Nina Ruiz
In Motion Staff Writer
In a story of self-discovery and resilience, the play “Violet” directed by theater professor and Daytona State College director Samantha Stern, invites the audience to question their own perceptions of outer-beauty and its importance in society.
Exceptionally capturing the turbulent and discriminatory attitudes of the 1960s at the peak of the Civil Rights Movement, Stern guides her cast to illustrate the valuable lessons of facing the past to fix the present and how finding self-worth plays a key role in growing up. The two main actors chosen for the play, Rachel Larchar as Violet and Kerry Alce as Flick, did a fantastic job portraying their characters’ intensity. From being judged and jeered at for a scar on her face, to being discriminated against for his skin color, characters Violet and Flick represent the timeless battle of Man vs. Society.
The beginning of “Violet” immediately captures the audience’s attention, with the introduction of Violet and her quest to seek a televangelist to cure her scar to make her “beautiful” and similar to the women she sees in magazines, an idea that is repeated and emphasized throughout the play.
The song, “All to Pieces,” depicts just how much society encourages the importance of physical appearance, as well as the dire need for others’ attention and how this attention makes a person feel validated. “I could be someone lovely, turning heads on her first night in town. All I need is someone to wonder, who is she? To ask how to meet me, to love me all to pieces.”
Violet’s growing need to feel she is only worth something if she is beautiful, is an attitude most women can understand and relate to at any point in history.
Larchar, the actress portraying Violet, reminds us, “Young female college students need to know that we are worth more than our physical attributes. Learning to love ourselves is so hard sometimes, but if we are confident in who we are, then it’s easier to get past our insecurities and doubts.”
Every scene is introduced by new musical numbers and even further supported with reprises to maintain the theme of the story. The periodical transitions between Young Violet and Present Violet, though confusing at first, connected the character’s background and helped thicken the plot of Violet’s true quest: coming to terms with her past. The central theme of self-acceptance and self-love is also revealed through these transitions.
Alce, the actor portraying Flick, says, “It’s always awesome to have people emotionally grasped by the show afterwards, though I want the audience walking out the door with a new awareness about self-worth and really taking that seriously.”
The cast’s performance of “Violet” brought the audience to its feet applauding such as emotional and enthusiastic delivery. Additional outstanding actors in the play include Benjamin Youmans (Monty) Amy Hadley (Gospel Soloist/Landlady) Josh We Know (Preacher/Bus Driver) and Brittney Whittenton (Hotel Hooker/Old Lady #2).