BWW Preview: Reflecting on Love with Eastern Bridge Theatre's STRINGS

Love really can be said to make the world go round. It is something we all strive to feel towards one another and wish to receive in return. It is what we hold passionately in our hearts that makes each of us try harder - to wake up each morning and face the world with renewed hope for what is to come. Love is universal, experienced by all no matter the person or place; love is truly our friend and saving grace.

And, what is more pure than the love of a mother towards her child? Such an unconditional love transcends all things that make us different - it is forever the epitome of our lives, and is now the worthy basis of a new play presented by the Eastern Bridge Theater Troupe.

Written by Anna Rak and Palmyra Mattner, and under the direction of Kira Kull, Strings will soon take the stage at the Access Theatre in Tribeca for its New York premiere; the show also marks EBTT's second NY production. A theater troupe of unique origins and aspirations, Eastern Bridge strives to bring together the voices, experiences and talents of those who are culturally or ethically different, but collaborate for the purpose of providing a unique theatrical experience. By giving expression to these "foreign voices," the cast, creative team and theater-goers alike now have this special opportunity to bring what is different together to share in the purity of a mother's love.

In the playwrights' own words, "Hearing foreign voices in the arts helps us steer clear of singular and cookie-cutter perspectives, empowering and opening an audience up to the complexities of different cultures, religions and views. When we watch theatre, we want to be challenged...this is what makes theatre entertaining and engaging."

Strings reaches the core of maternal love by portraying the special bond shared by a mother and her daughter. The plot revolves around eight month pregnant Lucy as she reads through a guidebook written for expecting mothers-to-be in 1950's Chicago. With each chapter, Lucy reflects on traditional teachings as they relate to the present, bringing to each scene touches of comedy and contemplation, bursting with heartfelt moments shared between a young woman and a child she only barely come to know.

What is expected in the bond between mother and child - essentially the basics of motherhood - is molded to document what a mother is to us as we enter this world, and how that love must conform to the changes we all experience as time goes on. Anna and Palmyra explain how "The love between a mother and her child is destined to change over time and hopefully blossom into a friendship rather than an obligatory bond. However, the in-between of figuring out a new relationship is what makes it so complicated."

Of course, such a feat as Strings couldn't be done without drawing from the writers' personal wells of experience, capturing the beauty of this unconditional love and transposing it to the something that is "stage-worthy." In what started over lunch in Brooklyn, Anna and Palmyra spoke of their diverse upbringings and backgrounds, discovering that their mothers and their feelings towards them were a point of similarity between two very different people. While Palmyra is a Syrian/German expat, born and raised in Bahrain with a liberal, open-minded Syrian mother, Anna is a native of Poland with a conservative mother.

"Most of the dialogue, circumstances and characters in the play actually come from real life situations that would resurface once we began writing. Having these references or hidden instances in our own lives peppered around the play give the dialogue a natural and real 'slice of life' quality to it."

The collective lessons learned from their mothers and the "inescapable echo" of their mothers' voices brought these two together to write Strings, which is already proving to be something great. Reminiscing on what a mother's love represents has strengthened their belief in something so precious, it needs to be preserved in whatever way possible. No matter the changes which follow a person throughout life, their mothers will always remind them of home...even if home is someplace very far away.

"This is what we, as daughters in our twenties, perceive as being one of the most complex and intricate types of love...[Our mothers] did not get to see the women we have become at this point in our new lives and cannot help but 'love' us in the ways they think best according to what they remember of us."

Anna and Palmyra continue to exemplify how we can all be different, but really have very similar stories to tell. Stemming from this comes the need to assemble a diverse cast that brings with it a myriad of differences and possibilities, all for the purpose of stressing this point even further.

"In line with Eastern Bridge Theatre Troupe's principals, the diverse creative team we have put together is what really makes the show special. Working with a cocktail of ethnicities and cultures (Polish, Californian, Filipino, South Carolinian, German, Syrian) has been the most helpful and exciting part of the creative process."

The writers continue: "There is so much to learn from someone who has grown up in a world different than yours and we found it especially beneficial when approaching the script. Neither of us felt tethered to keeping the script the same, but instead inviting new voices to add to the story."

And, as anyone who has ever been in a show before knows all too well, the theater community becomes a bit like a second family - a family that both Anna and Palmyra are blessed to have found. In light of the fact that their own are so far away, this play truly holds a special place in their hearts in more ways than one.

The show also features Cristina Sebastian and Maurice McPherson, who share in this special experience that is Strings.

So, why do the playwrights think you should look forward to the show? "We allow ourselves and others to reminisce, laugh, cry and empathize with life's odd moments in an immediate, theatrical safe space with a glass of wine. What could be a better way to spend your Saturday night?"

I couldn't agree more!

Strings will premiere at the Access Theatre (at the Gallery Space, located at 380 Broadway) on October 4th, and will run thru October 8th. Tickets are $20 for general admission and can be purchased by visiting the Troupe's website (below). Performances will take place on October 4th, 5th and 6th @ 7:30 pm, October 7th @ 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm and October 8th @ 3:00 pm.

For more information on Strings, please visit https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/strings-an-original-play#/story.

Photo Credit: James Amorosino

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