Actors Heylar and Charawi dominate the Roble Theater stage in ‘The Woolgatherer’

Feb. 2, 2015, 12:04 a.m.

Stanford Theater Laboratory’s production of “The Woolgatherer,” written by William Mastrosimone and directed by Ouree Lee ‘17, stands out as one of the more actor-driven works on campus in the past year. The play — set in the gritty, urban Philadelphia — demands much from its actors because their portrayals must bring the inner turmoil of their characters out for the audience to see, which is easier said than done. Luckily, its two primary and only actors — Jamie Heylar ‘17 and Moiead Charawi ‘17 — have little difficulty filling this tall order. Their chemistry lights up the Roble Dorm Theater stage.

Woolgatherer by Stanford Theater Lab
Woolgather by Stanford Theater Lab. Jamie Heylar plays Rose (left) and Moiead Charawi plays Cliff(right). Photo by Sam Girvin.

The couple’s romance begins in media res as the reticent, auburn-haired Rose (Jamie Heylar) leads her charismatic foil, Cliff (the larger-than-life Charawi), into her cluttered apartment. When Cliff claims that his truck has broken down, he crashes at Rose’s apartment until it can be repaired. Flirtation and hilarity ensue.

The volatile, passionate dynamic between these two carries the show to its climax and compensates for a stale plot, which amounts to little more than two loners playing hard to get for 90 minutes. Engrossed in a thespian tango,  Heylar and Charawi banter back and forth hilariously and leap head-first into 10-minute monologues with surprising earnest. Take, for instance, Charawi’s perfectly-timed, deadpan response to Rose’s outburst over the death of four birds belonging to an endangered species. Charawi’s frank retort — “If the birds can’t hack the job, then maybe it’s not meant to be” — reveals Cliff’s crude demeanor that neatly counters Heylar’s histrionics on the subject.

Cliff, the liberated ethos, and Rose, his withdrawn counterpoint, represent opposite poles of the binary. Regrettably, this binary is highly gendered, betraying the influence of traditional gender stereotypes. Rose plays the fragile damsel-in-distress who needs rescuing by an outgoing, worldly male figure. This is unfortunate, but is not the fault of the Stanford Theater Laboratory: These stereotypes are embedded within the script.

Woolgatherer by Stanford Theater Lab
Photo by Sam Girvin.

Despite compelling performances from its actors, the show suffers from repetitive staging. Ultimately, by minute five of their soliloquies — still impressive displays of endurance and memory — both actors exhaust a few reliable movements like reclining on a chair or sitting on the bed, then default to pacing back and forth across the theater’s small stage.

Fortunately, Raquel Shrestha’s ‘17 set design makes these repetitive movements palatable. A crowded backdrop — consisting of an unmade bed, several unpacked boxes and numerous other subsidiary pieces of furniture, filling the small stage —  creates a cramped arrangement. Though inconvenient for the actors, it successfully reinforces a sense of isolation, in which both characters are prisoners.

Rose and Cliff are also prisoners of their outfits, which aptly reinforce their wearers’ polarized dispositions. Costume designer Reno Tsosie ‘15 puts Charawi in a wool sweater, partly obscured by a simple plaid shirt that falls over it. On his head, Charawi sports a camouflage-print trucker’s hat — which emphasizes his earthy, blue-collar background — and a pair of elevated hiking boots that makes him tower dramatically over his petite co-star. Heylar, on the other hand, is barefoot for the duration of the show, amplifying the already vast height discrepancy — a height discrepancy that mirrors the character’s disparate temperaments.

Ultimately, the staging and narrative of “The Woolgatherer” are not perfect. But the energy of Heylar and Charawi in coordination with the creative efforts of its staff easily make up for the play’s shortcomings.

Contact Ian Anstee at ianstee5 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

 

Ian Anstee is a Theater Desk Editor for Arts and Life at the Stanford Daily. He is primarily interested in theatre performance but also has an unhealthy obsession with classical music. Ian was born and raised in Havertown, Pennsylvania and is a proud member of the class of 2018. On any given weekend, you may find Ian hiking the dish, achieving nirvana at Windhover Contemplation Center, or binge-watching House of Cards. Contact him at ianstee5 "at" stanford.edu.

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