He's Not Defending His Life

The figure of a lone man caressing a phallic piece of sculpture begins Whose Life is it Anyway?, a play that explores one man's reaction to the loss of his sexuality and the use of his body.

Whose Life is it Anyway? relates the story of Ken Harrison (Tom Chick), a sculptor who has become paralyzed from the neck down in a car accident. Harrison's realization that he will never recover leads him to prefer dying to continuing to live as a creative mind trapped in an immobile body. In addition, Harrison feels dehumanized in the antiseptic atmosphere of the hospital, where compassion is considered unprofessional. His request to die is viewed by his doctors as another symptom of shock--something to be treated with valium. Only through a court order does Harrison finally receive the right to die.

Director Jen Uphoff has done well to cast Chick as Harrison. The role demands that the character's body remain completely motionless while only the voice and face maintain the audience's attention. Chick has this ability and is the dynamic force in the performance.

Unfortunately, the strength of Chick's performance highlights the play's greatest flaw. A drama so focused on the plight of one charismatic individual has difficulty sustaining interest when that character is not involved in the on-stage action. Chick's impassioned acting enhances this contradictory aspect of the play--he is so absorbing that the scenes in which he is not involved appear flat.

This flatness stems more from the play itself than from any fault in Uphoff's direction, as Brian Clark's script seems to permit little deviation from the conventional. The play centers on the anger and alienation caused by Harrison's injury and the impersonality of the hospital staff. Doctors and nurses must act detached to perform their jobs effectively, and in portraying the hospital personnel, the actors must adopt this same aloofness. Contrasted with the emotional charge of Harrison's scenes, those featuring these professionals are often dull.

Some of the actors, most notably Theodore Caplow as Dr. Michael Emerson, manage to communicate emotion while maintaining a cold facade. In the early scenes of the play, Dr. Emerson seems to be an efficient professional devoid of emotion for his patients. Emerson's character emerges subtly as the play progresses, and he appears as a dedicated man committed to the sanctity of human life.

As the Head Nurse, Anderson, Katrina Merritt is also impressive in displaying a complex yet understated mix of emotions. She remains ever professional and yet allows glimpses of the woman inside the nurse's uniform.

Unfortunately, not all the actors effectively convey these different levels of emotion. When Harrison's doctor, Clare Scott (Victoria Wei), forgets her professional detachment and supports his decision to die, this important dramatic moment loses potential impact because Wei is unable to communicate her romantic feelings for Chick. As a result, when Scott admits her feelings to Anderson and in the final scene attempts to kiss Harrison goodbye, these actions appear false.

Uphoff and producer Amy Wicklund thoroughly and effectively utilize the Kirkland Eight Ball, Harvard's newest performance space. The task of converting the Eight Ball, a small basement room, into a hospital would appear daunting, yet the finished product is believable. The size of the space is an asset--the proximity of the different rooms on stage to each other and to the audience enhances this drama's intimacy.

This performance of Whose Life is it Anyway?, powered by Tom Chick's performance, has its flaws, but Uphoff deals well with a slightly problematic script. One hopes the Eight Ball will continue to host quality productions.