I and You is a two person show about a girl named Caroline who is very ill do to liver failure, and a boy, Anthony, comes over to her house to do a school project. As both of them work on the project and procrastinate, they discover different truths about themselves and find the deeper meaning of what actually brought them together.
What role do you play, and how does she fit into the story?
I play Caroline, who is a 17-year-old girl living with an illness she’s dealt with ever since she was little. We find out about her love for photography and her future goals once she becomes more comfortable with Anthony. Her tough attitude and strong personality are hard to read through, but we see vulnerability as the show goes on.
What are some of your character’s strengths and weaknesses?
My character’s strengths include: creativity for art and having strong opinions on things that she is very aware of and knows a lot about. Some of her Weaknesses are that she doesn’t like to let people into her life and doesn’t like to trust people. Her sickness has caused her to think that she will never be able to care about people in the fullest way. She is closed minded with her feelings for other people and that blocks off a road of opportunities that she has never been aware of.
What do you find most challenging about your character?
The challenges to playing this character are finding the reality of feeling completely alone and like no one understands who I am. Caroline is a naturally open and willing-to-learn person, but the illness stops her from doing this.
What line in the play means the most to you?
I feel like one of the most important lines for me is when Caroline is talking about how her liver is causing her to die and she say “It’s not fair to me, OK. It’s not fair to me first.” When I first read this line, it struck me because it’s something that she doesn’t tell people. People are constantly sad around her and sad that she is dying and pity that she is falling apart and they end up making it about themselves instead of her. So for her to actually say that it’s not about you and it’s not fair to me is something that I feel like really strikes people because of how true it is.
What makes I and You challenging/exciting/interesting to you?
I and You is a very challenging and exciting show to do. Caroline is a spunky and sassy girl that just wants to live her life the way she wants to because she doesn’t know how much time she will have left. She puts the pain away and tries to make it funny because sometimes the only way you can deal with pain is to laugh about it and make a joke out of it. We see her vulnerable sides throughout the show in little moments because she hates to show them to people. Caroline is a challenging character because she had so many barriers between herself and she doesn’t like to let people in, but something about Anthony changes that in her.
Why do you believe theatre is important?
I believe theatre is important because it tells a story. Any story you tell can have an importance to it if you truly believe it is worth sharing. For the audience to believe you, you have to show them that you care. Theatre is extremely important to me because I get to show people and find deeper meanings to life, love, sadness, anger, beauty, and many other things. People can relate to the characters and feel sympathetic for them. I tell each story with a peace of my own following it. I tell the story to understand life, to understand the relationships that we have with people every day and to show people that you are never alone when you feel a certain way. I believe theatre is important because everyone can find a way to relate to each story.