By The theatre arts department is closing out the semester at Long Beach State with Dry Land, written by Ruby Rae Spiegel. The play opens on April 27 at the Studio Theater.
The single-act play focuses on two teenage girls that are on the high school swim team as they help each other navigate the challenges of growing up in modern America. Through these characters, the play examines themes like friendship, trauma, fear, anxiety and the vast spectrum of emotions that runs between them.
Amy, the popular girl on the team, finds herself with an unwanted pregnancy, and the play starts with her desperately trying to figure out a way to get an abortion.
Aislinn McInerney is a fourth-year student pursuing an acting major, and she’s one of the cast members playing Amy.
“She’s been traumatized into believing that in order to not be lonely, she can’t be herself,” McInerney said. “What the unwanted pregnancy brings out of her is the need to be real and find somebody to be real with because she might die if she doesn’t.”
Amy (Aislinn McInerney) takes a shot of alcohol as Ester (Jordan Gelotte) prepares to punch her in the stomach again. Photo credit: Steven Matthews
The other lead character, Ester, is the new girl on the swim team with ambitions to swim at the collegiate level. When the play starts, Ester comes off as inexperienced and naive. But as the play goes on, it’s revealed that she’s dealing with a lot of past trauma herself.
“She’s [Ester] really interesting to see, how she develops from how Amy treats her, and how Amy develops from how Ester treats her,” third-year performance arts major Jordan Gelotte said. “They come together to create this really beautiful relationship.”
Amy (Aislinn McInerney) levels an accusation toward Ester (Jordan Gelotte) while Reba (Casey Murray) begins to laugh in disbelief. Photo credit: Steven Matthews
The play is double cast, which means that most parts have two people cast in the role, and they alternate shows.
Along with McInerney, Amy is also played by Arlene Duran. Victoria Martins will join Gelotte in playing Ester.
Casey Murray and Kalani Smith play Reba. Additionally, Gustavo Blandino and Evan Oukrop will be playing Victor. De-Hai Tran is the single person cast to play a janitor in all shows, and the rest of the cast is played by Jane U’ren, Alisha Sweeting and Isabella Gamble, all playing additional swimmers.
Ester (Jordan Gelotte) confides in Victor (Gustavo Blandino) after she has an argument with Amy during their performance on the stage. Photo credit: Steven Matthews
Alana Dietz, the Associate Artistic Director for Echo Theatre Company in Los Angeles, is directing Dry Land, which she has directed before. She previously won the Los Angeles Ovation Award for Production at the Intimate Theater for directing it in 2016.
“I love the actors in both shows, both casts, and it’s been so fun to not only revisit the play with new people but also see the differences between the two casts,” Dietz said.
Dietz also mentioned how challenging the play was for the actors.
“The writer is very demanding of the actors, in that they really have to go deep, all the way down to the bottom,” Dietz said.
The janitor (De-Hai Tran) puts in his earbuds to listen to music as he prepares to clean the extremely dirty locker room. Photo credit: Steven Matthews
Given the heavy nature of the topics addressed in the show, there will be a panel held on May 4 at 5 p.m. that will feature a discussion about the play.
The panel will include Lori Baralt, who holds a doctorate in sociology and is the department chair of women’s, gender and sexuality studies, Heidi Girling, the Coordinator for the Office of Wellness and Health Promotion and a counselor from Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).
The play opens on April 27 and runs through May 6. Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office for a $25 general admission ticket or $23 for students, seniors and military.
