Brooklyn-based theater company The Civilians decided in 2002 to take a new look at loss and how it defines people. Since the events of the previous year’s Sept. 11 terrorist attacks still stung for many members of the company, they began asking not about losing loved ones, but about objects people had lost. The end product was “Gone Missing,” a play exploring the stories of real individuals and how loss has affected them.
This weekend, student actors will put on “Gone Missing,” as well as a student-produced production that addresses the idea of loss in a similar fashion to The Civilians’ production in a two-act performance. Performances will continue through March 9 in the HFAC Margetts Arena Theater at 7:30 p.m.
Lindsay Livingston, a faculty member and director of BYU’s production of “Gone Missing,” said the production was a way for actors to address an issue still very sensitive in their community.
“In the aftermath of this horrific event, they wanted to theatrically examine loss that was palpable in their city and throughout the United States, but they felt that writing a play about the actual event may be exploitative or simply too much, too soon,” Livingston said in an email. “And so they chose to explore a topic that is simultaneously mundane and meaningful by asking New Yorkers a simple question: ‘What is something you’ve lost?'”
Livingston decided to replicate the original performance by conducting interviews in Provo. Members of the cast, along with other BYU students, began asking questions about loss to create a version of “Gone Missing” more specific to life at BYU. The cast even enlisted help from Emily Ackerman, an associate artist with The Civilians, who came to BYU to help students conduct interviews and develop their production. The end product was “The Cleverest Thief,” a student-written production.
Livingston said the goal of this was to create a version of “Gone Missing” more specific to Provo’s unique culture and community.
“We were a collection of actors, writers, artists, filmmakers and musicians with a single goal in mind: to capture the uniqueness and universality of loss in Provo,” Livingston said. “We went out into our community and asked the same question. We received answers that were both similar and quite different.”
Ali Kinkade, a sophomore from Bend, Ore., and member of the “Gone Missing” cast, participated in the interview process of writing the production.
“We asked everyone, from roommates to strangers on the street,” Kincade said. “We even have an interview in the show from a professor.”
While the play does not have a continuous plot, the different scenes are connected by the unifying theme of loss and how it affects people. Annalee Hickman, a senior double majoring in theater studies and math education, said the play is primarily story-telling.
“Almost none of the characters interact with each other at all,” Hickman said. “The main theme is about things we’ve lost and how those do or don’t define us. It is about how the things we lose sometimes can become really defining moments and how we cope with what we’ve lost. Some characters find the things they’ve lost. Some don’t.”
“There is a whole segment about prayer because most of the people we interviewed seemed to turn to that and shared that in their interviews,” Hickman said.
Hickman said she believes the production will provide a unique theater experience that a wide range of audiences will be able to connect with.
“It is so much different than anything you’d ever see,” Hickman said. “It is not a Shakespeare or an Arthur Miller. We have media. There are a lot of videos, pictures, and awesome songs. I don’t think we get to experience storytelling like this very often. So I think there is definitely a character or story that everyone can connect to.”
To purchase tickets, visit arts.byu.edu.
