Stevie received a Master’s of Arts Degree in Directing from the University of Leeds in England. In the Washington, DC area, she has directed performances for 1st Stage Theatre, Peterson’s Alley Theatre Productions, and Mclean Drama Company. Stevie is also a former Professor of Theater at The Hartt School in Hartford, Connecticut.
TWC: How did
Quotidian select Doubt: A Parable?
S: Well, I didn’t choose it myself. Quotidian chose it. I
think the impetus behind that was in part because it is a great play. The play
is Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick
Shanley. It has four main characters. The principle one is Sister Aloysius, who
is a nun who runs a school for boys and girls in The Bronx. She has a pretty
strict view of her role in the upbringing of these children and the importance
of being the moral authority for them. Under her direction is a younger nun,
called Sister James, who is a much more innocent, touchy-feely kind of nun who
thinks the children should like her. One
of the rectory priests, Father Flynn, is also a teacher. Sister James comes to
suspect that he is doing inappropriate things a boy, the only African American
child in the school.
TWC: What are the
central themes of the play?
S: I believe that there is no one message. That’s one of the
reasons the play is called doubt. John Patrick Shanley actually said that he
thinks there is a second act to the play—the play is presented in one act with
no breaks. He believes that “Act Two” is what happens when you get in your car,
go home, and as the questions: Who did what? Who knew what? What did they know
and when did they know it? The production that I’m trying to end up with is one
where there is no clarity. Undoubtedly, people will have very strong ideas one
way or the other, but there is no clarity offered within the play. At the end
of the play, we do not know for sure whether the nun is right in her
suspicions, or the father is right in his protest of innocence. In terms of a
message, I guess that it’s about the importance of being open to the
possibility of doubt, being open to investigation, not being as clear-cut and
decided as we tend to be. You can apply
that to what’s going on in politics; you’re either with me or against me.
Scene from Doubt: A Parable Rehearsal
TWC: What is the most
remarkable aspect of this piece?
S: I think the play is beautifully written. It’s really
elegant. It’s not action-packed by any means, but each scene exposes a bit more
about the story and each of the characters. What you learn is that everyone has
a history. Everyone has their reasons for doing things. We all make choices in
what we believe, what we don’t believe—the actions we take based on that. Most
things come with a price. It kind of really makes you reflect on your our
circumstances, even if they don’t seem to be directly related. It’s very easy
to think,
“This is a play about two nuns and a priest in 1964. What
could that possibly have to say about anything in my life?” I really think it
does.
TWC: How is this play
different from past Quotidian Theatre Company productions?
S: This is my first time working with Quotidian, but I’ve
been to several of the shows, and I know they have a very loyal audience. I
think Doubt fits in the company’s
interest in strong writing within a realistic vein. There are four distinct
stories within the characters in the play. Where it may differ is the fact that
it doesn’t have clarity of ending.
Doubt: A Parable will run from
April 7 through May 7, 2017. Members of The Writer's Center can purchase
tickets at a special $15 dollar rate. Tickets can be purchased here.
You won’t want to miss it!
