BY ELIZABETH EGAN, STAFF WRITER
As I took my seat in the Garret Theater to watch the final dress rehearsal for “We Live By The Sea”, I felt immediately comfortable in the cozy theater. The atmosphere makes it seem as though you might be sitting in a tiny off-Broadway theater in New York City instead of in Olean New York.
The play features Katy, played by freshman Kimberlie Mitchell, her sister Hannah, played by junior Bianca Billoni, her imaginary dog Paul Williams, played by freshman Nina Van Volkenburg and their new neighbor Ryan played by freshman Jesus Martinez.
Set in a small coastal town in England, Katy, 15, and Hannah, 18, are trying to get by after the loss of their father. Katy is on the autism spectrum and her imaginary dog best friend is always there to help.
Van Volkenburg played this role phenomenally. From her subtle facial expressions to her occasionally humorous commentary, watching her performance was like witnessing emotional support take on a human form.
Billoni did a fantastic job encompassing the role of burdened big sister. What had to be the most impressive part of her performance was her piercing screams. Anyone with siblings who has been called to dinner by their brother from downstairs or the same from their sister to come and take out the trash should know exactly what I am talking about. When she yelled for Katy to come down for dinner, a part of me felt like I should call, “I’m coming,” in an equally piercing tone to my brother.
Her role was not an easy one. Billoni had to play the part of a sister who couldn’t put her own needs before that of her sister’s despite taking care of her being incredibly difficult at times. She demonstrated that conflict well, while also portraying that the love she had for her sister would always triumph over ambitions she had for herself.
Mitchell had a difficult role to play as her character, Katy, was on the autism spectrum.
“This was probably the hardest character I have ever played,” said Mitchell.
There has been a lot of controversy in the media about this type of role being played by people not on the autism spectrum. Since she has several people on the autism spectrum that she is close to and a mom who works with children with disabilities, Mitchell was careful to be sensitive to this. She believed this was very helpful to her character development.
However, autism was not the only important piece of Katy’s character.
“I fell in love with Katy and her quirks. There is a lot of anxiety that goes with the character but there are a lot of joyous moments too,” said Mitchell.
Overall, the cast brought the heartwarming story to life in a beautiful way. The three ladies interacted as comfortably as if they had truly known each other for 15 years. Martinez perfectly portrayed the character of an outsider inching closer and closer to embracing his newfound people(and imaginary dog).
There is much more I could say about this play, but since there are two more performances you can have the pleasure of attending, I will end my commentary with this, go check out “We Live By The Sea” tonight or tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in the Garret Theater.
Get ready to be hit with some feelings, and don’t worry, if the waterworks flare-up, you can always blame it on allergies.
