Mar 4

Mar 4 Wandering With Magnetic: something i cared about

Wandering With Magnetic: something i cared about is the delightful new outdoor show from The Magnetic Theatre. An original script written by Jamie Knox, Travis Lowe, and Jason Phillips (who also directed), something i cared about consists of ten short vignettes performed at various spots along the Reed Creek Greenway.

A small audience, led by a “tour guide,” walks the trail and pauses to view each scene before moving on to the next. In addition to being a creative solution to the problem of doing theater during a pandemic, something i cared about is a quirky, poignant, and overall satisfying experience.

Spending a warm early-spring afternoon in the company of live actors and a real audience, albeit distanced and masked, was delightful in and of itself. After a long pandemic winter of straining Zoom theatrer and mediocre TV, something i cared about feels authentic and radical… not to mention a great way to get your steps in.

At the heart of something i cared about are Alyx and Dru, a pair who seemingly can’t quit each other, despite a lifetime of romance, quarrels, breakups, and reconciliations. Each vignette shows a different phase of Alyx and Dru’s life together, from children playing with dolls to elders receiving Social Security. There are ten scenes in total — actually, a total of eleven, because after Scene 9, the audience is split into two groups, and each half experiences an alternate tenth ending.

Interestingly, both Alyx and Dru are portrayed, in different scenes, by people of all genders and ethnicities. Perhaps this choice shows that modern relationships experience universal challenges, regardless of gender or sexual orientation? Perhaps Alyx and Dru’s relationship is a sort of reincarnation, manifesting in different forms but retaining the same soul-bond across time and space? Regardless, I enjoyed this subversion of the heteronormative gender binary. It lent the show a novel, protean feel, as though each vignette was its own self-contained universe with its own multitude of possibilities.

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Kay Wise-Denty and Paula O'Brien in “something i cared about.” (Eliza Alden Photography)

Being a serial show, something i cared about relies on a whopping 22-person ensemble cast. Across the board, I found the performances to be engaging and emotionally invested. Whether it’s having children, breaking up, getting married, or moving in together, the actors played the high stakes they were given. This is not an easy task when you’re in the middle of a public park with strangers walking or biking past (although it is a testament to Asheville’s tolerance for unusual scenery that not one single person looked askance at our en plein air theatrical experience).

Standout performances included Carin Metzger and Katie Jones (who is also the co-Artistic Director of The Magnetic Theatre) whose playful ribbing turns into a very serious discussion about whether or not their relationship can withstand their decision not to have children.

Also, child actors Daphne Phillips-Sprague and Bailey Loundsbury, whose scene reveals how Alyx and Dru meet as children, did an excellent job remembering all their lines and staging and putting a lot of emotion into their performances.

My personal favorite vignette features Heather Bronson and Marcello della Barba, both of who are hilarious and rather moving as teenage Dru and Alyx.

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Heather Bronson and Marcello della Barba in “something i cared about.” (Eliza Alden Photography)

Kay Wise-Denty and Paula O'Brien are equally touching as an older version of the couple, who seem to exist in a fantasy world of their own making, yet whose love for each other is very real.

The title of something i cared about refers to the running theme of the show, which is the practice of giving something up for Lent, the ecclesiastical season stretching from Ash Wednesday to Easter. Aside from being timely, it’s an interesting choice of theme, because even though the practice is religious, the characters never reference religion or God at all in relation to Lent. It made me wonder: what if we, like Alyx and Dru, divorced Lent from its dogmatic baggage and simply practiced it as a wellness technique?

There is something rather profound about giving something up (something you care about) for six weeks every year. Would it make you appreciate that thing more? Would you learn to live without it? Would you realize how much of your identity is bound up in a material thing or a habitual practice? During this forced Lent of 2021, when we are all collectively giving up so many things we care about, it’s a worthy meditation. Perhaps something to think about while you’re wandering with Magnetic.

Performances continue March 6, 7, 13, and 14, with start times every 30 minutes from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (except 1:30-2:30 p.m.). Some performances reserved for patrons with wheelchairs. To learn more, visit themagnetictheatre.org.

(Photos: Eliza Alden Photography, elizaalden.com, courtesy of The Magnetic Theatre. Pictured at the top of page is Hanni Muerdter.)