The Allen Bales Theatre was decorated with moving boxes, floral furniture, and a lone rustic piano this past February 11 and 12 as four students took the stage for Blood From A Stone.
This heart-wrenching family drama shared the story of Jacob and his siblings, Alice and Richard, as they reunited to work through both the trauma and grief stemming from their toxic mother’s recent death. Jacob, her primary caregiver, followed her instructions and waited until after the funeral was over to open the will, only to be surprised to find she had donated their home to her church and left him with practically nothing. Filled with rage, Jacob reached a breaking point and chastised his siblings for their lack of communication and assistance over the last few years. Jacob spent much of the play literally packing to move while figuratively unpacking years of emotional trauma alongside his siblings.
The strength of Blood From A Stone was that it dwelt in the very real awkwardness of a broken family reuniting. This was not a play that simply discussed these difficult experiences. Rather these moments were showcased candidly through contrasting long bouts of uncomfortable silence with intense physical screaming matches.
Blood From A Stone was put on by The University of Alabama’s theatre honor society Alpha Psi Omega (APO) and written and directed by senior Benton Davis. The annual “APO show” is produced around this time each year to raise money for their philanthropy, Five Horizons Health Services, which offers support and medical services, testing, and other resources for those living with HIV or AIDS.
“I feel like a lot of my writing is just intentionally creating discomfort,” said Davis in a private interview, “Just putting a situation in front of a group of people and forcing them to ask themselves why they’re uncomfortable with it.”
While cultivating these agonizing moments organically was a difficult task, Davis did so skillfully. As Jacob and Alice reunited in the opening scene, they sat side by side silently. As the minutes ticked by, the only sounds heard on the stage were tapping feet, heavy sighs, and the sloshing of the whiskey bottle passed between them. These moments between the previously separated siblings were intentionally awkward, to show this kind of emotional state rather than merely tell us about it.
When I asked why he chose to create such a contentious story, Davis stated that he was inspired by playwright Sam Shepherd and his knack for intense family drama. He felt let to explore “the idea of a forced relationship with someone just because you’re related to them.” Davis delved deep into this concept within the relationship between Jacob and Richard. Although brothers by blood, the two had not spoken in years in part because their mother disowned Richard for being gay. When Jacob stayed back to care for his mother, it meant he also adopted her cold-hearted views about the LGBTQIA+ community,
Cole Pigford, a Junior at UA studying Musical Theatre took on the intense role of Jacob. Approaching this role with power, Pigford gave a raw depiction of a nuclear situation. After I asked Pigford in a private interview about the role, he stated, “I have this love-hate relationship with a mother who has ruined everybody else’s lives. It was definitely challenging.” Jacob spent many scenes with his heart on the table arguing with his siblings and coming to terms with the havoc his mother has wrought. He was angry, but for a good reason, and Pigford approached these scenes with an unmatched vulnerability.
Jackson White approached Richard’s gut-wrenching scenes with true sincerity. “When I first found out I had been cast and read the full script, I got really excited because it was a story about real people,” White said to me prior to their closing night performance. “This isn’t some fantasy play . . . these are very grounded people going through very real experiences.”
His connection to real and grounded emotions was especially evident in the scenes after their mother’s funeral. On the dark stage, Richard entered in tears and fell into his partner’s arms as he grappled with the hatred that his mother’s church displayed toward him because of his sexuality. Later in the scene, he sat alone on the couch with his knees to his chest while he watched his siblings argue. As his eyes anxiously flitted between the two, White brought a child-like vulnerability to the character and carried me on Richard’s path that began with anger and ended with forgiveness despite their traumatic past.
Richard’s partner Oscar, played by Cameron Hollenquest, modeled this same kind of honesty in his performance as well. The small moments he shared with Jacob were particularly touching because of the genuine forgiveness and understanding they both journeyed to find.
Mary Clare Bone as Alice brought humor to the heavy subject. Although she did have serious moments, what stood out were the witty and sarcastic remarks that Bone landed exceptionally well. In one scene in particular, Jacob and Alice smashed photos of their mother in frustration, to which Alice casually asked Richard to “join in on the fun!” Her overall carefree persona provided breath in an otherwise claustrophobic and dark situation.
Although Blood From A Stone’s heavy plot was uncomfortable to witness at times, the inner discoveries that each character made to situational acceptance and forgiveness made the experience worth it. The power of this play lied in its exploration of human emotions in their most raw and vulnerable state. Blood From A Stone was intense, but it left me ruminating on a message so important in our world today: the necessity of communication, reconnection, and acceptance despite familial hardships.
Blood From A Stone was written and directed by Benton Davis, and was performed at the University of Alabama’s Allen Bales Theatre on February 11 to 12, 2023. The cast included Cole Pigford (Jacob), Jackson White (Richard), Mary Clare Bone (Alice), Cameron Hollenquest (Oscar), Daniel Herne (Swing), and Aurora Maniscalco (Swing). The assistant director was Susanna Latner. The assistant stage manager was Mila Shukitt. The sound crew was Grace Wells. The lighting crew was Anne Kelly. The backstage crew was Nic Lincoln and Lanie Walsh.