She Made Space

The cords under my feet, the six or seven inches of chair under my hips, smooth dark desk under my arms—I find myself very aware of the physical space I occupy this evening.  Not surprising, as I have just come from viewing a play called “She Made Space”, a new work by Meredith Cope-Levy, a dear friend of mine.  That friendship was the primary attraction for me; I rarely go to live theatre performances, mostly because I am extraordinarily picky about the stories I invest in.  If I don’t know even before diving in that I will enjoy the story, I won’t waste my time.  But I had the privilege of participating, in some small part, with Meredith’s undergraduate thesis project, and from that experience I learned that she truly is a master of her craft.  So off I went up two flights of stairs to sit in the back row of a tiny theatre for a heartwarming and thought-provoking evening.

The play opened with a direct challenge to the fourth wall—“we’re in a theatre,” proclaimed the main and only character, Echo.  She proceeded to explain the premise of the hour-long performance: an exploration of one woman’s place in life, in terms of the spaces she occupies in her own regard and in the regard of others.   This I had learned from the play’s advertisements, but what I hadn’t known was that the play’s narrator and protagonist was an echo in truth, speaking about Meredith’s life and tracing Meredith’s path of revelation and self-discovery.  I watched, entranced, as a window opened into my friend’s mind and heart, etched out in reality on the stage.

Emma Sperka’s performance as Echo brought the story to life as she spoke in many different languages.  She spoke in image, scattering petals as she went back and forth and referring repeatedly to a silk rose, which was pretending just like Echo was.  She spoke in motion, sinking to the floor as “my heart dropped”.  Metaphor, poetry, and theme intertwined as Emma’s husky voice told many stories of many women, loving and hurting and struggling for truth and acceptance.  And I, I gave my heart to Echo and to Meredith from the first moment I realized they were one and the same.

The inspiration for the play was a photograph with two women taking up space outside a café.  One is talking, the other writing—“we are witnessing an exchange,” Echo said.  Later, she asked, “Where are you in this story?”  When the story was lived, I was a passer-by, knowing only the destination and a few stops along the way.  Tonight, however, I was an intimate part of the exchange, writing my thoughts while Meredith’s words spoke to me.  I am so grateful to her for opening her center to me, for the privilege of being welcomed into her space.