Gabrielle Reisman's Storm Still

Tulane University’s production of Storm Still, written in 2015 by Gabrielle Reisman, ran from Wednesday, November 9th through Sunday, November 13th. Directed by Jessica Podewell, the play offered a glimpse into the lives of three young women as they manage their father’s estate after his death. As the women sort through their father’s belongings, they remember that as children, they often acted out Shakespeare’s King Lear, and they decide to revisit the game.
While the play is mainly a moment in the life of the women, there are details offered about their personal lives: Regan’s girlfriend has recently left her and moved out of their house and Regan apparently has a smoking habit (though this is only mentioned once in passing and is never …show more content…
This confusion is only furthered because the characters have the same names as the daughters of King Lear: Regan, Cordelia, and Goneril. This is equal parts beneficial and detrimental to the play. On the one hand, the similarities between the women and their father echoes the relationship between King Lear and his daughters; from their names to the eventual mental decline of their father, to Cordelia’s French ‘exile,’ the important plot points in King Lear also show up in the women’s lives. On the other hand, these similarities make it a slightly confusing play to watch. It is difficult, especially for an audience member not familiar with King Lear, to tell what bits are part of their real lives and what is part of the play. This manages to distract and pull the audience out of the play momentarily, while they try to figure out what is happening. Perhaps an effective way to remedy this problem would be to change the names of the sisters: the parallels would still be clear and the audience would better be able to follow the …show more content…
All of the women wore very simple, everyday clothes that still managed to show their personalities. Cordelia, the youngest Francophile, wore very flowy and feminine clothes that were still practical enough to go through the house. Goneril wore an activewear outfit which shows that she is a working woman who is prepared to do what needs to be done: her outfit echoed the responsibilities of her life as a mother and as the executor of the estate. Regan was dressed in cargo shorts and an old t-shirt; she does not care much for appearances and is the most tomboyish of her sisters.
Throughout the play, the sisters play many different characters, always using found pieces to distinguish one character from another. For example, while playing King Lear, the girls always wear one of their father’s hats. As the Earl of Glouster, Cordelia wears a different hat and a ripped poncho as a sash. As Cornwall, Goneril wears a padded muscular man costume. These costume pieces help the girls to create characters and convey bits of their personalities while not coming right out and saying it. Without these distinctions, it would be very easy to get lost with three women playing a cast of a dozen or