Splitting Infinity: The Genesis of a World Premiere Play

When a high mass star reaches its supernova explosion, the result is either a shower of stardust that creates new light, or a black hole that consumes everything in its wake.

Such is one of the main metaphors of Splitting Infinity by award-winning playwright and screenwriter Jamie Pachino, which currently having its world premiere at Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, New York. The play centers around Leigh Sangold, a Nobel prize-winning astrophysicist who in the midst of a challenging period of her life decides to take on the ultimate challenge: to prove whether God exists. The pursuit of this lofty goal has a direct impact on many relationships, including the one with her closest friend, a rabbi who harbors a secret love for her.

"Your heart either breaks open and showers stardust or shuts down. It's a great metaphor for how one handles a midlife crisis," says Elizabeth Hess who portrays the astrophysicist in question.

The cast itself has its own collection of stars. Stage and screen star Hess (Birth Rite, Descent, At/One, and television's 'Clarissa Explains It All') appears opposite Tony and Drama Desk winning actor Michael Rupert (Sweet Charity, Ragtime, Falsettos).

Approaching Infinity

The artistic team and cast members were initially attracted to this play because it delicately weaves a humanist view of several key issues and ideas together in a way that clearly would engage audiences and give them something to think about.

"I felt that the script was talking about some very large things in a very human way," explains Mr. Rupert. "I thought that Jamie's writing was terrific. It's a very dense play, and these are discussions that we're having right now in our country because of the political landscape."

The discussions in question include the role of faith and responsibility in our daily lives. This is especially pertinent in light of the current political environment where faith plays a more central role in relation to science, life, and love.

"This play works on all levels: emotional, sexual, intellectual and spiritual." says director Mark Cuddy. "These things are part of a greater fabric of our lives, and this show examines the fact that you've got to have balance between them."

Ms. Hess explains, "For all of the instability of our world right now, I feel like a lot of things are being shaken apart and opened up. There's always a desperation to hang on to old ways when they're about to collapse. The polarization does not work. I feel like history will repeat itself, and we will move through it. It's a kind of cry in the dark to address the imbalance between science and faith."

Creating Infinity

Geva Theatre has been involved with Splitting Infinity since the early stages of its existence. The show had a 1 day reading in Geva's American Voices play reading series, and a 1 week workshop at the theatre's Hibernatus Interruptus, their winter festival of new plays. Artistic Director Cuddy made the commitment to Ms. Pachino after the American Voices reading to stage the world premiere production because of the amazing response and the quality of the work.

In mounting this production, it was important that the actors had a sense of the entire arc of their characters. At one point in rehearsals, director Cuddy had the pair of actors portraying young Saul and young Leigh switch places with the actors portraying the older characters.

"It helped the older characters watch the younger actors read the older selves, in a way that they could observe what they had to go through," says Cuddy. He notes, "The issues became very weighty and serious for the younger actors, whereas the older actors life experience gave them a lighter interpretation of some of it."

Some of the challenges inherent in this production include the strong beliefs of some of the characters. "I don't necessarily believe what Saul believes," says Rupert. "It's hard for me to just give over to all of that and just 'believe' it." Getting past that became part of the rehearsal process. "It's about overcoming my own doubts and making it believable as an actor."

The creative process is also firmly rooted in trust, says Ms. Hess. "It's important that the director trusts his cast, and that we're all in the sandbox together," she says. Being a premiere production, the author plays a large part in the process as well. "I really felt that Jamie gave us her blessing, and saw enormous trust from her as well."

Interpreting Infinity

Ms. Hess sees it as a show about relationships. In her eyes, the show is about "an astrophysicist who is struggling with the relationship between God and self." The nature of that relationship is often a mystery, however. "I have a new respect for the unknown, as a result of doing this play. It's not something to fear. That's where science and the Divine really meet each other. The questioning itself is a gift."

Mr. Rupert describes the show from a more secular standpoint. "It's about love; it's about a woman going through a mid-life crisis questioning everything she has done with her life."

At the core of Splitting Infinity is a desire to contribute to the greater good through discourse and artistic expression. "We in the theatre hope to make a difference. We're doing this because we feel that we're doing something positive by giving the audiences something that they don't see very often," says Cuddy.

The possibilities are infinite.

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Additional Information:

Splitting Infinity will be on the Geva Theatre Mainstage April 18 – May 14. Tickets are available through the Geva Box Office at 75 Woodbury Blvd. , (585) 232-1366 or online at www.gevatheatre.org.