Sargent & Victor & Me: One women making one hell of a difference

This week I attended a one women play, Sargent & Victor & Me presented by Theatre Projects Manitoba, at the Asper Centre for Theatre and Film. The play was about a woman with multiple sclerosis who volunteers her time at a church food bank and meets different characters in the West End area. 

Debbie Patterson, writer and performer, has multiple sclerosis. She played eight characters in an hour and a half span. Each character had different voices, actions, movements, and lighting.  The execution of each character was my favorite part of the play. The performance of character Theresa, a 15 year-old gang member, was so well done through out the entire play. Theresa’s story was so powerful, but without the posture, voice, and minor details like the sniffles, the story wouldn’t have been that strong.

Another aspect of the experience that I enjoyed was the meet and greet, where after the show members of the crew answered questions from the audience. During this time Patterson explained her experience with the play. She talked about why she decided to write this play, her interviews with the characters, and the problems the crew encountered during production. 

The stage setup was small so Patterson could easily move around. A negative about having a smaller stage was that Patterson sometimes had her back to the audience. This made it hard to hear and connect with the character she was playing.

I also didn’t like the dance movements Patterson did during the new clips. I thought the clips were powerful and added more depth to the story, but the music, lighting, and movements, took away from the clips.

The last play that I attended was Les Misérables last summer at the Centennial Concert Hall.  Les Mis was very different then Sargent & Victor & Me for many reasons. The sets, costumes, characters, and mood was very different during Sargent & Victor & Me. Being a one women play Patterson didn’t have time to switch costumes, or change make up. I thought Patterson did a great job with using the small stage. In class we read a preview from The Winnipeg Free Press, in the article it explains that Patterson didn’t want every character to be affected by her MS. I thought that she hid her MS very well by the use of wheeling around in the chair, walking in fort of the chair and using it as a chart, or just sitting down. I also felt that the smaller stage made for a very intimate mood, which was powerful during character Gillian’s monologue. During Les Mis they had a larger stage and set but didn’t use it to its full advantage. During Sargent & Victor & Me it was a small stage, with very little set design, but it was used with it’s full advantage.

This past Christmas I helped organized hampers at Transcona Memorial United Church. We organized the hampers in the church, which looked a lot like the set in the play. While I was packing up and delivering the baskets I met a lot of people from the area, which isn’t the best area in the city. This play made me think about the people that I met, and what their stories are. Next year when I’m packing and delivering hampers, I will think about their stories, and hope that I am making their day a little better.

 Writer and performer, Debbie Patterson