This is KPBS Midday Edition I Maureen Cavanaugh. Playwright Silverton returns to the [inaudible] as inspiration for her play the Morris. KPBS Arts reporter Beth Hawk Amando speaks with lead actresses Whitney, Breanna Thomas, Kim Strasburger about the surprising turns the play takes.My name is Whitney Miranda Thomas and I play Emily in the Morris I am the governess that plays -- comes into the household between the two sisters .my name is Kim Strasburger I play Agatha in the Morris. I am the elder of the two sisters who lives in the bleak House upon the Morris.I cannot stand weakness. I cannot stand it myself and I cannot abide it in others. There is no weakness in the Morris. And I cannot hear I am surrounded by merciless [inaudible].Why do they turn on you. Were you devoured by it?Yes. Absolutely yes.This play has to do in a roundabout sort of way with the Brontë sisters and the books they wrote. What might people want to know about the Brontë sisters and the kinds of books they wrote.The play is inspired by the Brontë sisters. If you are familiar with Emily and Charlotte Brontë and their work, you will see a lot of marches to the hat of the Brontës. It is not a recap of Jane Eyre or weathering Heights. Both women and enough themselves and also the women that they wrote about in their books, they tended to be or write very strong female characters whether it's Jane and Jane Eyre Kathy and weathering Heights. So I think our playwrights Silverman really paints a nice home ice to that and that all of the women in her play the Morris definitely have strong points of views and desires and are really three-dimensional in that way.Wendy would you like about this character you're playing here.I enjoy her layers. She comes in very sweet. She is. That she ends up finding herself. Part of finding herself and her power is embracing the dark and the wild is the vocabulary we have been using in rehearsals. I enjoy that. I enjoy the revealing of mask or taking off the mask and showing her true colors. I think it's a beautiful gift that Emily has given me as an actress.We are sitting here in front of the said. There is a interesting contrast. There is a lovely parlor, and on both sides are both wild Moores. Tell us about the set design and how that plays in the scene.The play goes between these two locales. Either you're inside the parsonage the house on the Moores or your outside. We ask our audiences to imagine these vast fields and wind swept bluffs and Kathy and Heathcliff chasing each other in the fog. But it really highlights a theme that is in the play of this contrast between civilization and the wild. What Whitney just referenced the dark, savage, wild. And that contrast is all through the play. What do we repress in our selves. What do we discover when we embrace our savage nature as human beings. Can there be a balance between the two between being civilized and being wild.Things around here are savage things. The 18 are savage places and that's code the Moores are savage places. We find ourselves often forced to contend with savagery.The Brontës and their books are from me previous century another century. How are they talking to an audience today?Jane in Jane Eyre is really in modern literature, she is referred to by a lot of people who do comparative literature as one of the first true feminist characters in the sense that one the book is all from her perspective and to she is a fully developed character. She is not symbolic. She stands up to Mr. Rochester who she plays against. Now she falls in love with them of course. But at the same time, she is not a wilting wallflower who gives into what he wants. Even at the point of destruction in the book, she leaves him to pursue her own fate. She has a morality about her that she will not compromise. I would say in the Morris and Silverman's play, that question moves a lot for our characters. What will and what we do. And again Silverman is a very strong young playwright, I think she has written an intriguing path that allows us to look through the lens of these 19th-century writers at issues that we face today. And realize that just because it happened in the 1800s or was written, these issues were still around. There is something timeless about that especially for women and their role in society.The Brontës are well known for having these brooding romantic novels. This play is a satire. Talk about kind of playing satire and how difficult it is to kind of hit that right tone and get it to work.My take on satire is that when you are actually performing it, you cannot play it as satire. You have to play it as the reality. The audience will see the satire and they will laugh at it. But as performers, you have to play the reality of whatever situation you are in. I think that is true for the Moores. I think it's true for Saturday Night Live or any type of satire. If you wake and tip your hat, it destroys the illusion for satire to have his impact, the players cannot acknowledge it.I think you both very much for talking to me.The Moores continues through September -- December 10. Be sure to watch KPBS evening addition at five , join us again tomorrow at KPBS Midday Edition at noon. If you miss the show go to our podcast find it at KPBS.org/ podcasts. I Maureen Cavanaugh, thank you for listening. Thank you
Playwright Jen Silverman turns to the Bronte sisters and their brooding 19th century romantic novels as inspiration for her new play, "The Moors," which runs through Dec. 10 at Diversionary Theatre.
