"The Love Cycle," a play following three different couples each at different stages in their lives and romances, is coming to the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center on Friday, Nov. 6-Sunday, Nov. 8.
The show follows a pair of teenage newlyweds who are trying to figure out how married life works as their romance is blossoming and a retired couple looking back through their years together.
Cast member, Christine Shumock, who plays one of the newlyweds, said Chris Alonzo, director of the play, pieced three scenes together to create "The Love Cycle."
“He decided these three would be together," Shumock said. "He created this cycle. And the third one, the one with the young people he wrote, and it is beautiful."
Shumock said she thinks the audience will connect with the three different scenes because of the universality of relationships.
“I think that relationships are universal,” Shumock said. “These are all male/female partnerships, but I think that relationships, same sex relationships, parent/child relationships, all intimate, intense relationships of any kind have ups and downs and struggles, and I think our relationships are often more similar than we think they are.”
Chad Kendrick, who plays Shumock’s other half, said he thinks people will enjoy the unique characters and their struggles in his and Shumock’s scene, which was taken from a Dorothy Parker short story.
“It’s Dorothy Parker," Kendrick said. "Her stories were unique in that every character kind of has a different light. They are all going through a struggle."
The seating at the show is very limited, with a small number of chairs set up in a circular fashion around the floor space which doubles as a stage.
Alonzo said what started out as a logistical decision to only accommodate a small audience ended up adding something to the show itself.
“We realized with having it like this, having the audience surround it on all sides, created a kind of intimacy … It takes that concept of let’s keep things small for budget sake and turns it into something positive," Alonzo said. "Let’s make this something very small and something you can experience on a much more personal level, which then opens it up to us wanting to do all these shows that are about love and about couples … Like I don't think we would have the same kind of result or feeling if the theme of the night was like pirates. Like love being an intimate thing … it kind of fits theatrically as well."
Alonzo said he hopes this feeling of intimacy bonds the audience and gives the feeling of commonality.
“[The] big takeaway is just about this idea of commonality," Alonzo said. "That’s one of the things that I like about us presenting it around like this. So you are sitting here watching the same show and laughing at the same thing and looking at each other while you are laughing. The room just starts to feel like you are part of a group which you don’t get when you have everyone facing in one direction in the dark.”
Lady of the Lake, a jazz/folk trio from Stockbridge, Georgia, will be at each show to perform live music.
Each show will also include a reception or an after party where the cast and the audience can mingle and hopefully talk about the show, Alonzo said.
“Ideally everyone walks out of here as best friends,” Alonzo said. “Like we hope everyone comes out of the play and then gets a drink together and then starts talking about it.”
Tickets to the show are $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. They can be purchased here.
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