What Our Creatives Are Saying- and photos

Say What?
LNT's Creative Ensemble has their say about What the Constitution Means To Me

plus some sneak peek photos courtesy of John Lazenby, Lazenby Photos
(and some candids from the staff)
photo on the right is John Paul Devlin's scenic design in progress.

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What the Constitution Means to Me is a stunner of a play - and like the best stew in the world: it has everything in it.

Heidi Schreck's play - inspired by her own life story - is funny, heartbreaking, informative, escapist, intergenerational, delightful, infuriating, and perhaps most importantly - provocative.

Here's what some of our Creative Ensemble Members have to say:

 

photo courtesy of John Lazenby, Lazenby Photos

Kianna Bromley actor playing playwright & protaganist Heidi

"Playing Heidi in What the Constitution Means to Me is an honor of a lifetime.

She is brilliant and she crafted a piece of theater that serves a very real purpose in our society. I
am a more educated citizen just for having had the opportunity to learn these lines and do the research associated with its content.
I connect deeply with her humor, her anger, and her ability to understand the hard realities of human nature while never doubting that we can rise above them.

I want people to see this show not only to enjoy our acting or designs, but to engage in meaningful conversation and activate our very real power as people. Please come. Please vote. Please fight for our democracy. Thank you."

 

 John Paul Devlin Scenic Designer

(candid staff photo. John, on right, figuring desing installation with Kim Bent)

"D. H. Lawrence wrote ""The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted."
(Lawrence, Studies in Classic American Literature, 1923).

As an artist who trained as an historian as well, I am deeply committed to understanding how as Americans we got to where we are: the good, the bad, and the ugly...our history has plenty of examples of each. Almost everyone prefers to feel good about all of what has come before us—we naturally focus on the positive and prefer not to see or consider the negative. At least until we find ourselves on the negative or losing side of an issue, then we get all excited and up in arms.

This play offers us the opportunity to question some of our a priori assumptions about what it means to live in a 250-year-old Republic that operates under a 239-year-old document that has been seen from many different points of view, has often been interpreted in contradictory ways at different points in time, and continues to inspire heated discussions and debates."

 

LNT Founding Artistic Director Kim Bent simply exclaims:

 "I Am SO GLAD We Are Doing THIS PLAY!"

 

Jennifer Sassaman (Director)

(candid staff photo: L-R: Jennifer Sassaman, SM Bailey Johnston, Kim Bent, costumer Cora Fauser, actor Josephine Taylor)

Director Jennifer first connected with What the Constitution Means to Me because it felt like a suit of armor — something she could put on to do battle with the forces that harm women, something that names the truths our country often hides. 

The line from the play that particular struck her was: “What does it mean if this document offers no protection from the violence of men?” That question opened a deeper inquiry into the murky spaces of constitutional interpretation, where rights are only partially illuminated and where women’s safety has too often lived in shadow.

"But what makes this play extraordinary — and what Jennifer loves about it — is that it pairs these hard truths with humor, joy, and genuine hope. The play is often laugh?out?loud funny, and that levity becomes a kind of buoyancy, allowing audiences to face the difficult moments without being overwhelmed. The humor doesn’t erase the pain; it makes the journey bearable, human, and surprisingly uplifting.

"Jennifer’s production embraces this balance, inviting audiences into a night that is both a great time and a meaningful journey. Audiences are welcomed as witnesses, companions, and fellow travelers in a shared exploration of what the Constitution means today. The result is a production that is deeply human, fiercely relevant, and full of possibility.

 

Cora Fauser (costume designer)

(staff candid, photographer Lazenby captures costumed cast members Michael Halloran, Josephine Taylor, and Kianna Bromley)

"We all should be considering this very question, What the Constitution Means to us, and how to discuss this with our lawmakers and our friends and neighbors.  The Constitution was meant to help us govern ourselves, and the current state of affairs makes that a more and more difficult, and more important, task.  I am grateful that so many aspects of the words and the meanings are considered in this thoughtful little play."

 

a few more photos from John Lazenby:

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