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Chloe Dirskin.[/caption]
By Emily J. Weitz
Sag Harbor resident Chloe Dirksen stars as Hester Prynne in Bay Street Theater’s production of “The Scarlet Letter.” From rehearsals before the election to productions in the days following, Ms. Dirksen discusses how the play, and the role of Hester Prynne, are uniquely relevant at this moment in time.
When you were first cast as Hester Prynne, did you think immediately about how the role connected to a conversation about women’s rights and women’s roles?
Yes. I think that she really was a woman who was ahead of her time. She was an individual. She was true to herself and her own beliefs. She was independent despite what society was trying to do to her. Society was trying to crush her for having committed this crime of adultery. But instead of fading away, she became strong; she became a pillar of the community. [When I was first cast] I felt this responsibility to be true to who she was, and I was thinking of how important it is at this time.
As you rehearsed and the potential for the first female president grew near, how did you feel about “The Scarlet Letter,” and how far our society had come?
I felt so proud. I felt we had come so far. This felt special. A lot of women over the years reading this character have embraced Hester and been inspired by her, and it’s such an honor to play someone like that. She was very much a woman and a mother who wrote her own rules. I felt excited and proud that this was going to coincide with the first female president.
When was opening night?
We had a school performance the day before the election, on the 7th, and another the morning after the election, which was absolutely insane. In rehearsing this show, it was very clear that we were telling an important story at an important time. We were focused on telling the story of choosing love over hate. And choosing love over fear. And then it was very clear, that next morning, that the country elected fear. The country had chosen this message of negativity, this message of despair. It was a really emotional performance and it has been since.
Tell me about the first performance after the election.
The cast was all up all night, and we performed at ten in the morning. Everyone was very emotional. I think it brought to light for everyone how much this play is about a society that is trying to put people in their place — to segregate people, to ostracize people. It brought to light the fact that we are not very far from that. It begs the question: how far have we evolved as a society from early settlement? It’s hard to know. We carry so much of that in our current society— so many people voted for someone who is very clearly bigoted, very clearly against so many groups. That to me is shocking. Should we be shocked? Should we be surprised? How far have we really come?
But it reminds me as a performer that every story you tell is relevant and connected to what’s happening and you have to let current events come into it. That’s why theater is relevant – that’s why you go. There’s so much to be learned from “The Scarlet Letter” today.
How has performing this role and this play at this time changed now that Donald Trump is our president-elect and how has it affected you?
This role reminds me that we need to keep fighting. I really truly believe, as Hester truly believes, that love will win. That focusing on positivity, inclusion, empathy, acceptance, that will win. It has to win. It feels dismal and scary right now but we have a responsibility to each other and our kids to stand up for our fellow people and for the values that we believe in.
Doing this play is really good for me right now because I can express these feelings eight times a week. This is such a perfect story for right now. And as part of Literature Live, every morning we have students from all over Long Island, and we have a talk back after the show. They want to talk about the divisiveness of the election, about women’s rights. It’s been so wonderful for us as a cast: we get to tell them how we feel. Bay Street’s Literature Live program has affected kids so deeply. It’s a gift to thousands of kids every year and it’s such an honor to be a part of it.
“It takes courage to love where you are judged and despised. It takes none to blame and to retaliate.” –Hester Prynne.
“The Scarlett Letter” will conclude its run at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor this weekend, with performances on Friday, November 25 at 7 p.m., and on Saturday, November 26 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
