Antaeus Theatre Company presents Love and Information. Written by Caryl Churchill. Directed by Emily Chase.
Love and Information is like a social media session, lots of information to digest at once. However, that might’ve been Churchill’s intention when she wrote the play, to express the difficulty of processing the avalanche of information to which our brains get exposed in modern days.
This is a fragmented play in which all actors play different characters in different scenes. Churchill’s play is a mosaic of human experiences, relationships with other humans, and our relationship with technology. Within that mayhem, we see multiple short scenes where characters misinterpret information, connect with others, and get lost in virtual worlds. Another topic in the play is memory. The endearing memories of family moments, remembering relatives, places, and events. But also the lack of memory, due to dementia, Alzheimer’s, or both, and the devastating effects on the loved ones.
The play also shows the intrinsic need of human connection despite the advances in technology. There is a scene where an older woman is telling a story to two young children. That scene shows one of the most ancient forms known to humans to share and pass along wisdom and information from generation to generation: Storytelling. The situations depicted in the scenes are references to the various aspects of the human experience since the very beginning, our relationship with the universe, the need of intimacy, and the search for love.
The cyan shades (Frederica Nascimento, scenic design) give a dreamy and mystic aura to the set and the projections (Ly Eisenstein, projection design) are used creatively to represent the modern use of screens as communication devices and to show the frenetic processing of information within our brains.
The eight actors deliver outstanding performances using movement and dialogue to enhance the meaning of the play. And of course, the brilliant direction by Emily Chase, whose cast choices and organization of the scenes and blocking achieve a powerful and emotional performance.
Love and Information
Written by Caryl Churchill. Directed Emily Chase. Starring John Apicella, Anne Gee Byrd Everybody, Darius De La Cruz, Kwana Martinez, Kevin Matsumoto, Erin Pineda, Lloyd Roberson II Hamlet, and Zoe Yale. Presented by Antaeus Theatre Company.
Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center
110 East Broadway
Glendale, CA 91205
(between N. Brand Blvd. and Artsakh Ave.)
Performances: March 3 – April 3
• Fridays at 8 p.m.: March 3 (Opening), March 10, March 17, March 24, March 31
• Saturdays at 2 p.m.: March 11, March 18, March 25, April 1 (no matinee on March 4)
• Saturdays at 8 p.m.: March 4, March 11, March 18, March 25, April 1
• Sundays at 2 p.m.: Feb. 26 (preview), March 5, March 12, March 19, March 26, April 2
• Mondays at 8 p.m.: March 13, March 20, March 27, April 3 (dark March 6)
Tickets: antaeus.org
Creative team: Scenic designer Frederica Nascimento, costume designer Angela Balogh Calin, lighting designer Christine Ferriter, sound designer John Zalewski, projection designer Ly Eisenstein, and properties designer Katie Iannitello. Carly DW Bones is the intimacy director, Kaite Brandt is the assistant director, Jess Osorio is the assistant stage manager, and Karen Osborne is the production stage manager.
