by Eva Dameron
Daily Lobo
In the Sol Arts play "Boy Gets Girl," a journalist on a blind date gets more than she bargains for.
"She works for a magazine called the World, and she is very straight-edge, doesn't really date a lot, is really into her work," said Jaclyn Jardine, who plays Theresa, the play's main character. "Her friend Linda hooks her up on a blind date with this guy named Tony, and Tony is a little weird. She doesn't think they have anything in common. They have one date, and she breaks it off, but Tony won't have it."
He begins to stalk Theresa, and her life slowly falls apart.
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"She doesn't have any friends, and she tries to find consolement with her boss, but he doesn't really understand," she said. "So, she finds consolement from co-workers, and she goes to the police and gets a restraining order. And then, toward the end of the play, she ends up moving to another town and changes her name. And they don't catch the guy."
A plainclothes police officer then gets personally involved with the case, director Kathryn
Gourley said.
"She is trying to do her job and protect Theresa from this stalker, but she's kind of surprised how smart this stalker is," Gourley said. "It's a very subtle character."
Details in the play reflect ways men view women and women view men, Jardine said.
"It raises a lot of questions about relationships," she said. "In the play, Theresa interviews a filmmaker who makes movies about breasts, so there's that view of women as objects."
The play also addresses the desire of women to get respect and men not hearing them when they say "no."
"Then, there's this other point of view. Do women like the attention?" she said. "Do they like it? Are they asking for it, or does it just happen? So, it raises a lot of issues about how men and women perceive each other and what they think a relationship is about."
The play is set in New York City.
"The stage is very minimalist," Gourley said. "It could really take place anywhere in New York City. It's just the skyline sort of towering over everybody. New York City is its own character."
She felt drawn to the idea behind stalking when she decided to direct the play, Gourley said.
"I haven't had personal experience with that, but I think it does happen more than we realize, and it causes us to really realize the relationships in today's society," she said. "And the whole idea between the dating scene and what causes one person to be drawn to another. When you look at relationships, some people are drawn to the same kind of people every time."
Theresa isn't drawn to the stalker personality, though, she said.
"Sometimes, I guess, it's the bad luck of the draw," she said. "You never know who you're going on a blind date with."
"Boy Gets Girl"
Sol Arts
712 Central Ave. S.E.
Through Dec. 16
Friday-Saturday
8 p.m.
Sunday
2 p.m.
$12 general, $10 students and seniors
