Jenn Freeman shows us how, at the age of 3-1/2, she found dance and at last had a place she could be happy and learn to live with the disorder that wasn’t diagnosed until she was 33.
By then, she had become a dancer and learned how to express herself without the words that Autism Spectrum Disorder had denied her until then.
La Jolla Playhouse’s Weiss Theatre presents a riveting showcase for her frightening but ultimately hopeful story, “Is It Thursday Yet?”
The title refers to the dance class her mother and grandmother enrolled her in, at last giving her a way to express herself in movement what she could not in words. As we see her learning to arrange her life in the order that makes sense to her (stacking books in certain ways, for example), we can almost see the light going on in her head.
The piece, created by Jenn and director/choreographer Sonya Tayeh, is presented in the darkness of an unlit theater, where we hear Jenn talking to the disembodied voices of her therapist, mother and grandmother. She is aided in this multimedia piece by an onstage setup with a backdrop including a screen where home movies of Jenn as a little girl are shown.
It’s in these movies that Jenn’s life is foreshadowed, as she struggles to get into a bathing suit or watches anxiously as her world unfolds in unpredictable ways. One of my favorite scenes has her grandmother with a nightshade on her head trying to teach Jenn how to skip.
Jenn is aided both sides of the stage by platforms: composer and musician Holland Andrews (who has a a glorious soprano voice) on one and fine percussionist Price McGuffey on the other.
It is a graceful, often charming and very personal work, with Jenn dressing in red throughout, her dances going from graceful to intense and sometimes almost angry.
The final scene has clouds, friendly ones, moving overhead, giving the impression of a certain freedom and cooperation with nature.
In this world premiere, Jenn invites the audience to participate by getting us on our feet to dance with her for a couple of minutes. It’s a charming, hopeful moment, one of many.
I must also credit the Rachel Houck’s scenic design, Melanie Chen Cole’s sound design and the lighting and projections of Cha See and Joseph DiGiovanna, respectively.
Jenn dresses in red throughout, from child to adult, whether dancing or lying on the ground in a swimsuit.
It is safe to say that you have never seen anything like this show before. Don’t miss your chance to see this extraordinary piece.
The details
“Is It Thursday Yet?” plays through August 6, 2023 at La Jolla Playhouse’s Weiss Theatre, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive in La Jolla.
Shows Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m.
Tickets: lajollaplayhouse.org or (858) 550-1010
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