Senior Project Productions Give SUNY Purchase Thoughts for the Future

By Cage Evinger

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) theatre & performance department premiered productions of the short plays "Am I Blue" and "The Most Massive Woman Wins" in the Humanities Theatre.

The projects debuted together in a back-to-back screening.

(from left to right) Ashbe (Shaday Garvey) dances with John Richards (Ryan Dupont) as their night turns into day in "Am I Blue" (Photo by Cage Evinger)

"Am I Blue" follows a young man, John Polk Richards, unhappy in his life as he tries to push his worries away on the night before his 18th birthday. Only for a young woman, Ashbe Williams, to come abruptly into his life, making him face his fears. With a complicated past herself, she is able to understand him, and the two form a bond as they dance the night away. 

Director Franki Spinelli Mastrone describes the play as a "vulnerable, humorous, and existential conversation between two teenagers [that] feels relatable and timeless."

"It is my job as a director to take the gift that is the words of the playwright, and merge it with the magic of an actor's willingness to change and be changed," Mastrone continues saying. "This play, these actors, this team, is inspiring beyond words. Our process has been nothing short of wondrous."

(from left to right) Rennie (Allison Iacuzzo), Carly (Tori Strickland), Cel (Belle Defala) and Sabine (Alyssa Bella) stand together against their fate in "The Most Massive Woman WIns" (Photo by Cage Evinger)

"The Most Massive Woman Wins" tracks four women in a waiting room set to get plastic surgery. Through a series of vignettes, showing each of the women's arduous roads that led them to that moment, the play offers a full-frontal look at the beauty standards that surround femininity today. 

Nicholas Herring, the director of the play, says that "this show is dedicated to them [the women in his life], and to every woman." He continues, saying "may we strive towards a world that honors and empowers every woman and upholds her right to define her own story."

"I cried a little bit in it. It was really tough to watch. I feel like this school needs more of it, so I feel like it was really great," Sade Williams, an audience member, says. "Honestly, I feel like this school just needs more of these really tough concepts. I think we don't have these uncomfortable discussions enough."

The cast of The Most Massive Woman Wins looks up at their past, coming together to change their futures (Photo by Cage Evinger)

Both shows – which were presented together with a short pause for change of set dressing – are collaborations between many of the cast and crew for their senior projects. These collaborators include, in "Am I Blue": Franki Spinelli Mastrone, the director, as well as Ryan Dupont and Shaday Garvey, the two leading actors. In The Most Massive Woman Wins, the senior project collaborators are Nicholas Herring, the director, and three of the four leading actors: Allison Iacuzzo, Tori Strickland, and Alyssa Bella. 

Just as these senior collaborators move on past the walls of SUNY Purchase, these two plays may be done and gone in this moment, but their influence carries on in the thoughts of those involved and in the audience. "I had no idea what I was going into before," says Dante Leonce, on his first thoughts coming out of the performance. "Well, definitely, a lot of emotions. There'll be a lot to think about. Some things I definitely didn't expect to see."