When I first talked to Carson Kreitzer about producing her play, 1:23, almost a year ago...she said,
"Did you just say you have a child? And you want to produce my play?"
Little did I know that during the rehearsal process, a year later, I would not only have my husband in the show (playing McManus, one of the police) but I would also be pregnant with twins. This has definitely added to the intensity of working on a play about three mothers who drowned their children.
So. Why this play?
I believe so strongly in the ability of 1:23 to help us see beyond the headlines, and to challenge our own abilities for empathy and compassion in the face of three unspeakable acts.
We have been fascinated for centuries about women who have committed this act, starting as far back as Medea. This riveting play examines ideas of gender and justice, by exploring the forces behind three women who drowned their own children – Susan Smith, Andrea Yates and Juana Leija.
As we've grappled with this piece in rehearsals, we've talked a lot about the different ways these mothers 'brought their children' to the water. Susan Smith put them in the car and stepped out - letting gravity take the lead. You might see this as a passive way of completing her task. Juana Leija threw herself and the children into the river. Andrea Yates physically held each child under the water until they stopped moving, the most physical and visceral process of all three.
As I hold my daughter every day, I think about this and recognize that the forces which shaped each of these women's experiences are so complex, that they challenge my notions about 'right and wrong' and how we like to categorize and parcel events so that we don't have to face them honestly.
This play does what only theatre can do – and in these times, I think we need work like this more than ever.