Dark Corners of the Human Psyche

In today's post, Scenic Assistant Vivian Buzzard explains how being a part of Neil LaBute's This is How it Goes has reinforced her perception of the Firehouse Theatre. The play runs through Nov. 21. More information and tickets are available at the Firehouse Web site.
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This Is How it Goes is yet another great example of why I love the Firehouse Theatre Project so much. The play is thought-provoking and challenging, while at the same time engaging and quite entertaining.

That is typical of a Firehouse Theatre experience. In a cozy, casual, and intimate space, a story unfolds that yanks my comfort zone from beneath me as director Bill Patton shines a light into the dark corners of the human psyche with honesty, compassion, and love. Once again, I leave the Firehouse with a lot to think about, a lot to talk about, but without despair, which is to me the magic of the Firehouse, why an evening there is a rich and vibrant experience that follows me from the theatre.

This Is How it Goes is a play about the attitudes and assumptions that lie in the shadows of our minds, that cause us to act, speak, and think in ways that are destructive to ourselves or others because we keep those assumptions in the shadows, unexamined. The play addresses the issue of racial prejudice from both sides as a black character and a white character struggle with prejudice each perceives in the other. Yet, as true motives are revealed, the content of each person's character, not the color of his skin, is the litmus test by which we are asked to judge the actions of both.

And the acting is simply terrific. The characters are so believable. Fred Iacovo is endearing as "The Man," as he steps forward and confides his hopes and distress to the audience. Tyhm Kennedy's Cody is powerful and compelling. Laine Satterfield, as Cody's wife Belinda, is lonely and sweet, trying to grapple with the conflict between what she needs and the reality of her life in an unhappy marriage.