Playwright’s Notes on Protagonist Samantha in Body Memoir Politic: Looking

SAMANTHA, The Protagonist

The protagonist of Body Memoir Politic: Looking does not speak at all; she simply appears on stage and reacts in various ways to the monologues directed toward her, usually directly, but sometimes indirectly.

SAMANTHA, as a child, young woman, adult, middle-aged woman, and old woman, often feels perplexed and silenced by the voices of her womenfolk. That is not to say that SAMANTHA is a mute person; perhaps, in other aspects of her life, she feels empowered to speak her mind, but in these ten scenes (plus “XL Portal” and “Official Exit”), she will not/cannot speak because she knows that she cannot fulfill or change the expectations of these others who would sit in judgment of her, even while they insist how much they love her.

Although SAMANTHA ages throughout the play, a fairly young adult actor should assume all of her roles, but it should be obvious, in all scenes, that this is a young adult who assumes the personae of toddler, child, teenager, young adult, middle-age woman, older woman, elderly woman. Even though weight plays a major part in this play, it’s more of a perception and an illusion, rather than a reality, so SAMANTHA’s physical dimensions should NOT change. Still, each costume ought to reflect her age and/or mood in a particular scene: pink foot-in pajamas (toddler); pink flouffy dress with a bouncy skirt (eight year old); a hint of emerging sluttiness, perhaps a too-tight yellow top and matching pedal pushers in the style of the day, overdone makeup, matching sandals, teenage jewelry, etc. (12 year old); hippie garb, consisting of bellbottom blue jeans, torn tie-dyed t-shirt, head band, peace sign necklace, scruffy brown sandals, minimal makeup, her hair long, straight, and stringy (18 year old); arty outfit, consisting of a colorful wrap skirt, black Danskin top, with fancy scarf wrapped around her neck, Birkenstock sandals, big flashy jewelry, curly hair piled on top of her head, hair jewelry, etc. (28 year old); smart business attire, her hair in a crisp dress-for-success style (37 year old); ordinary picnic garb, consisting of crisp-looking white shorts, colorful tee-top, sandals, and very short boyish hair cut (39 year old); attractive and fashionable–but also serious–workout outfit, the state-of-the-art sports shoes, short curly hair (50 year old); and a leotard that approximates her skin color–hinting of her nakedness–bare feet, long straight hair (75 year old). Thus, because SAMANTHA has no voice, it’s important that her character and progression be shown through her physical attributes and her reactions to the monologues.

So, in a sense, Body Memoir Politic: Looking chronicles some aspects of SAMANTHA’s life, while appearing to cover a full life in abbreviated form. Note that key scenes from her life are not acted out stage, such as her wedding days, births of her child NICOLE and grandchild KAITLYN, deaths of AUNTIE and NANA, and commitment ceremony between NICOLE and ADRIENNE–all those events that would be deemed important in an ordinary autobiography/memoir. Mention of these life events are sprinkled throughout the monologues as having already happened or about to happen. However important these events might be in a life, they are not the events that precipitate SAMANTHA’s silence, so the cliched major events remain off stage and are simply noted as casual remarks in passing.

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Body Memoir Politic: Looking (Copyright 2008, Jennifer Semple Siegel)