It is a great reminder about the power of live theatre.
Theatre 130 - Paper One
By Ellie Mullane
The Dixie Swim Club
When I went to attend The Dixie Swim Club on June 9th, I was clueless on what to expect or what the play entailed, only that my mother had heard it was funny. The moment she dropped the f-word, however, was the moment I was sure that that was the play I was going to see. "How could a play actually be funny?" was the first thought to pop into my mind, for being a skeptic on theater when actually having no real experience with it. I thought there was no way I was going to enjoy the following two hours of my life, but being the sucker for comedy that I am, I picked up my best girl friend, and we were off to the theatre.
Now, when I say "off to the theatre", you must understand that that is the first time those words have left my fingertips, at least in that sequence. Naturally, like most American youth, I am fascinated by cinema and television, and the acting and work that are poured into both, but I have never really paid much attention to actual theatre, the basis for both. I wasn't sure I would enjoy the class, or everything we'd be covering, and I was definitely skeptical about having to write a paper on my feelings and reactions to a play I wasn't even sure I would enjoy. Little did I know, I was in for a big surprise.
My friend Katie and I raced to the American Heartland Theatre located at Crown Center and arrived about 7:25 in the evening. We had five minutes to spare before the play was scheduled to start, and we were winded from the sprint from the parking garage to the theatre. We hurriedly collected the tickets my mom had called to purchase just moments before (which ended up being the last two seats available, I was not expecting that). While riding up the escalator to the theatre doors, we took in the other play-goers around us, and they were old. I was surrounded by senior citizens, the majority of them women, a few husbands strewn about here and there, some already decked out in their head-sets, others chatting with girlfriends, etc. "Great." I thought to myself as we were walking in. I was about to see a play that didn't even appeal to people my age, or so I thought considering Katie and I were definitely the youngest in the room, unless she's hiding something from me.
The theatre house seemed small to the eye, seating about 400 people close together around the thrust stage. Even from relatively close to the top of the house and off to the side, I still had a good view of the stage and the scenery. There was no grand drape, just the facade of what appeared to be an old cottage in the back, presumably leading to backstage, and a few homey pieces of furniture decorating the stage floor. After surveying the scene, I hastily made my way to my seat.
As the lights began to dim and the chatter began to turn to silence, I adjusted myself in the chair, turned off my phone, and sat back to watch the show. Without a curtain to keep us in suspense, the stage had to be darkened as to try and mask the actors who were taking their places.
The opening scene pictured Sheree Hollinger, a middle-aged woman dancing around stage, moving her arms in a motion that looked like she was swimming. It was ridiculous to watch, but that's what made it comedic. Slowly but surely, the rest of the cast started to make their appearances alongside Sheree, and the story began to unfold. Five women who had met on
their college swim team, five best friends, and 5 middle aged women stood before me on the stage to share their stories. Sheree Hollinger, Lexie Richards, Dinah Grayson, Vernadette Simms, and Jeri Neal McFeely led me to laugh so hard I had to force myself to stop just so I could catch my breath. They had me in tears when they led me to empathize with their character, but most of all, they made me smile in hope that my 4 best friends and I will one day turn out as they did.
The Dixie Swim Club has a "Golden Girls" meets "YaYa Sisterhood" type of feel to it. The audience only sees them on four different trips during stages of their later lives, but I felt as if I'd known them the whole time, and been a part of their lives before and in between each summer
trip to North Carolina. Watching the personalities begin to shine through the characters had me comparing each one to one of my girl friends, as I sure plenty other women in the audience did as well, and relating my group of friends to theirs. The tragicomedy was such a classic tale of friendship and its ups and downs, and an honest depiction of girl friends, and the bonds they share that can't be broken. It was funny, bittersweet, and touching all wrapped in to one. I left the theatre arm in arm with Katie, immediately calling our other three best friends and telling them they HAVE to go see it, and explaining that, metaphorically of course, we are that group of women.
Every group of girl friends can say that their group is so completely diverse and almost all opposites of each other, but they are perfect that way. And that is just the way this group of women were on stage.
