River City Repertory Raises
'Doubt' In Season Opener

by Donecia Pea
The Shreveport Times
November 4, 2008
doneciapea@gannett.com

Call it fate or coincidence, but when Patric McWilliams was planning the River City Repertory's third season, he had no idea how timely the opening production would be.

"This is such a perfect play for where we are and the way we're thinking as a society. When you look at the current political climate, both sides are so solidly polarized and that's the way the two lead characters in this play are," McWilliams said.
    The region's only professional theater company will open the provocative Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "Doubt," written by John Patrick Shanley, Nov. 12.
    The play takes a look at the border between truth and gossip, discipline and compassion and other mores through the story of a conservative, traditional nun and a modern-thinking priest, set in 1964 as America grapples with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
    The nun is faced with a difficult decision based on concerns she has with the young priest and his arrival at the school.
    It's a play that will have everyone talking, McWilliams said. "The playwright takes a subject or issue and doesn't come down one way or the other on it and that's what's so great about the play. It elicits debate and I love plays that truly involve the audience," he said.
    With the historical presidential election under way, McWilliams and some cast members couldn't help but draw comparisons between the political climate during the era of the play and now.
    "I think this play could not be done at a more poignant time in modern-day history, just because we are really on the brink of a major kind of momentum shift in the political world and, even culturally, you see the tide turning a little bit. More people are wanting to be more educated and informed about what's going on in this country," said Logan Sledge, who plays the character of the priest, Father Flynn.
    "The interesting point in how that relates to the play is that the major point of the play is that there really are times when you just don't know everything. There are times when you're unsure or a little lost on which way to go. But the beauty of it all, as Father Flynn says in his speech, is that we're all in it together."
    Sledge said Father Flynn is a passionate, caring person, very concerned about the direction of the church, Sledge said. "Patric even describes him as a man of the people. He's kind of like the guy off the street that can relate to everyone and brings those experiences with him. And I think there's an eccentricity that I'm still trying to find as an actor," he said.
    Barbara Acker, who plays the lead role of Sister Aloysius, said she found it interesting that the character is named after the patron saint of children, known for being childlike and innocent. "I love it when a playwright uses names metaphorically. Her name echoes poetically in the action of the play," she said.
    "She's a woman haunted by a sense of human sinfulness and frailty and she sees her job in life as guarding the children in the school from sin or evil and keeping them in innocence."
    Acker sees Sister Aloysius as one of her biggest challenges yet. "Her forbidding coldness and certitude is an alien emotional, psychological landscape for me to explore," she said.
    Acker, who's based in Phoenix, Ariz., where she works as an actress and teacher, said her natural personality is the exact opposite of Sister Aloysius. "When I feel something, I have to express it emotionally, but Sister Aloysius contains her emotions and keeps it down. She'd make a good poker player and I'm a terrible poker player," Acker said with a laugh.
    "Doubt" will mark the first theater performance to be held inside the newly renovated Capri Theatre, which McWilliams said is a good fit for the performance.
    "It's going to be very environmental and the way it's set up, the cast will be performing close to the audience. Then, the play is about expressions as much as it is about the words, so this is perfect," McWilliams said.
    Regardless of religious, political or cultural affiliations, Sledge said "Doubt" is something everyone can get something out of.
    "I've talked to people about this play and certain family and friends will ask what the play is about. ... The way I see it, the story is a launching pad for a larger ideal that things aren't always black and white," Sledge said.