By Brenda Hillegas
What does it cost to stand up for what you believe in? Will you be able to live with the consequences if you don’t?
Philadelphia Artists’ Collective’s production of ‘Inheritors‘ — running now through Jan. 24 at the Community College of Philadelphia — is a powerful 1921 drama by playwright Susan Glaspell that still resonates deeply today.
The story takes place at a fictional college where Madeline, the founder’s granddaughter, is faced with how much she is willing to risk after political pressure threatens student and faculty protests. The rarely staged story reminds audiences that struggles over free thought, dissent, and democracy are ongoing. Directed by Abby Weissman for PAC, ‘Inheritors’ explores the tension between personal values and the institutions that shape daily life.
“It feels hard to make choices based on our personal values when we exist within unjust systems,” she says, while noting that these choices made as individuals can also shape those very systems and institutions.
Weissman recently spoke with Metro about discovering Susan Glaspell’s work for the first time, why she wanted to take on this show and how ‘Inheritors’ continues to be timely over 100 years after it was written.
Were you familiar with ‘Inheritors’ before PAC’s production? What made you want to say yes to directing the show?
I had never heard of the play before Ann (Garner) reached out to me about working on this production for PAC. What made me want to say yes to it were some of these beautiful, stand-out phrases from Susan Glaspell’s writing. Each character is so nuanced, and they have these lines that jump off the page and start making your brain whiz.
Recently I’ve been so taken by one of Slias Morton, a farmer turned college-founder’s musings on why education matters: “Thought is not something outside of the business of life,” he says. “Why, thought’s our chance.” This play inspires thought — it is challenging and messy and both optimistic and realistic about America. How exciting to dive into a work of art that will provoke deep conversations about responsibility, activism, and history.
As the show’s director, what aspects of the play felt most urgent right now?
As for the characters in ‘Inheritors’, the world feels challenging to experience right now. I know I struggle on a daily basis with how to use the resources at my disposal (time, effort, money) to make things easier for more people, while balancing my responsibilities to myself, my family, and my work. It is a privilege in and of itself to even have the resources and responsibilities to balance. I think this play shares a story in which characters grapple with the same questions, and all make different decisions about how to ultimately do the most good in their community.
There are hard and brave choices being made by the characters in this play. My hope is that when audiences leave, they feel inspired to take stock of how they are and are not acting in alignment with their own values on a regular basis.
‘Inheritors’ is being staged on a college campus. How do you think the setting will shape the way audiences experience the play?
There is this beautiful exchange in the first act of ‘Inheritors’ where Grandmother, a pioneer woman, says to her son that she would do anything to help folks “on their way.” Their immigrant neighbor, speaking of himself and others who have dedicated their lives to learning, replies, “so are we.”
Colleges and universities are, by design, transient spaces as much as they are firm institutions, which makes for an interesting mix of progressive (change-making) and conservative (institution-building) values. Students pass through college as an accelerated way to learn more and advance their lives, while administrators hope to build a place that will last well into the future, sometimes at a great cost.
I hope that while being on campus, folks feel the tension between the idealism inspired by learning and the reality of maintaining an institution, and remember the power of education to enhance possibilities for students from all walks of life.
‘Inheritors’ will be on stage now through Jan. 24 at the Community College of Philadelphia, 556 N. 17th St. For information and tickets, visit philartistscollective.org.