Reviewed by Katherine Karlson
The language is spare, but the themes are anything but sparse in the KNOW Theatre’s newest production: Body Awareness by Annie Baker.
Baker, who won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for her play The Flick, focuses on human relations and how language fails us in expressing those relations. Director Tim Gleason explores this paradox in a well-acted production that opened on Friday (Feb. 11).
Body Awareness takes place in the mythical Vermont college town of Shirley, and the title refers to the weeklong conference that takes place under the direction of Phyllis, a psychology professor with a decidedly radical feminist foundation. She lives with her partner, Joyce, and Joyce’s son, Jared, who has Asperger’s Syndrome. Lori Gordon Wilmot gives Phyllis the benefit of an expressive face that rapidly telegraphs her emotions, be they disgust at photos of naked women and girls or jealousy when Joyce considers posing for the photographer who takes said photos.
Joyce is a complex character, and Melanie Paquin does her full justice. A high school teacher, she feels inadequate at not being the “academic” that Phyllis is. She struggles with the challenging and often inappropriate behavior of the adult Jared, whom she never forced to get therapy. Both women imbue their roles with layers of concern, affection and anger that they can’t always vocalize but need to express.
The playwright gave Jared some of the best lines, and newcomer Jacob Donlin times their delivery to perfection. His honest and sympathetic handling of a young man with a condition that limits the interpersonal relations he so desperately wants is engaging from the start.
Last but certainly not least among the protagonists is Frank, a photographer whose work and personality Phyllis finds abhorrent, but Joyce finds intriguing and appealing. Chris Nickerson, a KNOW stalwart, provides the character with depth and compassion, even when he makes highly inappropriate comments and may be the “sleazeball” Phyllis assumes he is.
The idea of self-image and how to describe oneself is a key theme. Characters constantly label themselves and others. Jared doesn’t want to be called a “retard” or even acknowledge he has “it” (Asperger’s), but he frequently labels others, including his mother, as “imbeciles” or “ugly.”
The five-day academic conference on “Body Awareness” is the background for these private interpersonal dramas. The focus on the body is the vehicle through which they can express their relationships and needs with each other. At week’s end, Phyllis is still not sure what she wanted out of it, but she states, “We want to be seen without feeling judged.” She advocates image ownership, especially for women, who have long been subject to “the male gaze,” which is why she is so opposed to Frank’s work. He, on the other hand, says his photographs allow women of all ages and sizes to reclaim their own bodies.
As the week progresses, house guest Frank weaves himself into the fabric of the family’s life: he has a “man-to-man” talk with Jared about finding a girl to date and ultimately have sex with. Some of his advice is truly cringeworthy, but he also reminds Jared that a naked body, including his own, isn’t “gross or ugly.”
Body Awareness conveys a strong message of self-acceptance of both body and soul, thanks to a strong ensemble cast that makes us hear what we can’t always say.
IF YOU GO: Body Awareness runs weekends through Feb. 27 at the KNOW Theatre, 74 Carroll St., Binghamton, with performances at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 3 p.m. Sundays. There also is a “pay-what-you-can” performance at 8 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 17). Tickets are $25 ($20 for seniors, $15 for students; visit www.knowtheatre.org.
COVID precautions require all audience members to provide proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test within 48 hours at the door (at-home tests not accepted). Patrons must wear masks inside the building at all times.
