Photo courtesy of Ash V Photography
The house was packed and the applause was loud as Becca Schneider walked onto the stage. A homecoming of sorts. She was home and the audience was an extended member of her family. She begins by asking, “who knew how to pronounce the title of the show?” After a few attempts of pronunciation tongue ties, she clarifies and the journey begins. This story--her story is original, gripping, and absolutely needed. Most tend to deal with addiction, medical ailments and suffering-- alone. The pain is often exemplified when no one knows or understands. Shame fills the soul. Becca Schneider’s one-women show extracts the shame and fills it with nurture and care so healing can begin.
From beginning to end, Schneider captures and holds the audience’s attention. She is a true master of her craft: honest, lively, thoughtful and real. She doesn’t sugarcoat the reality of her condition and in fact educates on the symptoms, possible causes and treatments throughout the play with a well-designed slide show (that can also play a character at times). She incorporates a few other characters and skillfully voices their roles so there isn’t any confusion on which character is speaking.
Schneider is a brave story teller. The show is paced and structured. Engaging the audience with moments that border on fact and feeling. Sometimes the feelings are too much to bear but nonetheless part of the process. Her story is ongoing. She thoughtfully mentions, the timeline nor time matter. The clock can reset at any moment and that is okay. Healing is not linear and there may be setbacks. Schneider’s message calms the nerves and soothes the soul.
"Trich"
Written and Performed by Becca Schneider
Co-Directed by Jenn Haltman and Casey Pfeifer
Oct. 27 at 7:30pm; Nov.12 at 9:30pm; Nov. 13 at 7:30pm; Nov. 19 at 1pm
United Solo Festival
Theatre Row 410 W 42nd Street New York City
For tickets and more information: https://unitedsolo.org/shows/trich/ or https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/united-solo-theatre-festival-2021/
Yani Perez, M.F.A, is a poet, playwright, translator and educator. Her plays have been presented in various theaters in the United States such as La Mama and Yale University as well as internationally in Bogotá, Colombia. She works at IATI Theater, one of the oldest Latinx theaters in NYC. She is currently working on translations of Latinx artists in hopes of introducing them to English speaking audiences. www.yaniperez.com