Scripps actors Nora Boedecker, Nicole Guillen, and Caroline Schreiber stand back as Elizabeth Gibbs '08 practices her role as Fanny.
As It Is In Heaven, presented by The Claremont Colleges’ theater department, portrays a simpler time, when the day consisted of nothing more than singing gentle hymns, quilting, and going into a spastic fit while having visions of angels. Wait, what?
A talented cast of nine actors, including five Scripps students, will captivate audiences in this poignant and humorous portrait of nine Shaker women during a time of religious revival. But despite their remoteness from modern times, the characters resonate with contemporary audiences.
“The dynamics of the characters and their interactions speak to any community of people who work for a common goal,” remarked Elizabeth Gibbs ’08. The theater major portrays Fanny—the newcomer whose spiritual inspiration and visions of angels and subsequent power struggle with the eldress Hannah disrupts the community. “The women in this play are three-dimensional characters with flaws and foibles. Everyone can find someone in this play with whom they identify.”
Celebrating the music and dance traditions of The United Society of Believers, more commonly known as Shakers, the provocative play is punctuated by a cappella sing and ecstatic dance. The all-woman cast and minimal set opens a familiar yet distant world of the Shaker community. Arlene Hutton, a New York actress and playwright, based her play on the activities of a community of nearly 600 Shakers who lived in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, before the middle of the 19th century. Each of the nine characters undertakes a personal spiritual journey within the community that emphasized a strong integration of the sublime and mundane and established a cooperative life of piety, asceticism, and celibacy.
“Each of these finely etched characters encounters significant obstacles along her way,” said director Tom Leabhart. “When we leave these strangely memorable characters, they have achieved refinement and we’ve enjoyed following them through success and failure.”
Evening performances will be held in the Allen Studio, located in the Seaver Theatre complex, Pomona College, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m. March 1 through March 3; afternoon matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. March 3 and 4. Tickets are $5 for students, faculty, and staff of The Claremont Colleges and seniors; $10 general admission.