I am currently in a production of Dancing at Lughnasa at the Pinnacle Acting Company in Midvale, UT. I honestly was DONE doing theater this year after coming off of four shows in a row and playing very demanding roles in 3 of them. But the opportunity arose and I love this play dearly so I took the plunge! My role of Agnes has been challenging and rewarding. She is a complex woman who would have blossomed in today's world but because she is a single, working woman in the 1930's, living in Northern Ireland any hopes of her succeeding in life are just not to be. To top it all off she lives in a society that is predominantly strict Irish Catholic and when her sister has a baby out of wed-lock and her uncle comes home from a 25 year mission in Africa and has turned to more "pagan" ideals the family is shamed and their little community, stuck in their propriety, take away any hope of this woman and the rest of her family succeeding. They are doomed to fail. Being a member of the LDS faith I can relate to how the judgment of a congregation can leave members who are being judged to feel isolated, alone and lost. I have taken a strong look at how I treat those around me. I don't think it was coincidence that our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, gave a talk during the General Relief Society Meeting while I was in rehearsals for this play that addressed this very topic. I needed to hear his words, I needed to learn from this play and the people in it. I needed to finally allow myself to COMPLETELY be a non-judgmental person. I need to love as the Savior loved. Not to worry about why that lady is wearing pants to church, or why another smells like cigarette smoke or why that lady is overweight or why that one has 10 kids, etc, etc, it is so petty and ridiculous. I don't know where these people are in their lives and where they have come from. I have NOT walked in their shoes. I have sinned right along with the rest of my fellowmen and I should not and will not be their judge. As we go through the play each night and more and more of the tragedy unfolds as to what happens to each of the 5 sisters and their brother, I just think, "This isn't fair"! If someone had shown them more kindness or had supported their potential and had not closed that door, they would have been alright! So, the double threat of being from a judgmental community and THEN being women in a time when women were not as respected as they should have been just KILLS me! It also gives me a greater respect for those women in history who have been able to conquer obstacles and pave the road for the next generation. This play is full of strong, passionate women who want to love and be loved. Use their minds and work hard to develop their talents and to be appreciated for their intelligence and abilities. They are survivors, they manage a farm and a household without a male presence for 25 years. They do what they have to do make life work and gracefully find those moments of joy and hope along the way. Oh, I am so very grateful that I live in this day and age and I hope to pave the way for my daughter that she will be even more respected and supported than I am in my generation. I am grateful for a husband who honors me and respects me and teaches his sons how a woman should be treated and revered. I am grateful for the partnership I have with my husband. I know I am his equal and my intelligence, abilities, talents and passions are respected and adored by him. I am so very blessed and I have been able to reflect on how indeed blessed I am in working with this incredible play and the talented men and women in it. I have learned so much and it has changed me for the better.
Me as Agnes. She is the third born of the sisters, right in the middle! I am able to support me and my sister Rose through the gloves that we knit for people in the community. I also do many of the household chores along with sisters Maggie, Rose and Chris.
Kate, played by Carrie Morgan. The oldest and the bread-winner of the family. She has taken on the father figure role in the family dynamic.
This is Maggie, played by Andra Harbold, the second oldest sister who has taken on the mother role and who keeps things sane for the rest of us with her wonderful sense of humor. She is the "glue" of the family.
Rose, played by Cassandra Laine Weidner, is who Agnes has the deepest connection with. She is simple minded and child-like. She was born after Agnes and they are inseparable.
This is Chris, the baby of the family, played by Melanie Nelson. She had a child, Michael, out of wed-lock and she has had to deal with all the repercussions of that in a tight knit religious community who haven't taken too kindly to her choices. She is a bit pampered, immature and selfish and freely allows her sisters to help raise her son.
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