My Sister in This House, produced by Laura Hill, continues Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm; Sun., 2 pm; through May 30. Tickets: $25. Deaf West Theatre, 5112 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood; 818.762.2773 (voice), 866.954.2986 (video phone) or boxoffice@deafwest.org.
In 1933 in Le Mans, France, two sisters – Christine and Lea Papin – were found in bed clutching each other after bludgeoning to death and gouging out the eyes of their employer Madam Danzard and her daughter, Isabelle. The murder became a case study for philosophers, psychoanalysts and academics as it brought up questions about behavioral tendencies between the classes. In 1980, playwright Wendy Kesselman re-examined the Papin sisters’ relationship and eventual downfall, hoping to depict them in a sympathetic light. The result was the prize-winning play My Sister in This House now being re-envisioned at Deaf West Theatre, directed by Michael Unger.
Being a Deaf West show, the production is done in American Sign Language (ASL), spoken English and open captions. In this production the sisters are deaf, adding another layer to examine in this play about class, isolation and the need for connection.
Deanne Bray
I sat down with deaf actress Deanne Bray who plays the older, domineering sister Christine. “The Papin sisters grew up really poor and went through a very difficult life,” Bray signs. “Then they got work as maids which were considered very stressful jobs. The sisters were called ‘gems’ as they were the perfect maids. They knew their place and were focused as they did their tasks. But they became oppressed by the way they were treated. Research shows [the Lancelins] took their wages and the sisters really weren’t treated well.”
Perhaps most perplexing was the sisters’ calm and matter-of-fact demeanor when they were taken into custody. “After interrogation and analysis of the maids,” informs Bray, the medical examiners “concluded they were normal and didn’t show any sign of mental instability. They told the truth and said this is what happened. Eventually Christine did have some sort of a mental breakdown and went mad through the process.”
Bray says if Christine were psychoanalyzed today she would most likely be diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. “There are a lot of unanswered questions that exist about what happened. People have their own stories and perceptions of what occurred.”
She discusses her character Christine. “She has a beautiful spirit and she does her job very well. She works hard and her ability to focus is really inspiring. But she’s also envious of her sister Lea. She loves her very much but there is bitterness towards the relationship that Lea and their mother have. Their mother didn’t show Christine the same love and care as she does with her younger sister. She would never hurt them but there is a lot of bitterness inside her. And she’s very sensitive. It doesn’t make her a bad person, she’s just fragile.”
When Bray first read the play, she was intimidated by the role. “I thought to myself, I don’t know if I can play her. I’ve had to fully immerse myself. She’s a real person and very deep. Sometimes I wonder if she was bi-polar.”
She illustrates the difficult task of not only becoming Christine but also being able to leave her at the theatre when the day is through. “During rehearsals, sometimes the director would ask, ‘are you ok?’ and I would say, ‘yes, I’m fine.’ He met with me and said it was important I take care of myself. He said, ‘I know how much you’ve studied and care about this character but you need to push her aside when you go home. Detach yourself from her and take a break.’
Casey Kramer (seated), Deanne Bray (standing)
“This is a really difficult role and it’s incredibly hard to fully integrate and become one [with the character]. So I need to mentally detach, do my thing, live my life and then come back and transition into the character. This process has been amazing. I’m constantly discovering new things and now I feel I can do this role. But my first reaction – I wasn’t sure if I could do it.”
Unger has not only directed this play before but he’s also familiar with ASL. “I’ve never worked with a hearing director before who watches the sign language and listens to the voices and is able to make sure they match,” reveals Bray. “He asks the translator why a certain sign is used or why they picked that translation. He discusses it with ASL master David Kurs. I’m happy to have that discussion as a part of the process. He’s sensitive to deaf culture. I feel comfortable with him.”
Unger has also contacted Kesselman to further delve into the play. According to Bray, he calls her every day to discuss the play. “He tells her what’s happening and she’ll change something. So he’s really in-tune with the writer and in making it right. Not many directors work that way.”
Unger even had Kesselman come out at the beginning of rehearsals and had her sit down with the cast to work on the play.
Bray began working with the ASL translation a week before rehearsals started. She and Kurs sat down and discussed the translations. “I wanted to use some French sign language like francs and maman, that’s French for mother.” She signs maman. “That’s their sign. But [Artistic Director] Ed [Waterstreet] said no. He doesn’t want to lose deaf audiences by having them see a sign and not know what it means. But David agreed we could use some old signs from the 1930s mixed with modern ASL. I also asked David whether or not I should move my mouth because [deaf] people back then didn’t move their mouths much. But it also depends on the background of the deaf individual.”
