'Bernarda's Daughters'

I think it’s safe to say I hate theatre on Zoom. even more than that, I hate the idea of paying $35 to watch a filmed theatre production on my laptop.

and who standardized the price of these virtual productions anyway? do they care that people are out of work? do they realize that pay-what-you-can pricing exists? and if we’re paying what we can, how did a $15 minimum come about?

it’s time for theatre to take a new shape. to shift into something that fits where we are right now without reverting to the radio play, succumbing to Zoom, or simply filming staged performances. theatre has to escape the traditional/the known/the norm, and it is up to all theatre artists — actors, directors, playwrights, designers — to figure out where theatre goes from here.

I follow Diane Exavier on Twitter. 

I remember seeing her tweet about ‘Hotline Sing’ and thinking “this is brilliant. I hope I don’t miss this.”

‘Hotline Sing’ is one of the many experiences and iterations of her play Bernarda’s Daughters, a piece that she describes as being in conversation with Federico Garcia Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba and Sylvia Wynter’s The House and Land of Mrs.Alba.

Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba is in an anthology of Lorca plays that I swiped from my middle school’s black box theatre. (forgive me) I hadn’t read it prior to delving into the experiences Exavier created for Bernarda’s Daughters, but I did dig it out of a box in my closet to read before I wrote this critique.

and while reading Lorca’s piece provided some insight as to what Exavier’s play might be about, reading it was not a requirement. even with a lack of knowledge in regards to Exavier’s reference works, one could still be transported into the world of the Abellard sisters with ease. the website Exavier has constructed for the play, bernardasdaughters.club, allows audiences to journey into the world of the play and the lives of the Abellard sisters without the traditional limitations of physical theatre.

there are essays, poems, a history of iterations of the play, digital experiences, and a library full of recommended texts and podcasts.

the experience of Bernarda’s Daughters is special for many reasons. 

we don’t have to do it at the same time. 

we don’t have to be in the same place. 

and we don’t have to spend an exorbitant amount of money on tickets.

we can go to this website and traverse into this world.

I started on the home page, and then explored the different iterations of this work.

Exavier does something that I’ve always wanted to do with theatre, and that is putting it in a gallery space alongside visual artists. in 2018, Exavier’s work took the shape of a piece entitled ‘Hold(ing) Tight,’ displaying seven postcards that made up the fifth act of her play as a part of an exhibit entitled ‘The Final Act’ in the Woskob Family Gallery at Penn State. her next iterations would include workshops and essays and eventually, a reading.

I took the time to click through each of these links, all of which can be found on the play’s website, and even read an interview that was conducted while Exavier developed her play at The Lark.

I did all of this before reading/watching ‘Mo(u)rning Call’ which is perhaps Exavier’s most traditional theatrical offering that is currently available. 

‘Mo(u)rning Call’ is a video, a little less than thirty minutes, that consists of sights, sounds, and words. though it is reminiscent of an audio play, the visuals and transcript provided aid in taking the audience even further into the realm of the play. 

in Exavier’s interview at The Lark, she gushes over poets and the act/practice of poetry. her love for poetry is clear in her writing as ‘Mo(u)rning Call’ sounds ethereal, almost like the words and sounds are floating.

I’ve spoken before about how I am tired of seeing/hearing/ingesting Black pain but listening to Exavier’s piece helped me clarify this sentiment. I think when we as writers begin to detail the Black experience it becomes difficult to leave out such an integral part of our lives. the task is to shift the focus. Black people are allowed to struggle, to feel pain, but our experiences are not limited to pain. when I think about my everyday life, I’d be remiss to leave out the painful parts/that wouldn’t be real, that wouldn’t be authentic. if you’re writing stories about Black life, you have to acknowledge Blackness, and sometimes being Black hurts.

I ended my time with the Abellard sisters by calling ‘Hotline Sing.’ and though this iteration is similar to ‘Mo(u)rning Call’ in that it is auditory, it is the audience’s ability to dictate what they want to hear and who they want to hear from that really elevates ‘Hotline Sing’ into something completely different.

when you consider all of Exavier’s iterations of Bernarda’s Daughters there is an experience created outside of the theatre that draws the audience in, immersing them in the lives and landscapes of the Abellard sisters without the traditional performance of a play, and in a much more engaging, communal way than pre-recorded theatre.

and maybe that’s what we should be leaning towards as theatre artists.

how can we create the world of the play without the physical space of a theatre? how can we take our audiences out of their homes without them having to leave? and what does it take to make characters and spaces exist without their physical embodiment?

I haven’t seen Bernarda’s Daughters, but I know their world, and each of them, exist.

experience Bernarda’s Daughters here.

and let me know what you think.