Ovation Fellows are current students or recent alumni from Los Angeles area universities. Fellows are paired with a Mentor, currently serving as an Ovation Award voter, and see productions and meet artists around Greater Los Angeles throughout the year. Their articles, posted on LAStageBlog, are intended to be their personal responses to their experiences, and not as critical reviews or representing the views of LA Stage Alliance.
Christopher Johnson is an Ovation Fellow from the Azusa Pacific University.
Unfamiliar to the writing of Harold Pinter, little did I know what kind of effect it would have on me upon leaving the Odyssey Theater. Due to the ambiguity in No Man’s Land, I am lucky to have met with the director before seeing the show.
The director, Michael Peretzian, explained the passion he had for the show and what his reactions to it are. In his director’s note he describes when he first saw the show on Broadway in 1976 at the age of 35, he was captivated by the production and he left with so many questions.
“I couldn’t figure it out,” he says.
Consequently, I experienced the same reaction as Peretzian. After the show, my mind was in a million places because I didn’t know where I should direct my thoughts. So many philosophical ideals left me contemplating the meaning and focus of this story. I talked with Peretzian after the show and shared with him my undeveloped thoughts about the show. Although he nodded and slightly smiled at my response, I still feel I have a long ways to go.
One thing I was able to grasp from the production is the theme of truth and the meaning of life. Each of the four characters existed in one space, making sense of their lives and their existence at that point in time. Each character had a story and a desire they wanted so gravely that it dripped from there dialogue and silently spoke in between their lines. Even though they came from different backgrounds and attained different levels of social status, they still sought at seeking truth in whatever capacity they could.
Although the thorough comprehension of the story may take some people longer to grasp than others, the essence of the play is applicable to everyone. The desire to find the meaning of life is something we all strive to discover. Even though we take different paths to find that meaning, there is something within us that desperately needs to find meaning and truth so we can make sense of our present state of being.
As I watched these characters find their paths and make sense of their situation, it compelled me to shake the power of complacency in my life so I can seek meaning for my existence in this world as well. Whether right or wrong, the characters made a conscious decision and sought after what they perceived as truth. Likewise, I hope to do the same.
