The Fig
First up of the 8 articles about the rooms and stories inspired by the “fruits” of our upcoming production, Forbidden Fruit, is The Fig!
Playwright E.M. Lewis and actor Val Landrum share some of their thoughts and dreams about this soft, sweet, and strange little fruit…
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In 8 words, how would you describe the world of this room?
EML: Ripe, lush, fragile, ephemeral, unexpected, and impossibly sweet.
VL: Womby.
Did you pick your fruit? What drew you to it?
EML: I knew immediately that I wanted the fig to be my fruit! I came to this project with a story about the first time I ate a fresh fig, off the tree. And now I have two fig trees of my own, here on the farm.
Where did you begin with building a story? Has your concept transformed over time?
EML: I began with two focal points — the experiences of women who are navigating the middle of their lives and the incredible sweetness of ripe figs.
Are there texts, tales, or real-world events that have inspired your work on this piece?
EML: The character I’ve created for The Fig and the Wasp is fictional, but I’ve definitely put a lot of my personal experiences into the building of her story. Plays are made out of playwrights. The conversations I had before I started writing with Sam and Val were tremendously valuable, too — I guess you might say there’s a bit of all of us in this piece!
VL: Yup. Turning 40.
As we begin physically devising and rehearsing, what are you curious about exploring?
EML: I can’t wait to explore the character’s relationship with the audience in this intimate theatrical setting!
VL: The floor.
Without revealing too much, what design elements are you excited for in this room?
EML: Figs are a fascinating fruit — unique in their physical structure — and I can’t wait to see how that manifests itself in our physical space.
VL: The floor.
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Forbidden Fruit runs March 4th - April 1st. Book your tickets here.
~Kai