“Welcome, friends! You’re right on time” Practicing Presence w/‘Primary Trust’ by Eboni Booth
a critique by Korinn Annette Jefferies (korinnannette.com)
I’ve been reading ‘The Artist’s Way’ and am practicing the habit of being present— being in a place and not using my music or inner thoughts to tune out what is happening in front of me but really, truly being there. Primary Trust by Eboni Booth is a play about being somewhere: noticing, connecting, and trusting that you’re exactly where you are supposed to be. directed by NJ Agwuna, Primary Trust at Playmakers Repertory Company begs audiences to open their eyes to the world around them and quiet the distractions that keep us distant.
the play follows Kenneth, portrayed by Nate John Mark, after he loses his longtime job at the book store. his routine and sense of normalcy is disrupted, forcing him to navigate the wounds left from losing his mother at age ten and becoming an orphan. Mark’s performance captures the arrested development Kenneth experiences as a result of his mother’s death, as well as the subtext— the anger from being abandoned, not only by his mother but by his social worker, Bert, who now exists as an imaginary friend. after meeting Corinna, a waitress at his favorite bar, things take a turn for the better and Kenneth begins to live in the real world with a sense of presence he never had before. after seeing his positive adjustment, Bert (the imaginary friend) abandons him and the wound of being left behind reopens, causing Kenneth to have a meltdown at his new job as a bank teller at Primary Trust. in the end, Kenneth finds that being present and living in the moment allows him to form connections that make his life more fulfilling and less lonely.
Primary Trust takes place in the small fictional town of Cranberry, New York. “small” is taken quite literally by scenic designer Lex Liang, whose whimsical mini buildings make a large impact. the small buildings light up, act as storage for costumes and props; and pull apart to indicate their interiors. it is hard not to think of Mr. Roger’s neighborhood (now, Daniel Tiger’s) when you enter the theatre— the mini town is only missing a train and an old man in a cardigan. I hesitate to call this set a backdrop, as it is incredibly well integrated and utilized by the actors as they tell the story. at Wally’s, Kenneth’s favorite bar, the building pulls out into a corner booth where he and Bert, played by Samuel Ray Gates, drink the night away. Wally’s is also where Kenneth meets Corinna, one of many characters played by Rasool Jahan. Jahan’s performance works in tandem with the set design, bringing Wally’s and Primary Trust to life as waiters and customers through movement and use of space. my favorite location in the town is Le Pousselet, where Jeffrey Blair Cornell takes on the role of Bartender, draping a tablecloth over the building structure and executing a very fancy ball change as he enters and exits the stage.
the set continues to impress as the show recovers from it’s climax of Kenneth’s bank meltdown. when he returns to Wally’s without Bert, his coming to consciousness is indicated as a portion of the upstage wall pivots to show the piano player at Wally’s: at the beginning of the play we experience the wall pivot and see a mannequin at the piano, but now it is a human being.
I thoroughly enjoyed Primary Trust but I must get my hands on a copy of the script. there are bell dings throughout the play that seem at some points to indicate the passage of time and at others, Kenneth’s presence in reality. sometimes, when the bell dinged there was a slight change of lighting— vibrant lighting seemed to indicate reality while slightly dull, dim lighting seemed to indicate a dream state. it is unclear how the dings are meant to be interpreted overall but they do bring you back to reality and remind you: “you’re right on time.”