By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com
If you choose to see The Drowning Girls on stage March 19 to 29 at Basile Westfield Playhouse, 220 N. Union St., it may be a live theatrical performance unlike anything you have ever seen before … or will again.
Three actors, Sarah Eberhardt, Monya Wolf, and Jo Bennett, will portray nine characters each in a 75-minute show with no intermission and no costume changes. Director Molly Bellner told The Reporter the uncredited fourth actor in this play is water, on stage, in the bathtubs where victims of a serial killer drowned.
“The Drowning Girls tells the true story of serial bigamist and killer George Joseph Smith, who made a living out of marrying women and subsequently drowning them in their baths,” Bellner said. “In The Drowning Girls, three of the known victims of George Smith come and share with the audience their story. They get to make their case as to why they fell into the trap of George Smith, how they ended up the way that they did, and kind of retry the case.”
While that sounds dark, Bellner said there are also moments of levity in this play. The show does, however, come with a content warning.
“There is discussion of domestic violence and depictions of violence,” Bellner said. “That being said, my oldest two children who are 13 and 10 years old are coming to see it. The depictions of violence are very minimal and there actually is quite a bit of levity sprinkled throughout the show. I know it sounds like a really dark show, and it certainly is at times, but there is quite a bit of levity.”
Bellner told The Reporter she feels fortunate to have had a large turnout for auditions, allowing her to find three actors who can slip into various roles and make each one a distinct character, sometimes over the course of just a few lines of dialogue.
“It definitely takes a special type of actor to be able to do this,” Bellner said. “They each play nine different characters and, dialects aside and the character switching aside, it’s also a very physically demanding show. It plays 75 minutes straight with no intermission. This is set in the early 1900s, and they are in period-appropriate wedding dresses. They are moving around the stage quickly. They are in and out of bathtubs with water, so it is a slippery stage. It’s a very physically demanding show in addition to just demanding a lot of their talent as actors.”
Bellner calls water her fourth actor in the play.
“It has such a vital role and it is such a stunning and different thing to see on stage,” Bellner said. “I’ve never directed a show where we’ve used water before. That’s been very challenging but also fun and an interesting element to put into a theatrical piece.”
Photo provided
There are a few things that will show you when an actor is slipping into another role.
“They’re very talented, capable, smart actors,” Bellner said. “They’re able to use their whole toolbox, as we say. They’re not just able to memorize and recite lines but they’re able to fully embody all of the characters that they take on in body, voice, and their energy. This is remarkable to have as a director. To have that type of capacity and capability in all three of my actors – it’s just remarkable and makes my job all that more easy.”
The voice portion of characterization is easier for Bellner than it might be for other directors.
“In addition to being an actor and director, I’m also a dialect coach,” Bellner said. “They’re all very capable when it comes to dialects. The dialects in this show are primarily various dialects from England. We have what’s called RP, which is like a kind of standard British pronunciation. We have some Cockney. We also have some Irish and then also what we call a Generican, which is a general American dialect.”
“I have said this already but it really is not a super dark depressing piece,” Bellner said. “Yes, it’s about a serial killer, but it’s also the opportunity for these three women to state their case and come before us. It’s beautiful the way that they form this sisterhood among them. They have this shared life and, sadly, death experience, but they get to retell their tale and they do it in a very fun way. We’re left with – I don’t want to say hope necessarily, but you’re definitely left with a sense of understanding of them and their story. I think, through that, we can all find understanding and strength together as a community.”
The Drowning Girls stages March 19 to 29 at Basile Westfield Playhouse, 220 N. Union St. Go to BasileWestfieldPlayhouse.org or call (317) 402-3341 for tickets.