Jean and Dwight, played by Chloe Higgins and Cole Wagner, embrace amid whimsically floating lanterns Jan. 24, in Lindhurst Theatre. Audience members are encouraged to recognize the love they have in their lives through Jean and Dwight’s romance, Higgins said. Photos courtesy of Ron Hall
Pepperdine Theatre Department’s newest play, “Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” by Sarah Ruhl explores the effects of technology on modern relationships through an absurd yet charming comedy, said senior Juliet Johnson, assistant director and choreographer.
Pepperdine students performed “Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” directed by Nic Few, in Lindhurst Theatre from Jan. 24-28. The play included a small cast of eight, with students Analise Avila, Cat Masterson, Chloe Higgins, Coby Rogers, Luca Nicoletti and Quinn Conrad playing the six main characters. Conrad missed the earlier performances due to illness and Cole Wagner played his role of Dwight in the Tuesday to Thursday shows.
“This show is a heartfelt look into the deep loneliness people can feel in a society that is so attached to social media and smartphones in general,” said first-year Nicoletti, who played The Other Woman. “This show will help people feel more connected, less alone and maybe allow them to laugh a little bit at its absurdity.”
The cast prepared for the show throughout winter break, said senior Avila, who played Hermia. In these rehearsals, members enjoyed improving together and learning more about the personalities of their individual characters, Avila said.
“For me, Hermia can be a little raunchy, which is fun to play,” Avila said. “I do love being so prickly and I like playing a difficult character.”
The play has a whimsical and somewhat absurd tone, said junior Higgins, who played Jean. Although the show has a small cast, each character has a large and unique personality, Nicoletti said.
“My favorite part about performing my character is getting to be perceived as cool and intimidating, while also building who she truly is on the inside,” Nicoletti said. “I don’t want to play a one-note character. Instead, I want to flesh her out as a full human being.”
The play opens with a man named Gordon dying in a cafe and a girl named Jean grabbing his cell phone that won’t stop ringing. From there, Jean begins to answer his phone calls and follows them through the dead man’s life, piecing together his broken relationships, said senior Rodgers, who played Gordon.
“It’s a really uplifting, beautiful, hilarious play,” Johnson said. “The story of the play is so compelling, and it teaches us how to connect with each other in moments of grief and how to love each other even when we really would rather not love each other.”
As the play moves forward, Jean gets more and more entangled in Gordon’s life. She learns startling secrets about Gordon’s organ trafficking business from his wife, Hermia, and also meets Gordon’s eccentric mother, Mrs. Gottlieb, played by senior Masterson.
“Nic, the director, and I are both really interested in exploring how to play really big and bold, funny people realistically and truthfully,” Johnson said. “Particularly with the character Mrs. Gottlieb, she’s a huge hilarious character, but it’s because of how deeply she feels and how obsessed with herself she is.”
Despite the absurdity of the story, deeper messages avail about the power of love, Higgins said. This is especially demonstrated through Jean’s emerging romantic relationship with Dwight, Gordon’s brother. As well, Jean’s temporary visit to Gordon in the afterlife causes her character to fully realize the love she has in her own life.
“I love the line when Jean says to Dwight that they are going to choose to love each other better,” Higgins said. “The framing of an afterlife where you spend eternity with the person you most love encourages me to be honest and tell people I love them and want to spend time with them.”
After the Wednesday night show, the cast participated in an audience talk-back, where cast members came onstage after the show to respond to questions from the audience members. An audience member asked how the cast shaped the play to make it their own.
“How close we have gotten as a cast really shaped this,” Higgins said at the audience talk-back. “We are able to understand each other’s characters because we love each other.”
Each performance is unique and allows audiences a place to disassociate and be enrobed in a story, Avila said.
“It’s like watching a movie, and it’s so nice to just focus on a story for an hour or two,” Avila said. “You get to forget about everything else going on outside the theater and are involved in other people’s journeys.”
Ruhl wrote the play in 2012, but the messages remain very applicable to today’s society, Johnson said. She said it explores love, loss and modern loneliness with a constant undertone of humor.
“It’s incredible how applicable the show feels to this current moment with the way that we use technology and the way that we interact on our phones,” Johnson said. “But the show itself is so full of joy and light, and it’s all about finding laughter in sorrow.”
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Email Milena D’Andrea: milena.dandrea@pepperdine.edu
