”
Katie Fitzpatrick, assistant director and junior B.F.A. musical theater major said, “I think the most important takeaway of this show is the importance to speak up when you need help. Struggling with addictions of any kind are so hard, and it’s important that we get conversations started about things like this.”
Fitzpatrick added that as a society we tend to bottle all of these “hard-to-swallow” topics up inside rather than speaking up and providing resources.
“I hope the audience leaves this show feeling thankful for the people and things they have in their lives, and to not be afraid to start talking about it,” said Fitzpatrick.
Along with putting on five plays each year, PAC holds workshops, independent projects, studio hours and more. For more information on the club, visit their website: https://fredoniapac.weebly.com/
Stop by the Lanford House this weekend, Feb. 15-17, at 7:30 p.m. to watch “That Face” in live action.