PASSAGE

Does Love recognize international borders? Does Love have a nationality? Can Love blossom between a citizen of a colonizing country and a colonized country? These are the questions at the heart of Christopher Chen’s deeply wise play PASSAGE.

This summer I became obsessed with the documentary “Human Flow” by the artist/activist Ai Weiwei. “Human Flow” follows migrants from all over the world as they cross border after border after border. At one point in the film, Ai Weiwei is backing up to get a wider shot when he accidentally crosses the border into another country and a police officer yells at him. In that moment you see how arbitrary and silly and completely fake the idea of a “Border” is. In Chen’s play one character notes “borders are man-made so they might as well be the same country for all the earth cares.” Another points out that “The jungle doesn’t understand walls.” And yet wars are fought and lives are ruined because of these imaginary lines drawn on a map.

Does Love need a passport?

In PASSAGE, Chen strips away all signifiers of people and places. All names are referred to by letters. At first, the mental gymnastics it takes to follow along can be straining. But Chen does so to point out the universalities of these relationships. That there is a relativity in the relationship of all colonized people to their colonizers. And as the world becomes increasing Neocolonial, the power structure becomes harder to spot but the effects are still very real.

It would be easy to let this play slip in to the realm of scholarly investigation. But Chen roots it in incredibly dynamic characters all of whom have a lust for life and a yearning for connection. Each character having their own unique relationship to borders and nationality. Each one leading with love in their own way.

Throughout the play you will see the five actors playing multiple roles from multiple countries. But we make no grand gesture to create a “realism” of time, place, or person. Because, as the play emphasizes, we each bring our own unique perspective to the story and Chen wants to put that idea in the foreground of the play. Because when I say “tree” you may think of a pine tree and I may think of a palm tree. And those differences are honored in the world of PASSAGE.

The yearning in this play is to cross borders. Borders between nations, borders between friends, borders between lovers, and ultimately, the invisible borders between you and me. We are all present in this one moment of storytelling and although it’s impossible for us to transcend all of those borders, to find true passage between ourselves, we can still try. After a year of quarantine, the idea of yearning to overcome separation feels really palpable. So I invite you to open your heart to this moment you are in; be here, now; fully present and engaged; and look for your own passage.      

                                                                                       -James Dean Palmer

The Cast

Alyssa Carter (H/F) is a third year BFA actor from Trinidad. Purchase Rep credits include: The Laramie Project. Her heart is filled with love and gratitude for those who continue to support and encourage her.

Nate Entz (G/D/J) is a third year student in the BFA Acting Conservatory and has acted throughout his life in a variety of productions and is honored to be doing what he loves with such a wonderful company full of talented and devoted people. He would like to thank his family, friends, and teachers–though words fall short in expressing his love for them, or his gratitude for all they have given him.

Corinne McLoughlin (M/Q) is a third year BFA Acting major from Buffalo, NY. Past Purchase credits include: The Laramie Project (Doc) and Everything You Love (Cassie). Other credits include: Far Away (Joan) at Torn Space Theater, Rhinoceros (Waitress) at Subversive Theater, and Number the Stars (Kirstie) at Theatre of Youth. She would like to thank her loving company for being so consistent through this scary year and the amazing design tech team for holding it down.

Francis Pàce-Nuñez (B) is an actor from Sleepy Hollow, NY. His past credits include “Bambi” in Amelia Bande’s original production of Eclipse and “Homeless Ensemble” in Purchase Rep’s production of Marisol. Francis would like to thank his family, friends, and peers for always supporting him throughout the years, and the Purchase College Theatre Conservatory for pulling together as a team and creating a beautiful piece of theater during a pandemic. Lastly, he loves his Mama. If you would like to reach Francis, you can email fpacenunez@gmail.com or direct message him on Instagram at @frankyloverboii. Enjoy the Show!

Nikol Tsvetanova (S/Mosquito/R/Gecko) is a third year BFA actor from Dallas, TX. Purchase Rep credits include: Everything You Love (Jillian Mee) and The Laramie Project (Baptist Minister, Trish Steger, Shannon, Zackie Salmon). Other credits include As You Like It (Rosalind), Anna Karenina (Anna) and Cancelled/Postponed (Jenna). Much love and gratitude to her family, friends, and amazing fellow company members.

