Cover image courtesy of Sue Keller.
Pictured L to R: Fern (Izzy Maher ‘22), Alexis (Sophie Kelly ‘25), and Jene (Austin Brennan ‘25) driving in The Chaparral. Courtesy of Sue Keller.
This past semester, Skidmore’s Theater Department presented a unique double-feature of two student shows: The Chaparral written and directed by Tatsu Rivera (‘22), as well as Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel’s And Baby Makes Seven directed by Gemma Siegler (‘22). The shows were performed in Skidmore’s Blackbox theater, which is a small, versatile performance space that can be easily transformed into different sets. After attending the shows on the opening night, March 4th, 2022, I had the privilege of interviewing both Rivera and Siegler to gain insight into the creative processes behind the productions.
Plot Synopsis
When I entered the theater, the stage was bare except for a stationary red car where the cast of The Chaparral sat inside, “driving” silently until the show started. Through immersive vignettes and witty dialogue, The Chaparral told a coming-of-age story of navigating toxic masculinity, accepting queerness, and reckoning with the past. Fleeing from home, Jene (Austin Brennan ‘25) and his brother Alexis (Sophie Kelly ‘25) road-tripped across the chaparral, desert shrubland in Arizona. The brothers met shape-shifting Plants (Izzy Maher ‘22), an embodiment of both memories of their grandfather, and a queer character named Fern, who helped Jene embrace his gay identity. The play ended in an intense confrontation with Alexis shooting a pistol at an
imaginary person, potentially their father, the person they fled from.
Pictured L to R: Peter (Jonah Harrison ‘22), Ruth (Emily Zeller ‘22), and Anna (Liliana Mastroianni ‘22) in And Baby Makes Seven. Courtesy of Sue Keller.
After a brief intermission, I was impressed by the dramatic set change, the car and moody lighting were replaced with a bright 1980s New York apartment where Ruth (Emily Zeller ‘22) and Anna (Liliana Mastroianni ‘22), a lesbian couple, and their third partner Peter (Jonah Harrison ‘22), prepared for the birth of their son. Tension ensued when Anna and Ruth wouldn’t stop acting out “alter-egos,” transforming into three imaginary children: Orphan, Cecol, and Henri, two of which were played by Ruth. Ruth and Anna flipped back and forth, often without warning, from their normal adult selves and the rambunctious, fictional children. In this bizarre, but also comedic conflict, the plot followed the “deaths” of the children to appease Peter. The play ended with the birth of the throuple’s baby and a shocking return of the kids.
The Chapparal
In the interview with Rivera, I asked about the source of inspiration behind writing this play. Rivera spoke about being inspired by magical realism, specifically how it is expressed in queer existence and the effects of masculinity on queerness. They wanted to write a play about masculinity that “could traverse race, gender, and class” to reveal “how we can transfer that onto our separate identities, no matter who is in the show.”
I was curious to know how writing the play differed from directing, to which Rivera responded that the writing process was “all my imagination poured out on paper.” Their ideal version of The Chapparal would feature “a full LatinX cast throughout the diaspora,” to illustrate their unique experience as a queer Afro-LatinX, first-gen American who is “traversing masculinity through so many different lenses.” However, directing the play in Skidmore’s majority-white theater department brought new limitations. Rivera emphasized how The Chaparral was intentionally written to be relatable for Skidmore’s non-LatinX cast because, in their terms, “masculinity affects us all in different ways.”
Jene (Brennan ‘25) doing burpees. Courtesy of Sue Keller.
I was very intrigued by the moments of silence in the play. Throughout the show, without explanation, Jene would compulsively start to exercise, doing burpees and push-ups. When I asked Rivera about this, they explained how “silence lives in masculinity a lot… the ability to speak without showing your emotions.” Jene’s exercise routine was meant to be self-punishment, or as Rivera termed it, “self-flagellation… a routine that’s meant to be stupid.” By exhausting himself in the middle of the desert, Jene was “trying to maintain this idea of masculinity when no one can see it.”
Pictured L to R: Jene (Brennan ‘25) and Fern (Maher ‘22) watching the video montage. Courtesy of Sue Keller.
