Masquers presents 'Brilliant Traces'

SOAP LAKE - Masquers theater presents "Brilliant Traces" this Friday, a play with only two cast members.

The play is about reclusive Henry, a man living in Alaska, and his encounter with runaway bride Rosannah, who has spontaneously driven 3,000 miles to Alaska and gotten stuck in a blizzard. As the pair wait out the snow storm, they begin talking and reveal intimate details of their lives.

"They end up talking about secret things in their lives, since they're strangers," said director Beverly Hasper. "And he opens up with a lot of stuff he has never talked to anyone about. And, in a way, she does, too."

They're both very different people, but commiserating over their respective problems draws them together, she said.

"It's thoughtful," she said. "It's not really a comedy, but it has its funny moments. But mostly it's insightful. It makes you think about things that you really do believe ... it's kind of a truth-telling thing."

Hasper said she found it interesting directing only two actors.

"You can get more in-depth with the characters," she said. "They can develop their character a little bit better when there's only two of them like that."

Renee Johnson, who plays Rosannah, auditioned for the play because she looked at it as a challenge, she said.

"It was a two-person play, which means you don't get time off to look at your script and you just keep going," she said. "I thought it was a great challenge and I thought it'd be a lot of fun."

Fun, but challenging, too.

"You don't have anyone else to carry you," she said. "If one of you screw up, you hope the other one can carry you, but you don't have anybody else to interject ... and you don't have a break where you can go look at your lines for the next chunk. You're just going. And that's what intrigued me about this play. It was quirky enough like me; high energy like me."

John Hussey IV, who plays Henry, said preparing for the play was intense.

"It's a one scene, one set sort of play, so there's a lot of back and forth and the intensity of it," he said.

The play has a little of everything, he said: sad moments, happy moments, and everything between, including some subtle hints of romance.

"It's way more intense than I would have ever anticipated," he said. "It's probably six times more lines than I've had for any other character or any other part that I've had, so it's a challenge."

"Brilliant Traces" opens Friday with shows at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Aug. 5-6, 12-13, 10-20 and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. August 7, 14, and 21.

Tickets are $9 opening night, then $12 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors.

Masquers is located at 322 Main Ave. E in Soap Lake.