{"id":357208,"date":"2024-07-19T17:01:32","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T21:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=357208"},"modified":"2024-07-19T17:01:32","modified_gmt":"2024-07-19T21:01:32","slug":"2024-capital-fringe-review-re-writing-by-caitlin-frazier-3-%c2%bd-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/07\/19\/2024-capital-fringe-review-re-writing-by-caitlin-frazier-3-%c2%bd-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 Capital Fringe Review:\u00a0‘Re: Writing’\u00a0by Caitlin Frazier (3 \u00bd stars)"},"content":{"rendered":"

R<\/span>e: Writing<\/em>\u00a0by Caitlin Frazier is an ambitious and provocative show.<\/p>\n

Caitlin Frazier plays Jane, a struggling writer who couples with Dylan, played by Ella Manning. Both are winning performers, and their rapid progression \u2014 in true lesbian clich\u00e9 fashion \u2014 from initial meeting to sharing a home and holidays is believable because of their convincing chemistry.<\/p>\n

Jane wants to tell Dylan\u2019s story. The more Jane learns about Dylan\u2019s childhood secret the greater her desire to write a book about it despite Dylan\u2019s reluctance to be commodified. The narrative swiftly moves as the relationship grows in tandem with Jane\u2019s writing ambitions about Dylan\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

\"\"Their interactions are characterized by extensive word games and third-person captions previewing topics under consideration. Structurally, this choice leads to fast pacing. On the one hand it allows Frazier to cover a lot of territory about the characters\u2019 likes and dislikes, their quirks and foibles. On the other hand, we experience a lot of telling instead of showing.<\/p>\n

Notwithstanding wanting the hyperactive word games to end sooner, I did crave more words. I wanted words strung together to form deep and intimate conversations. In particular, despite the abundant banter and longer exchanges that highlighted Jane\u2019s and Dylan\u2019s differences and similarities, they never spoke about being in an interracial relationship. Director Olivia Martin states that the two \u201cnever quite share anything of actual substance\u201d in a program note.<\/p>\n

And yet, omitting how racial differences contributed to their personal perspectives regarding trivial or serious matters, or if race indeed affected their gay identities \u2014 in a work about identity \u2014 rendered Jane and Dylan less than whole and hinted at an inauthentic relationship. Moreover, I wondered about Jane navigating the publishing industry as a woman of color. I know it to be a high-wire act.<\/p>\n

It’s clear that this production is meant to ask questions rather than provide answers. A wise person once told me that we define people, especially those close to us, by the questions we choose to ask and the answers we choose to believe. At a pivotal moment Jane asks Dylan, \u201cDo you trust me?\u201d Dylan\u2019s reply and the ending (which comes suddenly) wrap the play in a set of questions about approximation, appropriation, creativity, and trust.<\/p>\n

I would love to see further development of this brainy production. Without a doubt, however, it deserves a wide audience as is. In a world where so much of writing is appropriative, a play that illuminates the complexities of the issue is sorely needed.<\/p>\n

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Running Time:<\/strong> 60 minutes
\nGenre:<\/strong> Drama
\nDates and Times:<\/strong><\/p>\n