By VERONIQUE DUPREY
A Seat on the Aisle
Last Thursday night, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the preview night of The Convent by Jessica Dickey at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Center in downtown Indianapolis, which is a modern, comfortable venue playing host to several different theatre companies. This production was offered by Summit Performance Indianapolis, a woman-focused professional group. (“By women. About Women. For Everyone.” is their tagline.)
First impressions pre-show: comfortable seats with high-enough tiers so any seat in this intimate theater (about 80 seats) has an unobstructed view of the thrust stage area. A simple but beautiful set of a stone-walled monastic convent. Catchy music from almost all female singers.
Then, the play begins. We are introduced to the women who come to visit this convent for a spiritual retreat as they arrive one by one and are greeted first by two “workers” and then by the “Mother Abbess.”
In true monastic fashion, they will all don identical robes and give up their electronics, have prayers every three hours even through the night, and identify with a mystic woman of the Middle Ages, trying to find a connection with their own life and thus finding their own core divinity or own true self. We may be a little fuzzy on the details of the philosophy espoused by Mother Abbess, but her workers believe in her, and with help from the lack of sleep, hallucinogen drugs, alcohol, and a lot of talk about sex, the women are willing to try almost anything to feel better about themselves, including exploring their sexuality. And who can begrudge anyone’s desire for happiness and love?
Shawnté P. Gaston (left) and Maria Argentina Souza as visitors in The Convent. (Photos provided by Ankh Productions)
Every single woman on stage was mesmerizing and perfectly embodied her character. Without revealing too much, the visitors include the stressed career woman (Maria Argentina Souza, thoroughly conflicted), the daughter finding her way in life (Shawnté P. Gaston, quirky and adorable), the Catholic nun losing her faith (Miki Mathioudakis, genuine in a difficult role), and the return attendee with a chip on her shoulder (Dekyi Rongé, anger fueled by deep yearnings). The workers (Carrie Ann Schlatter, both stern and sweet, and Chynna Fry, innocence coming of age) have their own backstories, and the mysterious Mother Abbess (Jolene Mentink Moffat, in a tour de force performance, making me want to take her Meisner acting class) may have her own demons to conquer.
Dekyi Rongé and Chynna Fry in a scene from The Convent. (Photo provided by Ankh Productions)
I did not agree with all the choices made by the characters, but certainly agreed with all the actors’ choices in sharing their stories.
As far as life lessons, I do wonder how a focus on self can bode well for relationships, and some language and descriptions of sexual pleasure may not be comfortable for all theatregoers, but bottom line: what a treat of acting, supported flawlessly by set, lighting and costumes! Director Lauren Briggeman should be proud of her work with this very tight production. At $25 for general admission tickets, this is a steal!
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