Courtesy of Jessica Hughes
In a lecture hall on the south side of The Ohio State University’s campus, the Sound Company opens On the Exhale, a one-woman show written by playwright Martin Zimmerman starring Jessica Hughes and co-directed by Sean Naughton and Carlie Shearer.
Meiling Hall looks ready for its regular audience of sleepy medical students, but instead of a lecture on human anatomy, the audience awaits the start of a show. With the projector screen pulled down, harsh fluorescent lights glaring and a soft, cheery jazz lilting throughout the room, the hall is an unlikely stage. Although an unusual setting for a theatrical performance, the site-specific performance places the audience directly into the world of the play, creating a raw and personal relationship between performer and audience.
The plot follows a woman as she struggles to come to terms with the grief suffers after losing her child to a shooting. As the play progresses, she closes herself off as she seeks an understanding of such needless violence. The play, which reflects the events of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting, is a poignant glimpse into the aftermath of violence and the heartbreaking realities of trauma and isolation.
The 70-minute performance with no intermission is a nonstop look into the unsettling aftermath of violence, powered by Hughes’ indefatigable energy as an actor. Over the course of the hour-long monologue, she deftly navigates the complexities of setting the scene while creating a full and nuanced character with skill and clarity. Hughes flashes through moments of jarring stillness and frenzied movement, broken up by glimpses of humor resulting in an alarming display of raw humanity that grabs – and holds – the audience’s attention.
Courtesy of Jessica Hughes
Jessica Hughes is a storyteller. By force of imagination alone, she creates a cast of characters out of thin air and turns the lecture hall into an office, a school, a parking lot, a vigil, a statehouse. The two tables become a desk, a child’s bed, a casket, a platform, a kitchen table – each change sketching out the narrative of life after death. A display of skill and dedication, Hughes’ performance is heartbreaking and vulnerable and will linger long after the closing line.
The show was followed by a brief grounding session led by Bridget Heneby from STAR Trauma Recovery Center where she shared techniques to help calm the nervous system in triggering environments. The post-show conversation was co-sponsored by the College of Public Health, with Jennifer Beard facilitating a community conversation with the audience as a space to share thoughts and responses to the play. The talkback is part of The Sound Company’s unique dedication to starting and bolstering community conversations surrounding important topics.
The company, which started in Spring 2022, will open its next show– Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal– in May 2023.
Katie Giffin is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
