Steven Deitz’ “Still Life with Iris” is a story about a little girl on a journey to find herself, her family and her friends, then returning home to the island of Nocturno.
Iris, played by senior Maeve Heine, is a 10-year-old girl living with her mother and friends on Nocturno, an island which makes all of the world’s daytime elements during the night. In Nocturno, the audience meets some of the most important workers on the island: Iris’ best friends Hazel and Elmer, who are young workers in training, the Memory Mender played by community guest actress Amy Shea, the Flower Painter played by community guest actor Griffin Yeyna, the Leaf Monitor played by first-year Julia Yudichak and the two Thunder Bottlers played by first-year Hannah Steenkamer and sophomore Nicole Rodak. These characters are responsible for making the weather and various parts of the nature that we see down here on earth during the day. At the start of the show, the characters are working hard preparing for a big storm order that came in.
As everyone on the island works to prepare the storm, Iris finds herself once again yearning for her father, the island’s former Day Breaker who mysteriously disappeared years earlier while searching for the moon. A strange gentleman from another island, played by freshman Aaron Oliver, comes to Nocturno to meet Iris and take her to the Island of the Great Goods. The Island of the Great Goods is across the water from Nocturno; however, the water is said to be too deep for anyone to cross. The man Iris meets at the beginning of the show claims to be from this island and has come to bring Iris to Gretta Good, played by senior Olivia Latsha, and Grotto Good, played by sophomore Judas Foster, the Queen and King of the Island of the Great Goods, who have selected Iris to be their “perfect daughter. ” Upon leaving Nocturno with the man, Iris loses all of her memories from her past life, stuck with only a button from her old coat as a reminder of who she once was.
Despite being known for having the most perfect version of everything, The Island of the Great Goods is not a happy home for Iris. Instead of living “happily ever after” with her new mother and father, Iris is miserable. Not only is she lonely, but she cannot remember the life she once led. Hazel, Elmer, her mother and the rest of Nocturno have been almost entirely wiped from her memory. The only recollection she has is the memory of a white table setting with three chairs and a purple Iris set in a vase. Determined to uncover the meaning of this image, Iris sets off on a journey to find herself and return home, saving some new friends that she meets along the way.
Costume designer and head dresser junior Emma Mesko explained that “This play is like a mash-up of Pixie Hollow and Neverland, with a little bit of ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ vibes thrown into the mix. I’m so proud of all the hard work the cast and crew has put into this production.”
From the fairytale-esque storyline to the beautiful and intricate costumes—many of which were handmade by Mesko—this show has something for its actors and audience members alike. “Being a part of Iris has been one of the highlights of my college experience so far,” Yudichak said. “Being able to be even a small part in this story has been so amazing!”
And it certainly is amazing. “This play was one of the funniest things I have seen in a while,” first-year Nicholas Wiley shared. Wiley himself was featured in last semester’s musical, “Little Shop of Horrors,” as the sadistic dentist. “The story itself was unexpected, and the delivery was absolutely spot-on.”
If you have not yet had a chance to see this unique and hysterical production, you have three more chances Thursday, March 24 and Friday, March 25 at 7 p.m. or Saturday, March 26 at 2 p.m. in the BSC Tempest Theater. Tickets can be purchased online using the QR code found on the poster in the BSC or at the door prior to the show. See you all in Nocturno!
