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Furious with the world, she takes out her frequent anger on her daughters Tillie (Abby DePuy) and Ruth (South Park resident Rachel Esther Tate). As Beatrice\u2019s alcoholism and abuse worsens, her kids react to her cruel treatment in different ways.<\/p>\n
Years before working on this new interpretation from Cygnet Associate Artistic Director Rob Lutfy, Driscoll had read Paul Zindel\u2019s Pulitzer Prize-winning script, and loved his realistic and emotional writing.<\/p>\n
Bringing sympathy to such a flawed matriarch isn\u2019t an easy task, and Driscoll wants to bring as much depth to Beatrice as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo come across as human, Beatrice has to have redeeming qualities,\u201d she said. \u201cI try to give her moments of love and care so the audience can understand her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruth is also a difficult role to play. Tate has to depict the emotional damage that Beatrice has caused since she was young. \u201cThe show is kind of kicking my butt a little bit,\u201d she said. \u201cI am taking yoga classes to prepare for this role.\u201d<\/p>\n Guiding Tate through the process is Lutfy, with whom she has collaborated in the past. Last summer, they worked together on another strangely titled play, \u201cStupid F**king Bird.\u201d She mentioned that Lutfy really wanted to direct Zindel\u2019s acclaimed achievement for quite some time.<\/p>\n Given his history with the material, Lufty understands why Beatrice\u2019s daughters are polar opposites. While Tillie manages to be a hopeful child, Ruth doesn\u2019t share her sister\u2019s optimism. Tate believes they are so different from each other because of their individual relationships with their mother.<\/p>\n Tillie refuses to take after her mother, but Ruth\u2019s behavior starts to parallel Beatrice\u2019s personality.<\/p>\n Hope is something that Tillie possesses, owing to her interest in science and her determination not to follow in her mom\u2019s footsteps.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is the true core of humanity in the narrative,\u201d Driscoll said.<\/p>\n If the experience sounds like a personal one, that\u2019s because Zindel based the play on his childhood. Zindel was mainly raised by his mother, Betty. The playwright also had a sister, Betty Zindel Hagen. Like the fictitious Beatrice, Betty Zindel was apparently not the world\u2019s best parental figure.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had a disjointed and uneasy childhood,\u201d Driscoll said. \u201cThere are so many autobiographical elements that he uses to tell this tale.\u201d<\/p>\n Zindel might not be a character in his own theatrical work, but Tate knows his experiences influenced the events onstage. \u201cHis characters all feel authentic, since they are based on actual people,\u201d she said. \u201cNone of them feel like stereotypes.\u201d<\/p>\n Although the material can hit close to home for people with similar upbringings, Driscoll and Tate want them to experience the production in Old Town.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has a beautiful message for anybody who have been through things like what happens in the plot,\u201d Driscoll said. \u201cThere is a healing quality about this play that can help people with backgrounds like Tillie and Ruth,\u201d Tate said.<\/p>\n Both Driscoll and Tate will give frank and impactful performances. They are going to make audiences care about two extremely difficult people.<\/p>\n![\"Experiencing](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/web-Rachel_Gamma-Rays.jpg\")
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One aspect about Zindel\u2019s storytelling that Driscoll respects is that the show was ahead of its time. Originally staged at Houston\u2019s Alley Theatre in 1965, she noted that few dramas at the time were dealing with a single adult raising two kids.<\/p>\n