As part of the MFA Dramatic Writing Year 3 New Works Festival, the USC School of Dramatic Arts presents Michaela’s Fluent Aphasia. Written by Christina Carrafiell. Directed by John DeMita.

Michaela (Maddy Curry, BA Theatre, Acting Em., Junior) has a brain tumor and is about to get a surgery that will be performed by her doctor boyfriend Will (Micha Schnider, BA Theatre, Acting Em., Sophomore). The day of the surgery, Michaela sees Julia (Lexi Minetree, BA Theatre/BA Public Relations, Junior) suffering some sort of asthma or anxiety attack. From there, the story becomes the journey of Michaela’s recovery from a condition called fluent aphasia, caused by the brain surgery to remove the tumor. Another character of the story is Theo (Ben Crane, BA Theatre, Acting Em., First Year), Julia’s boyfriend, a sculptor and speech therapist.

Flashbacks introduce the conflict in the story. In an instant of female intuition, or distrust, Julia senses a potential romance between Theo and Michaela. This worsens when Theo becomes Michaela’s speech therapist. Despite the situation, Michaela and Julia become close friends, finding common ground in their interests of music and poetry. Julia is a musician and Michaela likes to write poetry.

Christina Carrafiell gives her female characters the backgrounds that explain their distinguishing traits, specially their penchant for dependency. In the case of Michaela, there are revelations that question even the legality of the relationship between her and Will. It is probably that mutual inclination to depend on others that take the relationship between Julia and Michaela to another level. In the extremely challenging journey to recovery, Michaela will learn not only to speak coherently again, but also to search deep in her heart where the real love is. In the play’s resolution, Julia will need to make a critical decision. Michaela is in the right path to recover from the brain damage, but will she be left heart broken?

Director John DeMita explores the script using language, poetry, music, and romance to bring Carrafiell’s vision to life. It is a production presented in an entertaining and dynamic form. The flashbacks present details that are crucial to understand the dynamic relationships between the characters. The four actors show their potential, delivering nuanced and convincing performances. The USC School of Dramatic Arts continues to show its commitment to prepare students to succeed in the entertainment industry, connecting students with real audiences and industry professionals.

Christina Carrafiell is a British-American playwright. Her first play, A Fragile Lift, was performed to sell-out audiences at the Chelsea Theatre in London when she was just 17. It was then selected for a run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, with Scottish newspapers calling it “original” and “impressive” (The Scotsman). Christina continued writing as an undergrad at Yale, where she was featured in Zack Calhoon’s celebrated ‘people you should know‘ blog. She then won a scholarship to do an MFA in Playwriting at USC School of Dramatic Arts, where she is currently in her third and final year. Her TV script Surfer Girl reached the quarter finals of the 2021 WeScreenplay TV Writing Competition.

Michaela’s Fluent Aphasia