New play in Utah explores themes of mental illness, family

From The Deseret News in Utah. Pictured are Kelly Hutchinson and Jennifer Joan Thompson as the sisters.

Pioneer Theatre Company is boldly going where very few theater companies do these days: It's mounting a full production of a brand new work — "Touch(ed)," by Bess Wohl.

"It just doesn't happen very much," said the playwright during a phone interview. "It really says a lot about their (PTC's) commitment to new work and their confidence in their taste."

In today's theater world, the more common approach to new works is through a series of "readings." Actors sit onstage with the script, without costumes or sets, and read through the play.

"Nowadays, you have to do reading after reading after reading," said Wohl, who splits her time between New York and Los Angeles. "But plays are meant to be seen, to have life. For PTC to take a play like this and to give it a full production, when it's new, is amazing. And it's incredibly exciting."

The play is part of the theater's New Play Initiative Program, led by Elizabeth Williamson, the company's literary manager and dramaturg.

"I wear so many hats," Williamson said. "As literary manager, I'm reading lots of new plays, and I just fell in love with "Touch(ed)."

The play, described as being both comic and dramatic, is about two sisters. The older sister, Emma, has battled a mental illness for years, putting her in and out of psychiatric hospitals. Her younger sister, Kay, hopes a week at a cabin in the woods will help restore and heal.

"I think it's more about family than mental illness," Williamson said. "It's about how much we owe our family members and about what happens within the relationships of immediate family."

"I'm always inspired by everything around me," Wohl said. "I've seen people around me struggle with things like mental illness, definitely. And I've certainly experienced family stuff. I was really trying to write about the balance between what we owe each other and what we owe ourselves. And how you carve out your own freedom within the context of your family. And that becomes exponentially harder when one of your family is ill."

And Wohl, who is in Salt Lake City for rehearsals, has been pleased with what she's seeing.

"As a playwright you learn so much when the script gets on its feet. I've learned from the actors and their interpretations," she said. "It's actually my favorite moment, that moment of surprise when you sit in rehearsals and go, 'I didn't know that!' It's great."

The show, which contains mature themes, will be directed by artistic director Charles Morey. "He has brought so much," Wohl said, "from the beginning he's had such a clear vision."

"After I got the phone call, I came out in May and saw 'Miss Saigon' and met with Chuck (Morey), and I just thought, 'Are you sure?' But he had so much confidence and such a clear vision," Wohl said.

This is the first play of the New Play Initiative, and Williamson, who has been at PTC for a year, couldn't be happier. "It was very exciting to give this play to Chuck, and he just said, 'This play doesn't need a reading, it needs a production.' "

"One of the things that first struck me about the play was the quick banter and give and take," Williamson said. "It's funny, it's deadpan, it's very of this generation. Also the freshness," she added.

"The humor and humanity. It's really a chance to hear and see the first full production of a playwright who will become one of the most important of our generation," she said.