With only four days of practice, some chairs and a script, volunteers explored grief and friendship in “How to Skydive Without a Parachute.”
Written by Jeff Park, Honors College lecturer, the play tells the story of Amber and her group of friends. On the anniversary of her partner Cody’s death, she receives a book that he handwrote: “How to Skydive Without a Parachute.” Park said the goal of the story is to interrogate himself and the audience about morality and forgiveness.
“What does forgiveness even mean?” Park said. “What does that look like? Does a character deserve it or not? I find those interesting things to think about and talk about. Putting it on stage does not give me an answer, but it gives me a space to think about it, and to hopefully let an audience think about it.”
Broke Thespians Theatre Company produced the reading as part of its New Works Series, a program that helps bring new plays and playwrights into the spotlight. Katie Henderson, Broke Thespians public programs committee head, said it had applicants from all over the country.
“We don’t do eligibility based on what your background is, what your education level is or your resume,” Henderson said. “Does the play fit these basic criteria of length? Does it hit a cultural merit, and could be potentially culturally enriching for the San Marcos community?”
Park’s play, which handles subjects of grief, substance abuse and suicide, met the criteria, and a staged reading was performed on March 1, at the San Marcos Public Library.
The crew had eight hours to rehearse. The actors, director and writer had not been in the same room until five days before the performance. This presented a challenge and an opportunity for people like Elle Schmal, theatre sophomore and director, who had never directed a play before.
“I think I’ve learned how important my voice is as a director,” Schmal said. “Having a specific vision and being able to assert that with the ideas of the actors and the playwright, being able to just blend all those ideas together into — still — something that’s your vision.”
Another challenge for the crew was the text itself. In the Q&A held after the reading, Park said he wanted to explore subjects like “codependence and how unhealthy that can be,” and “what happens when you lose your crutch.” Park said that while the play covers heavy topics, he also wanted it to feel surreal.
“It’s important to not be confusing as a playwright,” Park said. “But it’s important to get close to that line. That’s a really interesting place to be. There are a couple scenes where they’re not real in the sense of atoms and matter. But the way I like to think about it is: They’re very real to the characters. What they’re experiencing is very real.”
The play’s character-driven narrative comes as a natural progression of its origin. Park says that he came up with the characters before the story.
“I was like, ‘I’ve got these characters, and it feels like they got something to say or something to get off their chest,'” Park said. “And finally, I gave into it because I didn’t listen to them for a long time. Finally, it was like, ‘you know what? I’m gonna let these people talk.'”
The next staged reading in Broke Thespians New Works Series will be hosted on June 7 at the Maurice T. Suttles VFW Post 3413.
For more information on Broke Thespians, visit https://www.brokethespianstheatrecompany.org/home.
