-Brenda Hillegas
Feature photo: Kevin Bergen, Teri Lamm, Bryanna Martinez-Jimenez, Jacob Orr, and Danielle Skraastad, photo by Mark Garvin.
Now through July 13th, experience the regional premiere of Lettie by award-winning playwright and TV writer Boo Killebrew, at Malvern-based theatre People’s Light. The family drama follows the story of Lettie, a recovering addict who was recently released from prison and desperate to regain custody of her teenage children. The play is directed by Abigail Adams and features theater actors Kevin Bergen, Melanye Finister, Teri Lamm, Bryanna Martinez-Jimenez, Jacob Orr, and Danielle Skraastad. Below, Skraastad (Lettie) and Lamm (Carla) talk about the story of Lettie, and the importance of second chances and this performance right now.
Q: Can you tell us about your role in Lettie?
Danielle Skraastad: Lettie is two weeks out of prison, living in a halfway house, sober, and enrolled in a welding training program designed for inmates re-entering society. [She is] looking to heal her relationships with her sister Carla and brother-in-law Frank, and to be a “good” mom to her two children, River and Luisa.
Teri Lamm: I play Carla who is Lettie’s older half-sister. Carla and her husband Frank have been involved in raising Lettie’s children, River and Layla, from their infancy, but have been their exclusive caretakers for the past seven years while Lettie was in prison on drug charges.
Q: What was your first reaction to the script?
DS: My first reaction was “What the HECK is gonna happen?!” Boo Killebrew manages to tell this story at a breakneck speed with all the twists and turns of a good thriller or mystery My “response” to this script is the same as my response now. It is heartbreaking to me.
TL: I was astonished how Killebrew was able to layer in deep history and rationale for all the characters with such efficiency and elegance, so you see the impact of generational trauma and betrayal playing out. Carla and Lettie’s relationship is complicated by the fact that they were not raised together; their mother, an addict, left Carla and her father to be with Lettie and her dad. You can see the impact of her mom’s addiction and abandonment in so many of Carla’s choices: her need to caretake, to make things nice, to be positive, orderly, and controlling.
Q: Did you have the opportunity to speak with the playwright, Boo Killebrew? What advice, if any, did she provide for you and your character?
TL: We did! She reinforced how she really believes all these characters are doing the best they can, and at the bottom Carla and Frank love those kids.
DS: Hopefulness: It’s never too late to be the person you wanna be. Hopelessness: You cannot get back lost time. Life is short. Time moves on without us.
Q: What lessons from the play or your character stand out as something you’ll always remember?
TL: We need to stop punishing addiction.
DS: I’m gonna piggyback off of Teri here. During a post-show panel discussing the impact of the carceral state on families, Jennifer Lopez from NIA House* exclaimed that she does not want to reform prison for women; she says, “I am not a reformist but an abolitionist! STOP the incarceration of WOMEN! They are not committing violent crimes and the impact/ripple effect of their removal from communities/families is devastating. I had NEVER heard this idea before Jennifer spoke about it after the June 25 performance.
Q: Lettie is a story about second chances. Why do you feel it’s important for this play to be performed at People’s Light right now?
DS: In this age of cancel culture and public shaming it is important to recognize that we are all flawed and even if the punishment “fits” the crime do we really wanna do it? Forgiveness right now and always has been one of life’s highest achievements and we can and need to practice this. And I mean practice through imagination. I first must have an experience in my heart and soul with how difficult it is to forgive someone who maybe I cannot conceive of forgiving before I can forgive in real life. And this is where the theater can come in and help me work on my EMPATHY without consequences.
One of the essential ingredients for living a life with a purpose/hope is the feeling that I can determine my own fate and make my own destiny. A second chance is a quintessentially American ideal and the foundational philosophy of the many great religions, governments, etcetera.
People’s Light always remembers that a theater company’s opportunity to unite different community members in conversations that connect all of us. Theater is the most HUMANE of the humanities in that SO many HUMANS are involved and need to collaborate in order to create and consume the art. It is important right now to remember that human beings love to not be lonely, they love to get out of the house, they love to think, feel, laugh, and cry, and they love to do it with OTHER PEOPLE – even if they forget for a second when they are sitting on their couch. Like the gym… everyone doesn’t wanna go to the theater always…. but the feeling afterward is what we are really looking for. Participation, community involvement, and art, are some of life’s greatest gifts.
TL: I wasn’t sure how a play about addiction, childhood trauma, economic stress, and family upheaval was going to be received right now. Part of me thought, given the stress of the current times, we should focus on uplifting people, helping them feel hopeful. However, the response has been incredibly moving (and uplifting). Audience members relay feeling seen: “That was my family up there!” They also are really invested in the arguments and difficulties Boo Killebrew explores. “I can’t stop thinking about it!” is another refrain.
Tickets to Lettie start at $47, including fees. People’s Light also offers a range of ticket discounts, including youth tickets, 50% off Access Nights, 25% off for educators and military, and discounted student and industry rush tickets. The Access Night date for Lettie is Friday, June 30, at 7:30 p.m. Learn more about available ticket discounts here. To purchase single tickets, visit peopleslight.org or call the box office at 610-644-3500.
*Earlier this week, People’s Light hosted a post-show panel discussing the impact of the carceral state on families with NIA House’s Jennifer Lopez, Re-entry Parole Officer Specialist Jim Lindsay, and Parole Officer Tamika Hayward. Last night, the equestrian non-profit Gateway Horseworks hosted a screening of their 30-minute documentary, Healing in the Open, which highlights the organization’s work with formerly incarcerated people, veterans, and people recovering from addiction. You can view the documentary on the Gateway Horseworks website.
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