Why
As a young person, I remember reading Edward Albee’s Zoo Story and finding it’s aggression and intellectualism exciting. But as an adult, rereading the play, I couldn’t help but feel very differently about Albee’s writing in that work. This play is not a direct response to Albee, so much as a riff from a very different perspective.
What
Characters: A woman and an elephant (female).
Running Time: 25 minutes
Summary: A painter and an elephant meet in a park—the elephant has recently lost her job at the zoo and the painter has lost her confidence ahead of an important opening. The two discuss their respective existential and philosophical dilemmas, eventually reaching an unexpected resolution.
Recognition:
• Finalist in the first annual Labute New Theater Festival, 2013.
When & Where
Availability: Available for production.
Production History:
• Production, directed by Linda Kennedy, produced by the St. Louis Actors’ Studio as part of the inaugural Labute New Theater Festival, Gaslight Theater, St. Louis, MO, 5-14 July 2013.
Press for The Elephant in the Room
“The Elephant in the Room deeply affected me with its examination of worth and self-worth. The insidiously insightful script by Alexis Clements was brought to life with exuberance, fear and promise by a fully committed Suki Peters and a brutal self-evaluation that burned with a fire to excel on her own terms by [Wendy] Greenwood. Directed by [Linda] Kennedy with subtle grace, this show sneaks up on you, and the pun of the title has a significance that builds as each character wrestles with upcoming events of personal significance. Peters is funny in the way that a Shakespearian fool is—unabashedly honest and with an intelligent, and possibly reckless, abandon. Greenwood offers an introspective contrast; the intense anger in her builds slowly but is critical to her character. She doesn’t explode, she digs deeper and finds a steely center of resolve.”
-Tina Farmer, KDHX (St. Louis, MO)
