Theater festival brings “The Maids”

Alfredo Aparicio/Staff Writer

The eroding power of class distinctions will take center stage in the Department of Theater’s Alternative Theater Festival’s second play, “The Maids,” by Jean Genet and directed by first time director Tatiana Pandiani, a senior, BFA Performance major.

Following “Oh Dad, Oh Dad, Mamas Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feeling so Sad?” by Arthur Kopit and directed by Daniel Mitan, “The Maids” tells the story of sisters—and maids– Claire and Solange, played by alumnus Andrea Bovino and junior, BFA Performance major, Amanda Ortega, respectively, who plot to get rid of their employer, Madame, played by alumnus Lali Navarro-Watts.

Loosely based on the real life case of the Papin sisters, Lea and Christine, who murdered their employer and her daughter in Le Mans, France in 1933, the play follows Claire and Solange as they engage in rituals when Madame is away, in which they plot her death. The rituals take on a sadomasochistic aspect, full of pain and humiliation, but also plenty of humor, creating a unique experience for the audience.

“The play has to do a lot with class distinctions and the nouveau riche, on a micro scale,” said Pandiani. “But on a personal level, it made me think about wanting to be someone else, and while the sisters want to kill her [Madame], at the same time they want be her and live her experiences.”

Pandiani discovered the play through a trip she took to Chicago last Thanksgiving. While walking through a used bookstore, she picked up a copy of “The Maids,” but did not read it until the end of the spring semester, when she received an email about the Alternative Theater Festival’s open applications for directors.

“They opened the application process to alumni as well as students who had taken a directing class on campus before, and I decided to apply,” explained Pandiani. “It’s an absurdist play, so it’s not the more common thing we do during the year, and it has a cast of only three people, but I thought its themes are still relevant, so I submitted my application suggesting it.”

The past weeks have been spent rehearsing for opening night as well as getting everyone on the same page.

“The experience has been intense. The script is not straight forward and leaves a lot of room for interpretation, but at the same time, leaves so much room for the reader and the audience to figure out; it’s like Genet gave us all the questions but not the answers. It’s also very funny and dark and finds humor in so many things that might be seen as sad and pathetic,” said Pandiani.

The design, however, will not be shackled down to Genet’s interpretation that sets the play in the 1940s. The designers, which are composed of current students, have taken liberties with the general feel of the play.

“We weren’t loyal to the time period, even though there are moments where you can see hints of it; it’s not necessary for this play,” Pandiani said.

Pandiani has also loved working with returning alumni and could not be happier with her casting choices.

“I like the idea that they opened it up to alumni because it’s a way for people to come back, and it’s nice to have the experience of having someone that already graduated working with another actress who is still in the [theater] program. They [the cast] are thinking critically and working on sorting out the whole play, not just their parts.”

“The Maids” opens on Jun. 27 at 5:30 p.m. and June 28-30 at 8 p.m. in the Wertheim Performing Arts Center. Tickets sold at the door; general admission is $10.

-Email at alfredo.aparicio@fiusm.com