Carlos Teeters

‘Extreme’ measures test family in need

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By John Lyle Belden

In the wake of tragedy, we often have the wish that we could start over, have a new life, even a new house. For a select few, at least the latter happened, aired on national television. A desperate Texas family seeks to join that number in the drama, “Extreme Home Makeover,” by Makasha Copeland, presented by American Lives Theatre at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre.

The title references the ABC television show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (using its common nickname to avoid trademark issues). The process of being chosen, among hundreds of applicants, involved making a video recording to audition by showing both the necessary home renovations and the worthiness of the homeowning family. Scenes here are frequently played to an unseen camera, putting the audience in the position of the mysterious producers who could decide the family’s fate.

Three generations are crowded into this Kingsville, Texas, home: Valentina (Sofia Salgada), her mother Guadalupe (Caroline Lee Sanchez), teen son Marco (Diego Sanchez-Galvan), and 10-year-old daughter Lupe (Laila Matuk). Valentina’s husband, David, recently died, leaving her struggling to keep the house and unable to afford its upkeep, including a broken toilet.

Guadalupe is not thrilled at all about this bid for televised fame. She sees it as yet another insult to the honor of a family who lived on the land since it was part of Mexico two centuries ago, since then being made to work it for the benefit of non-Latino owners. Valentina, however, is practically blinded by hope, insisting on getting the audition just right so that a new home can help rectify their tenuous situation. The children, eager to please both Mom and Abuela, try hard to do their part in the scheme. Marco applies for his first job, while Lupe – who talks to “Aybeecee” like a friend she’s trying to impress – seeks to prove she’s not as useless as she feels.

Local actor Carlos Medina Maldonado directs. He saw the play in development while a student at Texas Tech, noting it reminded him of his own family, with aspects we can all relate to. Intertwined with the themes of hard times and holding on to one’s culture is the universal experience of grief, made more intense when it is the family patriarch who is suddenly gone. Aside from some clothes and possessions, their principal reminder of David is a video of him at Lupe’s last birthday – his singing to her embarrassing then, but treasured now.

The cast’s familial chemistry, combining personalities that are distinct and natural, draw us into their world, feeling both their loving bonds and growing need. Even when they clash, each acts from their perspective of love. Salgada’s Valentina is driven, barely hiding her growing desperation while feeling it is up to her to make everything right. Sanchez’s Guadelupe is a bit of a curmudgeon but adopts a softer touch to help mend their growing crisis, coming through as only a loving grandma can. Sanchez-Galvan’s Marco feels the weight of man-of-the-house expectations, though he’s not feeling quite ready to grow up yet. Matuk, who is over twice the age of the girl she plays, maintains Lupe’s sweetness and innocence, along with a naïve grit of one who doesn’t know what she allegedly can’t do – showing that where there’s a will, there’s Google.

The stage, brilliantly designed and built by Carlos Teeters, has no visible walls and audience seating on two sides, showing the fishbowl environment brought about by private spaces being exposed to judging strangers. We see the floor plan, while the people upon it show what makes a house a home.

Note the dialogue is a Spanglish mixture that would be genuinely heard in a home like this, yet not too hard to follow for non-Spanish speakers.

An emotionally engaging and inspiring story of a family needing to make some changes, “Extreme Home Makeover” runs through Aug. 2 in the Basile black-box stage at 705 N. Illinois St., downtown Indianapolis. Get tickets at phoenixtheatre.org, and information at americanlivestheatre.org.

Getting help with all life’s ‘Stuff’

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By John Lyle Belden

It’s the easiest trap most of us fall into: You need to save this. You must hold on to that. I’m not finished reading this. I’ll get around to making something with that… Time passes, boxes stack up. And then there are the mementos – especially when they signify a time, place, and most importantly a person, no longer around.

Suddenly, people tell you that you have a problem.

Local playwright Jan White presents, with Actors Ink Theatre Company, her comic drama “Stufferage” at The District Theatre, directed by Sandra Gay, who founded Actors Ink decades ago, and now dedicates it to providing performance opportunities for “People Of a Certain Age.”

As White notes in the program, roughly six percent of people have some sort of hoarding disorder. This gets further complicated by aging as well as other likely mental issues. In the play, inspired in part by actual people and events, Marty (Chad Pirowski) persuades his aunt Georgia (Sheila Wright), a therapist, to come out of retirement to aid his mission-oriented business, Stop Stuffering, in honor of his recently-deceased mother (Georgia’s sister), a lifelong serious hoarder. His idea is to help others with similar issues to declutter and organize their stuff to better deal with their lives.

To seek interest, they set up a “Help for the Overwhelmed” Facebook group and in-person meeting. They already have one client, Barbara (Melody Ware), who refuses to leave her overflowing home so is ordered by a judge to at least attend via Zoom.

Arriving in person: Sarah (Mary Hardin) let things accumulate during the Covid isolation period and is still nervous about venturing out. Married couple Jim and Donna (Rob Young and Tina Nehrling) see each other as the problem – her overflowing craft room, his overstuffed garage – but with additional endless piles of mail and magazines, their adult children let them know it’s both of them. Mimi (Stephanie Reinert) is obsessed with puppets, but the ever-growing accumulation of pieces, projects, and finished figures has ironically taken control of her life. Darrell (Brian Shobe) misses his late wife and, after several months, can’t bear letting go of any of her possessions.

Rick Northam is handy as various supporting roles, crew director, and the foley for an opening scene that, with awkward humor, gives us a sense of how bad things get for the “stuffering” and those who love them.

The narrative shows us the various ways these characters work through their issues, both the accumulated objects in their homes and learning to “clear the clutter from your heart.” There are varying degrees of success, with Barbara – “I have a right to my stuff!” – being the most difficult, her unsettled personality nearly as colorful as the exploded flea market of her front yard. The excellent scenic design, including piles and stacks capable of moving on and off stage as needed, is by Carlos Teeters.

We get compelling performances all around. Pirowski and Wright portray sincere empathy – hers more professionally, his with the sense of a son who wishes he had helped his mother more. Hardin and Shobe each pull our heartstrings. Young and Nehrling add more humor than rancor to their couple who seem to have arguing as a love language. Reinert is endearing and an inspiration to crafters everywhere as Mimi strives to actually make some puppets! Ware takes on the most complex role with appropriate gusto while keeping Barbara’s mental issues true to life.

A light-hearted and hopeful look at a serious problem, experience “Stufferage” Thursday through Sunday at The District Theatre, 627 Massachusetts Ave., downtown Indianapolis. Get tickets at indydistricttheatre.org.