Lastly, I asked Rivera about the significance of the film montage scene, where Fern and Jene watched a projected video of clips from iconic gay movies including “Call Me By Your Name,” “Moonlight,” and “Brokeback Mountain.” While directing, Rivera decided to incorporate video montages to depict how media, especially film, shapes identity. Earlier in the show, when Jene taught Alexis how to correctly shoot a gun, film clips of Western cowboys with guns flashed on the screens behind the stage. Although the macho cowboys showed how media often reinforces toxic masculinity, Rivera articulated that the final video montage represented a pushback, revealing to Jene that “there is an intimacy that can be had with masculinity.”
And Baby Makes Seven
In the second part of the interview with Siegler, I asked her why she chose to direct And Baby Makes Seven for the Blackbox. As a queer director, Siegler voiced how exciting it was to collaborate with other gay actors on a play that “centers a relationship between two women.”
Siegler and her cast were able to “unpack [their] thoughts on queer narratives in general,” illustrating how the play challenged the typical narrative of a straight, monogamous couple having a baby.
Pictured L to R: Anna (Mastroianni ‘22), Ruth (Zeller ‘22), and Peter (Harrison ‘22). Courtesy of Sue Keller.
I was curious about the challenges of directing Mastroianni and Zeller, the actresses playing multiple characters. Siegler illustrated the process of working individually with the actresses to create “vocal and physical differentiation” between their adult and child characters. She also talked about the importance of table work, where for the first week of rehearsal, the cast read through the script to develop their understanding of their characters and the relationships between the throuple. Siegler indicated that Mastroianni and Zeller discovered specific differences to indicate to the audience a change from adult to child through vocal pitch and accents. For Zeller, who played two of the children, she utilized a french accent for Henri and a higher vocal pitch for Cecol to clearly illustrate personality shifts between the characters.
Although the childrens’ behavior and personalities are goofy, even ridiculous at times, Sigeler made it clear that an integral part of the directing process was ensuring that Mastroianni and Zeller could portray the children seriously. For Ruth and Anna, these children are not a joke: “They are real to them and in their hearts… and what allows it (the play) to be so funny is that they take it so seriously.”
I asked Siegler about the significance of power dynamics and how they play out in a polyamorous relationship. She responded that “this whole play is about power dynamics” because it depicts the tensions in balancing a relationship with multiple people. Siegler illustrated the multi-layered conflict: Ruth feels distanced from Peter and Anna who conceive the baby without her and struggles with “this need for control” over the fate of the imaginary children. On the other hand, Peter feels ostracized by Anna and Ruth who exclude him from their world of imaginary children. At the end of the play, Peter surprisingly is the one to bring back the imaginary children, suggesting a resolution to the power dynamic struggle.
Pictured L to R: Anna (Mastroianni ‘22), Peter (Harrison ‘22), and Ruth (Zeller ‘22) holding their baby. Courtesy of Sue Keller.
To conclude the interview, Siegler explained how the imaginary children “represent the idea of a queer utopia” where one “can be queer and a parent; it doesn’t have to be one or the other, you can embrace all parts of yourself.” Peter uses his imagination to bring the children back, and in doing so, realizes that the imaginary children are important aspects of authentic queer parenthood. As Siegler stated, “killing off the kids is not the answer…the answer is embracing all aspects of your personality, all your queerness, and that’s when you might be ready to be a parent.”
Although starkly different, set in completely different places and time periods, the two shows worked in tandem to reveal the complexities of love, family, and queer existence. And Baby Makes Seven and The Chaparral confront what it means to be queer in a cis-hetero world by mangling with the confines of heteronormativity.
Bios
Tatsu Rivera (they/them/theirs): Tatsu Rivera is a senior at Skidmore, they are a Theater major, a Political Science minor, and a drag queen/artist. Last semester, they directed the student showcase Swimming in The Shallows by Adam Bock.
Gemma Siegler (she/her/hers): Gemma Siegler is a senior at Skidmore, she is an English and Political Science double major with a Theater minor. Last semester, she directed the student showcase Twilight Bowl by Rebecca Gilman.