The Design Team

Hannah Eckert (Technical Director) is a fourth year BFA Theatre Design/Technology student from Ellenville, NY. Past SUNY credits include: Marisol (Production Flyman), A Bright Room Called Day (Production Flyman), The Wolves (Lead Technical Draftsman), and Earthquakes in London (Master Carpenter). She would love to thank her family for always supporting her through all of her endeavors.

Ruby Goldstein (Scenic Designer) is a fourth year scenic designer from Boca Raton, Florida. Previous credits include Dialogues Of The Carmelites (Associate Designer) and Eclipse (Scenic Designer). She would like to thank her family for their everlasting love and support, as well as her cat, Fillary, for her curiosity and unwillingness to compromise on things that are important to her (especially pets).

Chris Heffelfinger (Lighting Designer) is a fourth year lighting designer from Harrison NY. His prior work at Purchase includes being the Assistant Lighting Designer for Bibles & Candy and Helen, Master Electrician on Scenes from Metamorphoses, and Assistant Master Electrician on Orestes 2.0. He would like to thank his amazing crew and design team, director, and his family for all their support.

Otto Martinian (Sound Designer) is a fourth year Theater Design/Technology BFA lighting designer from Elmont, New York. Design credits include: The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Lighting Designer), Bastille Day (Co-Sound Designer). Other credits include: Fen (Assistant Lighting Designer). He would like to thank his parents for their continued love and support.

Caroline Pastore (Production Stage Manager) is a fourth year stage manager from Shelburne, VT. Her past credits include: Right Behind You (PSM), The Possibilities (PSM), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Asst. Sound Designer). She’d like to thank her family and friends for their constant love and support and also dedicate her work on this production to Ariel Bourke.

JAMES DEAN PALMER (Director). NYC selected: Napoli, Brooklyn by Meghan Kennedy at Roundabout (AD); Grief by Craig Lucas at The Barrow Group, Julius Caesar and Hamlet by William Shakespeare at The Gallery Players; This New Now by Mona Mansour at Tisch; Faust 2.0 by Matthew Maguire at Mabou Mines (AD): In The Open by Mona Mansour and Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare at Waterwell. Regional selected: Lear by Young Jean Lee at Red Tape Theater; The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter at Steppenwolf Theater (AD); King John by William Shakespeare at the Texas Shakespeare Festival; Meteor Shower by Steve Martin at The Old Globe (AD). MFA from Brown/Trinity.

In our teaching and art, the Conservatory values inclusiveness, equality, and excellence. Upholding all of our training is our aim to train and graduate citizen artists: multifaceted people with a strong sense of purpose in approaching an arts education.

What is a citizen artist? Citizen artists seek to discover how their unique voices can contribute to our world. They understand what it means to be an artist, and what they are here on earth to say and do and make. The Conservatory trains future citizen artists in three degree programs:

+ BFA Actor Training. The BFA is an intensive professional training program offered to a highly select and diverse group of students. The professional training is anchored in four years of study in acting, voice, speech, and movement, complemented by offerings in dramatic literature and analysis, history of the theatre, stage combat, improvisation, mask work, acting for the camera, and the business of acting. As one of five schools in the Consortium of Professional Theatre Training Programs, Purchase is one of a handful of colleges in the world capable of training artists at this level—and of drawing a faculty from the ranks of professional theatre

+ BFA in Theatre Design/Technology. Emphasizing studio and classroom training, our professional training program in theatre design/technology gives students the guidance and support of established and theatre industry professionals. Many of our alumni are recognized at the top of their field, and have received Tony, Emmy, Obie, and Drama Desk Awards, among other honors. Quite literally, Purchase grads are working in or have worked in every theatre on Broadway, in all tristate venues, and with countless touring productions

+ BA program in Theatre and Performance. From traditional theatre to cutting-edge interdisciplinary work, the theatre and performance major encourages creativity, intellectual curiosity, social engagement, and critical thinking. The core requirements combine scholarship and practice to provide students with a strong foundation in theatre history and dramatic literature, with mandatory stagecraft/production courses. Theatre and Performance majors are encouraged to expand the scope of their education by studying abroad, as well as pursuing coursework in other programs of study within the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Purchase College