First, there is Sheree. Not only was she the first character to be seen on stage, she is also the self-designated leader and has been since her glory captain days of the swim team. She was the friend who always had a plan and always had an answer for everything, who at times acted more like a mother to the other girls than acting their age. But I loved her for that, simply because she reminded me of my friend Katie, down to the core. Sheree came off as a complete Type-A ersonality, who would have to be reminded by her friends that it was vacation and it was okay not to have a plan all the time, but you know you could always count on her.
Next was Lexie, the second character to appear on the set, and the friend who seems to be more interested in herself and her looks than in her friends. She appears that way, and the audience only sees that side of her in the first two acts, but I knew, just like I'm sure the majority of
other women in the theatre who have a friend like Lexie, that she has a big heart, loves her friends, actually does listen to them, and can surprise you when you least expect it.
Dinah came next, and Dinah, just liked my friend Kate, just screamed independent. She in no way was going to depend on a man or let a man bring her down. She was work and success driven, and loved her alcohol. Her main career focus was to see just how much farther she could get, until we see her lose the first man she ever loved, as a middle-aged woman.
Vernadette was my absolute favorite character. Vernadette had two kids who were in and out of jail, a dead-beat husband, and always had strokes of bad luck. Despite her hardships, however, Vernadette always managed to have the strongest sense of humor, even in her old age when she
had lost her mind. She would leave the audience reeling with laughter, and even the other women on stage would go into fits of laughter after one of her jokes. She was the character I longed to be friends with while watching the play, to know more about her life, to model myself after and emulate.
Lastly, there was Jeri Neal. Jeri Neal was a former nun who decided her real calling in life was to be a mother. In the first scene you see her walk on stage, or "arrive at the cottage", clearly impregnated when none of the girls knew she had even left the convent. Of course this sent
the audience into hysterics, along with the jokes that followed suit. Jeri Neal was the most positive, upbeat, kind spirited, and non-judgmental character to grace the stage. She completed the group with her innocence and love for her friends that she seemed to emit.
Every woman was so different than the other, but after watching the play, it was like they belonged together and it was meant to be that way. I thought the acting was outstanding, even with a line stumbled over or a fit of laughter. The characters seemed like real people, and came across as people I know, which really helped me to empathize along with them. When they were happy, I was happy, and when they were sad, I was sad. They had such excellent illusion that I even shed a tear for "Coach", when he allegedly died, and he had never even made an appearance on stage. I cried merely because they were crying, because he had been the one to bring these women together, and because they loved him.
As I was watching the production and the scenes were unfolding in front of me, I would look around to see if others were enjoying it as much as I was. Katie of course had tears in her eyes from laughing and then crying so hard, but the three audience members who really stood out to me were senior women sitting a few rows in front and to the left of me. The scene on stage was a bonding moment between Dinah and Lexie where we discover Lexie has cancer, and only Dinah knows. The three women in front of me were all holding on to each other, the way friends do during an emotional scene. I noticed the way they kept looking from one another back to the
stage that they related with these women in a greater way than I felt I did, and it made me cry even harder during that scene of the play. When discussing in class that the audience really makes a performance, it was that moment I kept thinking of, and the audience that I was surrounded by. I was surrounded by emotion-happy and sad. The house would fill with laughter, and at times grow completely quiet with sadness. The actresses would have to wait for our laughter, or their own for that matter, to subside before moving on, or feed off of the sad energy of the crowd to make an intense seen even stronger. I had never experienced a play quite like it, and I've realized I need to give theatre more of a chance, because it can really surprise you.
June 9, 2010 was a huge wake up call for me. I went to the American Heartland Theatre expecting to bored out of my mind, and I left feeling more touched, more whole, more happy, and more alive than any piece of art has made me feel. I felt involved with these women's lives, and I felt connected to them just as if they were my own friends. I walked out with only one of my best friends that night, wishing we had all been there together to share in the experience, but also with the hope that years down the road, we will still be as close as we are today.
The Dixie Swim Club was a fantastic play that could put a smile on anyone's face. It's heartwarming, and heartfelt, and I would love to see it again one day. If anyone asked me about it, I would have nothing but raves, and suggest it to anyone who needed an opinion. It was an amazing theatrical experience and I can't wait to experience more.
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