Beware the moors
That’s usually the warning that comes with the mention of those wild, fog shrouded countrysides.
Kim Strassburger plays Agatha in “The Moors,” which is inspired by the novels of Charlotte and Emily Bronte.
"It’s not a recap of 'Jane Eyre' or 'Wuthering Heights' but both women in and of themselves, and the women that they wrote about in their books tended to be very strong female characters,"Strassburger said. "Whether it is Jane in 'Jane Eyre' or Cathy in 'Wuthering Heights,' and so I think our playwright Jen Silverman really pays a nice homage to that in that all of the women in her play, The Moors, definitely have strong points of views and desires and really are three dimensional in that way."
Playing satire
But the homage comes by way of satire in “The Moors.” Silverman gives as strong female characters whose roots are clearly in the literary world of the Brontes but at the same time she calls attention to the tropes of those 19th century novels. It’s a difficult tone to nail says director Lisa Berger.
"Yes it’s hard! It’s hard," Berger said. "But it's also fun. It's comedy with that edge."
The difficulty comes from the actors not being able to acknowledge the satire in their performances.
"You have to play it as the reality," Strassburger said. "The audience will see the satire and laugh at it but as performers you have to play the reality of the situation you are in. If you wink and tip your hat you destroy the illusion."
The illusion at the center of “The Moors” involves creating the prim and proper parlor of the old mansion overseen by Agatha and her sister. But Berger was very careful to create a set where the wildness of the moors threatens to encroach on the parlor from both sides of the stage.
"In this very small space we needed to create two very distinct spaces," Berger said. "It was important for us that you saw there were these two things juxtaposed against each other. This very formal parlor and this wild moors, and that they exist together, that they both exist here in this world. The moors we talked about it during rehearsal as being a living breathing entity and how can we do that with lights and how can we do that with sound. The moors are something dangerous, a place where you can be harmed or hurt but the moors are also a place where magical things can happen."
"We ask our audiences to imagine these vast fields and windswept bluffs and Cathy and Heathcliff chasing each other in the fog," Strassburger added. "But it really highlights a theme in the play of this contrast between civilization and the wild, the dark, the savage. And that contrast is all through the play. And what do we repress in ourselves, what do we discover when we embrace our savage nature, can there be a balance between the two, between being civilized and being wild."
Female empowerment
In "The Moors," two spinster sisters dwell in a gloomy mansion with their brother, a mastiff and a maid-in-waiting. Then a governess arrives to throw the careful balance of the house awry. Anyone the least bit familiar with Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" and Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" will recognize such elements as wild moors, innocent young governesses and mysterious mansions. Whitney Brianna Thomas plays Emily, the new governess who enters into this environment.
"I really enjoy her layers," Thomas said. "She seems very sweet and she is but ends up finding herself and part of finding herself and her power is really embracing the dark, the wild as the vocabulary we have been using."
The character of Agatha shows a clear appreciation for the moors. She says, "I cannot stand weakness ... there is no weakness in the moors."
Director Berger says the women in this play own their power.
"They are very clear about what they want,"she said. "And what they are willing to do to get what they want but how they choose to do it I think is but in this play the females are taking those male behaviors on and it’s fascinating and interesting and as it should be."
"And I think that’s really the feminist spirit of it that it’s looking at us as simply fellow human beings as equals…not relegated by biology to certain roles," Strassburger added.
“The Moors” cleverly allows us to look through the lens of 19th century writers to view issues still relevant to women and their role in society today.
"I love it when audiences walk away from something I’ve directed and they’re having a conversation," Berger said. "That it is hitting something in them in an emotional visceral way that causes them to want to talk about it and understand it and to find meaning in it. So that’s what I’m hoping, to have a conversation."
Or more accurately to continue a conversation that women artists have been fostering for centuries.
From artistic director Matt Morrow
Diversionary's artistic director Matt Morrow stated in the press release, "This play will have you laugh out loud and keep you intellectually stimulated for days. Although it takes place in 'the moors' of the English countryside, it is noted in the script that the characters all speak with American accents. The story is really revealing sexual and social politics for women stateside, which could not be more timely or important. The social satire is heavy on the humor and will shock and delight even the most seasoned theater-goer. Jen Silverman is a white-hot talent on the rise, and has multiple productions being produced at the most reputable theaters across the country. This is only the third production of this fierce new play."
