The right words at the right time can make a big difference. Many is the tale of someone whose life took a positive turn because someone told them something they really needed to hear at a time when they were open to hearing it.
Such moments may await you at Full Circle Theater’s production of “The Empathy Project.” Or perhaps not. But it’s a play that invites you into the experiences of 14 different people and leaves it to you to decide if their stories bear some wisdom or insight for you.
“The Empathy Project” is the creation of Stephanie Lein Walseth, who interviewed what seem to be a relatively random collection of Minnesotans and asked them questions about empathy. Then she assembled pieces of their stories into a play, most of it consisting of monologues about conflicts rooted in racial, cultural or class differences. But it also offers case studies of seemingly disparate people coming to mutual understandings.
So “The Empathy Project” feels something like a documentary come to life onstage. But it’s a documentary with no action or visuals save the faces of interviewees, the presentation style not so far afield from “talking heads” TV news programs. Directed by Claribel Gross, Full Circle’s production is character-driven and lightly staged, a very honest piece of verite theater that’s firmly rooted in reality. Or at least the realities of 14 particular Minnesotans.
As for whether the play proves profound, inconsequential or somewhere in between for you will likely depend somewhat on your own capacity for empathy. Or your experience level with listening to others discuss why they hold the social or political values they do. Sometimes these characters’ stories prove rewarding, but other times they slip into boilerplate language on one side of an issue or another, particularly on the subject of the social safety net.
Performed on a scenery-free, Minnesota-shaped set on Park Square Theatre’s basement thrust stage, “The Empathy Project” is at its best when the stories are particularly interesting or the characters quite colorful. Dominique Jones achieves both as a Black Minneapolis police officer juggling his colliding identities after the murder of George Floyd. And Song Kim gives voice to the fascinating story of a Japanese-American man sent to an internment camp who eventually becomes a U.S. intelligence officer.
While the characters created by Oogie Push, Kim Vasquez and Marci Lucht prove engaging company, no actor strikes a better balance between realism and theatricality than Peter Colburn, particularly when he’s portraying rural folks defying stereotypes. The production could use more of his level of energy and his enthusiasm for varied characterizations.
Walseth is credited as “playwright/story weaver” and her weaving works best when commonality emerges from seemingly disparate experiences. Hers is an admirable quest, but, at the end of 90 intermission-less minutes, I felt that the surface had barely been scratched about what divides us and where we could possibly start healing our interpersonal divides.
Yet, again, results may vary. For some, “The Empathy Project” might tell you just what you need to hear right now.
If you go
- What: Full Circle Theater’s “The Empathy Project”
- When: Through Nov. 21
- Where: Park Square Theatre’s Boss Stage, 408 St. Peter St., St. Paul
- Tickets: $16-$30, available at fullcircletheatermn.org
- Capsule: An admirable effort to find commonality amid conflict, it may resonate with you … or not.
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November 15, 2021 at 04:55AM
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Review: ‘The Empathy Project’ looks for commonality amid conflict - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
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