I went to see a one woman show tonight called 'Emily and I' with my mother and her parents. We got there twenty minutes early, so we sat down all alone in the second row and contemplated the stage. The set was a three-paneled screen (the sort people undress behind in historical fiction movies) lit by a red spotlight.
"What do you think it means?" I asked my mother.
"Let's examine the symbolism. The red is probably a reference to blood, since Emily Dickinson wrote so much about death," she hypothesized. Then she quoted "A fly buzzed when I died," in the deep, dry voice she only uses to quote that poem.
"And the screen," I added, "might suggest that Emily hides her true self- the self that loves bunnies and just wishes everyone could get along- behind a screen of aggressive morbidity." My speculation was met with unanimous skepticism, and debate ensued.
When the play started, I found it somewhat less interesting than our pre-show commentary. It was more about Edie, the actress, and her decades-long obsession with Emily Dickinson, than about Emily herself. However I've always been a sucker for self-referential plays, and this one was all about Edie trying to write a play about the real Emily Dickenson, so she won me over quickly enough.
Like Emily, Edie has panic attacks. Unlike Emily, Edie has panic attacks in airports. I find that airports are an inviting combination of energetic and soothing. Nobody belongs in an airport, so OK if you don't either. It's a highly secured oasis of fast food and trashy magazines where you can relax for a few minutes before getting on your plane and wondering if your next destination will finally be the place you belong.
All in all, it was a successful outing.
