By Jessica Davis, JTNews Correspondent
Playwright Lee Blessing’s 1988 political drama, Two Rooms, about Middle East policy, terrorism and the disconnect between government and the media, is as pertinent now as when it was written.
“I think that, given the focus of the world on that region right now and Israel’s role in it, it is both timely and pertinent,” says director Eric Schinfeld.
Beginning with the capture of an American by Shi’ite terrorists in Beirut in 1986, Blessing fashions a story that illuminates as much about American imperialism as it does about human nature.
“I can think of no more important time than now to direct a play about the hostage crisis in the mid-1980s,” says Schinfeld. “Blessing’s very human characters give us a powerful perspective on our current political situation, one rooted in the geopolitical circumstances developed well before September 11th.”
Two Rooms is set against a backdrop of Middle East terrorism. One of the two rooms of the title is a windowless cell in Beirut, where an American hostage named Michael Wells is being held. The other is a room in his home in the United States, where his wife Lainie awaits him.
Lainie is visited separately by a reporter and a State Department official, both of whom pull her in different directions. Throughout, author Lee Blessing challenges the audience to examine the value of a single human life against the demands of national security. He questions the trustworthiness of our American institutions and the strength of our collective resolve.
“The similarities are really amazing,” says Schinfeld, about the mid-‘80s and now. “In many ways, nothing has changed.”
At 25 years old, Schinfeld admits that he does not have any first-hand memories of the Iran-Contra affair of the mid-‘80s. “I think sometimes as America, we have short memories,” he says.
For those interested, but unfamiliar with that part of American history, information researched by the show’s dramaturg will be on display in the lobby, as well as in the playbills. “We really have spent some time to make this an educational experience as well,” Schinfeld says.
A politics major in college, Schinfeld was instantly drawn to Two Rooms after encountering the play last October.
“I just sort of stumbled across it,” he says. “I think it’s a very powerful piece.”
He says he likes the play because it presents all viewpoints in a very human and sensitive way. And, although it is set in specific time, the characters are universal. Productions of Two Rooms have sprouted up all over the country since after the 2001 terrorist attacks.
“I don’t know that it’s been done [in Seattle] any time recently,” Schinfeld notes.
The Shunpike Arts Collective, a non-profit multimedia arts organization, presents the drama through May 17 at the Odd Duck Studio, 1214 10th Ave. in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. The Shunpike Arts Collective creates, exhibits and distributes original works. In addition to producing three full-length plays per year, The Shunpike hosts a quarterly live performance event, “lo-fi,” and produces an arts and culture magazine called Rivet.
Two Rooms is co-sponsored by the Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, City of Seattle, and is produced by special arrangement with Dramatist Play Service. There will be an open discussion between the cast and audience members, after each performance.
Tickets are available from Ticketwindow Online at www.ticketwindowonline.com, and more information is available at the Shunpike’s web site, www.theshunpike.org.