Human communication is difficult enough under ideal conditions. So is scientific experimentation. But imagine what either would be like if you had neurodiversity issues.
Playwright Diana Burbano can tell you, and shows you in the world premiere of her fascinating play “Sapience,” on the boards through Feb. 20 at Moxie Theatre. This is a co-production of Moxie and TuYo theaters.
Burbano is neurodiverse herself (on the autism spectrum, she has ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), and knows what it’s like to be treated as an “other” by people who don’t understand.
Her main character Elsa (played by Mariel León) is a primatologist who is working with an orangutan named Wookie (played by Nancy Ross), a curious female orang who seems to crave connection more than Elsa. Elsa is an excellent scientist, perhaps partly because she is on the autism spectrum and devotes pretty much all her time to setting up situations with Wookie for her to observe.
Elsa’s cousin Miri, tasked with cleaning the lab, occasionally visits Elsa. An outgoing Latinx immigrant with rainbow-dipped hair and lots of bubbly charm, Miri brings her autistic 12-year-old son AJ (excellently portrayed by Enrique Xavier Martinez) with her. Communication is difficult for AJ, but he does strike up a friendship – and verbal communication – with Wookie (who in this case conveniently speaks English).
Elsa’s lab is run by Jason (Alexander Guzman), a charming, boyish zoo administrator who does his best to keep the zoo’s board of directors happy, because that’s his job. He is impressed with Elsa – perhaps even interested in her – and invites her to meetings with the board, but her mind is trained strictly on her work. Her heart may have different needs, but with her limitations those will never include schmoozing with board members.
But Miri and Jason seem to have much in common – dancing, for example, and oh by the way, he can sing. Wookie and AJ, meanwhile, strike up a connection the boy will have with no other human.
“Sapience” manages to be both amusing and thought-provoking while offering
four humans and one animal with various needs for and abilities to communicate.
The drama turns on changes (doesn’t everything?). Jason will move on to another zoo in San Francisco. What will happen with Miri, and for that matter with Elsa, Wookie and AJ?
Kudos to Director Vanessa Duron for keeping this unusual piece moving (and for excellently portraying Miri, as well), and to the playwright for illustrating the problems of the neurodiverse in such a captivating way.
Nancy Ross gets special mention for portraying the only English-speaking orangutan craving connection with humans I’ve ever seen. It’s magical realism onstage, and both Ross and Wookie are delightful.
Mariel León is excellent as the researcher so focused on her research that she may miss out on much of the joy of life.
Alexander Guzman does the best he can with Jason, whose character seems underwritten and almost coincidental. He’s a board-pleaser, that’s clear, but why late in the show do we find out he has cancer?
Adam Parrocha’s scenic design actually manages to move our attention from Elsa’s office to Wookie’s area (“cage” doesn’t really quite describe it, but then Wookie is a talking orangutan and those don’t exist either), and then to a more neutral zone where interactions between Miri, AJ and Jason can take place.
Major kudos to the tech crew, who change the scene with lighting and sound cues (provided by Colby Free and Mason Pilevsky). The most interesting one (because Moxie expects neurodiversity among the audience) is a red light that flashes when a potentially triggering event is about to occur.
“Sapience” (which means wisdom) could use a rewrite, but gives us an intriguing view into lives lived differently.
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