Passage: Encounters in a Liminal Space
Countries and people named after mere letters in the alphabet. An ungendered cast. Volatility simmering under meditation. All of this is encapsulated in the Riverdale theater communityís performance of Passage, a work that is inspired by E.M. Forsterís novel A Passage to India, as the Upper School fall play. According to senior Zoe Steinberg, a cast member of the play, “[Passage] takes place in Country X which is being colonized by Country Y, and is meant to make the audience reflect on power imbalances and how that affects dynamics in every type of relationship.” She went on to describe how the play explores themes of colonialism, xenophobia, and privilege, all of which are relevant and necessary topics of discussion at Riverdale. The play is chiefly concerned with “a local doctor and an expat teacher who begin to forge a friendship that is challenged after a fateful trip to a local attraction.”
This play also explores topics that relate to our understanding of our own identities, specifically how the themes discussed in Passage can be applied to our daily interactions within the community. Drama teacher Ms. Lexie Frare of the Theatre, Dance, and Film department and the director of Passage, explained, “For me, this play is entirely about questions...Pending where you are in your life, you may identify with a different character in the show.” She also discussed how identifying with a particular character allows us to place ourselves in the play’s narrative of “unspoken power dynamics” among friends and community members.
Steinberg reiterated the importance of such theatrical productions at Riverdale: “Ms. Frare always says ‘Theater is a mirror of the world,’ and that's exactly why Riverdale should continue doing shows like this, that everyone should come to see. It’s easy to have conversations about the ideologies between these subjects, but it’s something else to watch characters that you might connect to struggle with them in front of you.” Ms. Frare claims that the audience’s ability to connect with what is happening in the world of the characters on a personal level drove her to choose this particular play. Specifically, she believes that Passage meets our “need to find stillness and reflect more deeply. We hope that the 100 minutes you spend watching Passage will bring about 100 or more minutes of reflection and conversation amongst peers and colleagues.”
The production of Passage also required an immense behind-the-scenes effort, a process that involved a wide range of students and faculty. Ms. Frare detailed the considerations behind the fall play, some of which were unique to this particular production. She said, “Passage doesn’t list any of the roles to have a specific gender. I love the flexibility in the piece and wanted to support the idea of ‘ungendering’ theater.” This change represents a crucial step towards fostering personal connection between the audience and the characters on stage regardless of social identifiers.
Finally, Ms. Frare extols her pupils’ industry, saying, “They spend after school and weekends studying, memorizing, thinking deeply about this play and reflecting on their characters.” This effort has manifested itself in an impactful viewing experience for audiences; the excitement among the Upper School was palpable during the preview of the performance as well as the performance itself.
What struck me most about the performance was its subtleties and subtext, where the things that went unsaid mattered just as much -- or perhaps more -- than the spoken lines. Moments of contemplation are quickly reversed by sudden crackles of nationalist rage and fear. Though the audience is treated to an increasingly convoluted jumble of names like Q and G, the absence of more traditional names seems to universalize the message of the play and avoids the dangerous act of associating names and particular cultures with characters. The “ungendered" theater further contributes to a universal stage, which shines a light on the psychology of human encounters in liminal spaces and strange new lands.
