Over the weekend, audience members stepped into the Harlene Marley Theater and the immersive world of Stagefemmes’ Crave, written by Sarah Kane and directed by Katie Genzer ’25. Viewers sat on all sides of the stage, with four mattresses arranged in the shape of a square in the middle. Stagefemmes requested that attendees bring a trinket and place it into a basket at the entrance as they walked into the theater. Upon their trinket donation, members were given a tea light, which they were instructed to turn on and off when they wanted to “give, receive or take away light,” according to the program.

As the play starts, the four characters begin speaking as they step into the middle of their stage. Their dialogue is poetic, yet their speech is still of a natural cadence. The play is not linear and instead feels like a poem spoken by the four characters, played by Tatum Shargel ’27, Paul Springer ’25, Cam Gimbrerè ’27 and Madeira Semins ’28. Some themes and narratives come up multiple times, like the characters’ romantic relationships, but the characters feel both consistent and disconnected throughout the play. This adds a level of curiosity for the audience, as they try to piece together the history of these characters. While watching the piece, it was hard to tell if each actor was playing the same character the whole way through. Genzer’s direction tied these snippets of plot lines together, but the abstractness of the production still left room for interpretation. 

In her director’s statement, Genzer wrote, “For me, producing this play is about finding a collective moment to reflect on the fear and shame which hold us back from life. We play out all these memories and trauma and amorphous ideas so that we can find a way back into the physical world and reality.” This mentality is abundantly clear in the direction and design of the play: the actors wore pajamas, and comforters covered the mattresses they stood on. This too adds to this subliminal sensation felt by the writing and direction of Crave. Various household objects hung from the ceiling, giving the stage a liminal aura which lends the idea of formlessness and personal experiences.

Each actor executed the serious and intense nature of the play, keeping the audience fully engaged, even as uncomfortable themes were explored, such as abuse, sexual assault and death. The climax of the play has the four characters arguing with each other by shouting “yes” and “no,” before they begin to just yell and push apart the mattresses, revealing the various trinkets from audience members lying underneath. This, and the usage of the tea lights, created a greater sense of involvement in these memories and the production as a whole. This intense moment served as a burst of catharsis, finally releasing all of the tension that has been built up from the beginning of the play.Crave is an intense emotional journey. Semins wrote to the Collegian, “It’s no secret that Sarah Kane’s plays are designed to make people uncomfortable, and that definitely applies to the actors as well. So much of the script targets very real fears and insecurities and as actors, it was really difficult to not let it get to us.” The dedication the cast and crew put into this profound production was clear. It can be difficult to confront the fears faced in everyday life and Crave places those anxieties right in the middle of the stage, where they can be released and acknowledged by an audience of peers.