As already mentioned, Kesselman has been an active participant in this production. She even asked her publisher if she could write a deaf version of the play. This would mainly affect stage directions. “We try to be creative and find ways to turn away from each other,” says Bray.
For example, there’s a moment where Christine turns away while someone is talking. But with deaf people, you can’t do that. You need to be able to see the other person signing. But the need for Christine to turn away is thematically important in the play. They resolved this by adding a mirror. That way Christine can turn her back but be able to see Lea signing behind her through the mirror.
Bray uses a hearing aid to help her hear noises and read lips but for this production she has taken it off. “For past Deaf West productions,” discloses Bray, “I’ve had my hearing aid on. I can’t hear individual words but I can hear sounds which helps me stay in sync [with the voice actor]. But for this production, it’s the first time I’ve taken my hearing aid off. [The voice actor] and I still become one but I really have to immerse myself [into my character] so she has to really watch me.”
At the beginning of the rehearsal process Bray sat down with Darrin Revitz, who plays Christine’s voice, and had Revitz watch her sign the lines. She explains, “We needed to figure out if there are too many signs or too few. Or if she’s speaking too fast. I also don’t want her to have to speak too slowly – I want it to be natural. So there’s been an exchange between us to figure out [the pacing]. It’s harder now with my hearing aid off. So it’s the director’s responsibility to listen and watch to make sure we’re in sync. But Darrin does come up to me and say, ‘I’m with you, I’m following you.’ So that’s really cool.”
Bray and Revitz have really collaborated to fully realize this complex character. “The two of us discussed how Christine feels on every line.” Asking questions like “Is she stern or is she gentle?” She goes on, “We talked a lot about the colors of emotion and how every line is delivered. So it wasn’t only my decision, she decided also. We really became one with this character. Her thoughts are really important to me and I know my thoughts are important to her as well.”
Audiences might recognize Bray from the NBC show Heroes where she plays Emma, whose power is seeing sounds waves as colors. “I don’t know if it will get picked up for a fifth year. If so, and my character isn’t dead, the writers will have my character Emma back,” reveals Bray. So she doesn’t know exactly what’s next for her.
For now, Bray is excited about working with such a great cast, all of whom are passionate about the show. Casey Kramer and Jennifer Losi play Madam Lancelin and her daughter. Bray says she and Amber Zion, who plays the younger sister Lea, work wonderfully together. “There’s great chemistry between us. I feel really comfortable with her.”
Bray is interested in seeing how audiences will receive the play. “I know we’ll have an eclectic audience. Some will have strong reactions to the horrific acts [the sisters] committed. But I hope they will be able to go home and not judge the sisters so harshly – I hope they understand how extremely oppressed they were. We all have the right to be human and to live our lives.”
That was Kesselman’s aim in writing the play, says Bray. “She added a scene of the sisters as children. By starting with them as little girls it shows their sisterly love and the audience can connect with them [immediately]. Then they see them grown up and what they have to go through and then their terrible downfall. Wendy hoped audiences would sympathize with the sisters – even though their actions were unfathomable.”
Amber Zion (standing), Deanne Bray
The sister’s alleged incestuous relationship has also been a hot topic among scholars. In the play it is brought up, but delicately. When Unger directed the play in New York, the sisters were completely naked and the incestuous undertones were made overt. For this production Kesselman asked that he not do that. It’s still not as ambiguous as Bray would like. “That’s one thing that bothers me about this play. I feel it’s a bit much in the show. I wish it would be toned down and made subtle. That’s what [Kesselman] intended in writing it. But the director has made it explicit and has them touching [each other]. I disagree with that choice but I’m following his direction,” she reveals.
“I think less is better. And if it’s factual, who knows. Maybe they did have that [kind of relationship]. But I think they were everything to each other: sister-sister, mother-daughter – they were really close. But their closeness was innocent, not for pleasure. They only had each other and were completely isolated.”
What was once dubbed “the crime of the century” continues to fascinate and perplex. Deaf West’s unique form of storytelling, I’m sure, will enrich the fascination. Perhaps this production will make us look at how isolation only hinders society rather than propels it forward; how we need to connect on an equal level. As Bray said, “We all deserve to be human… and treated thus.”
Three special 10 am performances on Tuesdays (April 20, May 18 and May 25) will be offered for local deaf and hard of hearing high school students as part of Deaf West Theatre’s Dramatic Gestures educational outreach programming.
Feature image of Casey Kramer and Jennifer Losi by Theresa Halzle
Article by Ashley Steed
