With a sudden jolt, the lights in The Artifactory’s basement swiftly died and a thumping began. Myocardium is another word for the heart muscle, and “Myocardium: Graphite” is the title of playwright Eli Campbell’s new work.
The beautiful “Myocardium: Graphite” is about a figure drawing class, written for the space it is performed in. The Artifactory is home to many art classes and serves as a community center. It’s fitting then, that Campbell and their cast were given space to take art classes for their new work.
When the lights finally came up, we no longer sat in the space as an audience but as silent participants in the slice-of-life masterpiece that overtook our lives for the next 90 minutes.
The transformation of the space was tangible, even as the lights came up to full volume on both the stage and the audience. With the harshness of the lighting, a space for both being seen and seeing was created.
“The play is really about letting people see you, like see all of you. So, a lot of the stuff with figure drawing is watching someone … and allowing themself to be seen,” Campbell said.
The set was minimal and yet felt so full of the presence of the four characters. True to everything else in the play, the set had been dipped in realism that made the audience feel as though they too were in the figure drawing class, only silent observers of the dramas to unfold.
The vulnerability of drawing and being drawn is a constant theme throughout the play, as we follow KC, played by Jennifer Hogan, and Maya, played by Zoe Hoffenberg. The young women are the only pupils in the figuring drawing class. Their participation helps them both tackle trauma that brings them even closer.
Throughout the story, they struggle to deal with their aversions to the naked form, whether it is flesh or muscle. Jonie, played by Kristy Hartsgrove Mooers, their teacher, is an inexperienced artist and former heart surgeon.
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Jonie struggles to be seen by the public as a result of a very messy trial she is currently weeding through. Ryan, played by Owen Brightman, Jonie’s son, can’t quite see his mother, and in turn, feels unseen by her.
The stories of these characters and their intertwining lives was enthralling to watch. The dialogue felt like it was taken directly from the real world. The actors slipped beautifully into their roles, nestled within the characters written for them by Campbell.
“It’s honestly been such a gift to me to work with these people because the play feels so much stronger and on its feet because they just get it so inherently,” Campbell said.
Kayla Adams’ direction was a clear and ever-present hand, gently holding the audience through the show. The positioning of the room made the audience feel like we were watching a reenactment of a class in the Artifactory’s history. The whole space was used to make the play come to life before us.
“Myocardium: Graphite” tackles such topics as suicide, loneliness, rape, depression, and anxiety, through scenes of realism filled with meaning that require the audience to pick through them and discover what is hiding underneath. It is hilarious, brilliant, heart-wrenching, and a wonderful treat.
If you love feeling changed when you step out of a theater, “Myocardium: Graphite” is a must-see.