be mean to me by Sofya Levitsky-Weitz.

This was a workshop of the new play, be mean to me, directed and produced by Gwyneth Cole at the Kitchen Theatre as part of their ‘Kitchen Sink’ series.

The play explores the friendship of Jean and Meril, as they are 17 and 27. We see their immediate love and great intimacy of girlhood friendship and then distance that has grown between them. We explore the time in between to discover their diverging life paths and the trauma they experienced together and inflicted on each other. We resolve with the beautiful statement, “Can you believe how long we’ve known each other . . . the things we’ve done together . . . it’ll all pile up on top of each other — until it becomes a whole life”

We explore the environments of Jean’s backyard and living room, and a catch-all curb that captures a concert venue exterior, Winter Fest parking lot, and lonely late night car ride. I intended to differentiate these spaces with my lighting, following the angles of the set as to not spill into spaces designated for separate environments. Tonally, I wanted a very naturalistic feeling to complement the very real language. Then I used vibrant color and sharpness to twist and heighten the same natural elements I established, as memories skew and realities shift, and the audiences share the horrific experiences of teenage girlhood.

From a personal experience, it was such a joy to work on this show. I got to further my craft and explore color and texture in an extreme way, that I had never had the opportunity to before but that also suited the extreme feelings and experiences of youth. Most importantly, I got to further my artistic relationship with my colleague who I have worked lots with at the Kitchen Theatre, but in our capacities as associate director and designer. Gwyneth Cole directed and produced this show for their directing portfolio. I am so grateful they had me on, as we got to make strong, bold choices together, experiment and change those choices, and truly collaborate on tonal and thematic choices.

Direction: Gwyneth Cole

Intimacy Director: Claire Gratto

Scenic Design: Cady Loeb

Lighting Design: Claire Chesne

Associate LD: Isadora Martinez

Sound Design: Rosa Maassen

Costume Design: Kerby Roenke

Prod. Stage Management: Lucas Hibbert

Assist. Stage Management: Hee Jin Cho