Herbert notes that Lauren Gunderson is considered to be the most often-performed playwright at the present time, next to Shakespeare.
“She's just an incredible playwright," Herbert says. "This is such a beautiful and amazing play.
“'I and You' is about two high school students. One of them has chronic liver disease and has been home for school for several months. And out of the blue, this boy from her class shows up with a literature project, where they have to analyze the use of the pronouns ‘I’ and ‘you’ in Walt Whitman's poem ‘Song of Myself.’
"And she has her guard up with him. She's been thinking about death most of her life, and he's really curious about her. And they form this really deep and meaningful connection, and find this beautiful wisdom with one another that they couldn't really find on their own. And there's a bit of Lauren Gunderson magic in there. Don't want to give any spoilers, but there's just some really, really beautiful moments. It's sort of a teen-drama-meets-elements-of-rom-com — and just Lauren Gunderson magic. It's a beautiful play, very entertaining.”
Emma Anderson, who plays the homebound girl Caroline, says her character “has no idea” who this guy, Anthony (played by Kyron Highley), is. She is just doing her own thing. And then here comes this boy with this project. And yeah, she's a little bit like, ‘what are you doing here?!’ And it's actually kind of a funny dynamic.”
“He tells her he signed up for it — he chose her (to be his partner)," Herbert adds. “He says that she's this mystery, you know, And he just wanted to he wanted to be her partner on this project.”
Anthony shows up at Caroline’s house with a scruffy copy of a Whitman poetry collection — and waffle fries.
“And a poster which he’s begun that is tragically bad,” Herbert says.
Anderson adds, “(Caroline) is very unimpressed with his artistic abilities.”
Actually, Caroline is pretty unimpressed with anything about Anthony, at least at first. She's an artist herself, specializing in photography.
“She loves to take pictures, which is really interesting because she's kind of trapped in this room, yet she still finds art — she still finds a way to unleash her creative and artistic side,” Anderson says.
“She’s sick,” Anderson says, “and she is very aware of that, and very aware that she could possibly be dying soon. And it's interesting because she's not really afraid of it, but Anthony seems to be afraid of death. Caroline herself does not. But she does seem to be afraid of living, which Anthony is not afraid of. And so it's an interesting dynamic between the two.”
Being sick most of her life, she doesn’t really know how to live life to its fullest.
“She has literally no idea,” Anderson says. “And this is kind of a pivotal moment where now she can't even go to school, which is very scary because that means (her liver disease) is getting even more severe.”
Herbert says the dramaturg (theater company adviser and editor) for this production, Miranda Morgan Irish, “did a lot of research on chronic liver disease, and figured that (Caroline is) probably in around stage four or five maybe.”
And she is about to need a liver transplant to survive.
Herbert says, “She's described in the script as, she's sick, but she doesn't necessarily look sick, maybe just a little frumpy and unkempt. But there are limits. She's at a point in her life where, just when she is able to kind of forget that she's sick and sort of live life and be a girl, you know, suddenly she becomes extremely fatigued or something. And so there's this there's this real sort of beautiful ebb and flow of her experience that we get with the play that Lauren Gunderson gives us. It's an opportunity, I think, for young actors. It's a two-hander (a two-character play). And I think a lot of times young actors haven't done a show where there's only two actors who have to carry the whole show with all the lines. And Emma and Kyron, who is playing Anthony in the play, are just doing such a phenomenal job.”
KSMU asked Anderson if doing a two-character play was kind of a scary proposition.
“Yeah, it is a little bit,” she says.
"Because every show I've been a part of, we've had way more than just two people. And the only times where it's only been two people, it's been very short time slots. So yeah, this is the first time I think I've been with just one other actor throughout an entire length of a play. And yeah, it could be a little nerve wracking, but I think we've got this.”
Herbert compares the difficulties of directing a “two-hander” versus a large production with a big cast.
He says, “Well, I think that always kind of depends on who you've got. I mean, the directing of this show has been really easy because I have two really terrific actors and a terrific creative team. I've got a great stage manager and technical director and just everybody. But I will say this — that having only two actors makes it a whole lot easier to schedule!”
Easier to schedule rehearsals, that is: for students balancing a full load of classes, work and families with the demands of the play.
Performances of “I and You” by Lauren Gunderson will be Thursday, November 17 through Saturday, November 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 20 at 2:30 p.m. in Lincoln Hall Auditorium, 815 S. Sherman Ave. in Springfield.
There’s no admission charge, but seating is limited and ticket reservations will be appreciated.
Herbert says the production has a page on Eventbrite for free ticket reservations. Those interested in attending the performance may also check the OTC Fine Arts website.
Meanwhile, posters for the play include a QR code for smartphone users.
Also, OTC will be accepting donations for the American Liver Foundation.
“It seemed appropriate,” Herbert says. “We kind of fell in love with Caroline and her plight, and so we definitely wanted to make a difference in someone's life who is experiencing what she's experiencing.”
For more information, call 417-447-8979.
