Three women, poets brought to life on stage

By Trent Loomis
On-line Forty-Niner

Paying tribute to the voices of three extraordinary women, the University Players Theater will open its season with "3 Poets," a play opening this weekend. The Players will attempt to bring to life the story of three women living in different periods, whose struggles transcend the times.

Playwright Romulus Linney gives a microphone to the three women whose voices would very well go on unnoticed by anyone who isn't a poetry literate. Linney linked all three stories together through different characters to make the theme of the play a more universal one.

The first woman to be introduced is Ono No Komachi, a Japanese Buddhist poetess. Ono also happens to be the central character of many Japanese legends, including one Chinese opera around the middle of the ninth century.
Because much of her life is a mystery the play is centered around her poetry granting some insight.

First time director Rachel Maize used her, as well as the other two poets, Hrosvitha, a 10th century dramatist and nun, and Anna Akhmatova who was one of the greatest Russian poets of the 20thcentury as three different levels of adversity--emotional, religious, and political.

"There are three different time periods as well as three different themes," Maize said. "It deals with female figures and poets in history that have transcended their words and their voice to today"

Hrosvitha was a woman who was involved in religious struggle. She had six plays written in the style of Terence, with the intent to replace Roman immorality with Christian piety.
Her plays usually contained a happy sense of humor, a considerable power of characterization and an overriding religious theme.

The times that the play is set in were for the most part, very male dominated, which is why both Maize and the actors feel it important to expose the women's plight and voice.

"It's not just a play about poetry, but about femininity," Maize said.

Anna is probably the character we can most relate to, having lived in the last century. She was not just a poet, but a legend, a symbol of artistic integrity.

Her biggest obstacle was being female and an artist during the Stalin regime.

If World War II deprived many male artists of their passion, then it stole the female artists' voice. Actor Eleanor Van Hest, who plays Anna, admires the poet's incredible spirit and drive to get her art exposed at all costs.

"This is my first time playing a real person, and being a fan of poetry I can appreciate what Anna went through just to be heard," Van Hest said.

Hearing and honoring the voices of these not only serves as a history lesson, but as a poetic introduction to the culture of the times they lived in.
 

EVENTS LISTING

What:  "3 Poets"
When: 8 p.m. Fri. - Sat., 7 p.m. Tue.-Thur., 2 p.m. Sat.
Where: Players Theatre 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, Ca
(562) 985-4500