In the 19th century they called it “prairie fever.” Precipitated by loneliness and isolation, it led some of the pioneer women to depression and even suicide. Holding down a homestead while their menfolk were off making money in town, turned out to be an often debilitating task.
Much of the same feeling exists in the opening scene of Rebecca Gilman’s Swing State, about to go on stage with 4th Wall Theatre Co. under the direction of Artistic Director Jennifer Dean.
Peg {played by Pamela Vogel) is a recent widow, alone on the 48 acres of Wisconsin prairie land that she and her husband were going to manage together until he died of a heart attack. Making her isolation worse, it’s 2021 with the pandemic going strong. Her one regular human contact is Ryan, a young man who grew up nearby but fell afoul of the law after getting into a fight outside a bar and being convicted of assault.
“She has a kind of caretaker relation with a young man who had been in prison,” Dean explains. “They have a friendship. She looks after him; he takes care of her. She’s trying to help him get back on his feet. Some tools go missing from her barn and she reports it to the police.”
Enter the sheriff’ (Faith Fossett) certain that Ryan (Wesley Whitson) is at fault and her niece (Christy Watkins) who is just beginning her career in law enforcement.
Lines are quickly drawn Dean says. “The play is very much about these four people coming out of this time in history of how life had been affected by the pandemic and the divisiveness that kind of erupted during that time.
Peg is not only a alone, but a lone outpost of natural plant management surrounded by neighbors operating commercial farms and making full use of every chemical available — with as expected, devastating effect on the local flora and fauna.
“She’s very active in trying to protect and keep the prairie alive,” Dean says. “There’s a lot of conversation about not seeing certain plants and flowers coming back, not seeing certain animals. Environmentally, what are we doing to the world. Are we going to be able to save things? Every character has a separate idea. Every character is dealing with some sort of loss. Then there’s the grander scale of what are we losing as a society.”
For the sheriff things are very black and white, Dean says. “There’s not a lot of grace for second chances. If you have done something wrong then you deserve what comes to you. She is very by the book. And the niece has only been a deputy for three weeks. She is very different than her aunt. She just experienced a divorce in the last year. This is an opportunity for herself to prove she can do something. So you see her trying to stand on her own two feet.”
“I think in the climate of our country post pandemic — there’s always been tensions, been differences of opinion — but something has happened in the last years that have really created this polarization. I think the play helps you identify with everyone. I think there’s something about the play that helps us see other people, that maybe we’re not so different from each other.”
There’s a lot in the play about how quickly people can switch from despair to hope and find a way to cling onto the hope and move forward, Dean says. Think there’s lot in the play about how we can’t give up. We have to keep moving forward. And we we have to connect. We have to learn how to connect better.”
“It’s a picture of this small community but on a grander scale how we as a country continue to swing between hope and despair and connection and disconnection whether it’s politically or health or personal life. It’s a one-act; it’s a quick journey . It’s a really beautiful picture of this moment in time.”
Performances are scheduled for September 19 through October 5 at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays at Spring Street Studios, 1824 Spring Street. For more information, call 832-767-4991 or visit 4thwalltheatreco.com $17-$52. Monday, September 30 Pay-What-You-Can.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
