(Left to right: Bary Shaw, Tony Stirpe, Denise LaCroix, and Kari Welch play in Martin Cohen’s Checkpoint; photos courtesy of Richard Scheeland)
By Rachael Carnes
Checkpoint, a new play by Eugene playwright Martin Cohen that explores the human cost to both sides of the seemingly irresolvable Israeli-Palestinian conflict, opens this week at the Wildish Community Theater in Springfield.
“This is a topic that’s endlessly topical,” director Robert Hirsh says. “This conflict is intransigent. I feel like a reasonable exploration of it is a good thing.”
Set alternately in Jerusalem and the West Bank, Checkpoint revolves around a confrontation between the Palestinian leader of a militant Hamas splinter group and a Zionist Israeli cabinet minister.
“The play balances the opposing sides, and looks at the humanity of the characters, and the emotional cost of the struggle,” Hirsh says.
In a recent rehearsal, actor Kelly Oristano, playing Akeem, confronts Jesse Ferreira, in the role of Iyad. The scene is tense — a conflict hurtling across a coffin. The two men grapple with the past, and how it impacts their shared future.
“The language uses a heightened realism,” Hirsh says.
A $10,000 grant from the Community Alliance of Lane County allowed Cohen to self-produce this effort. Publicity points out that the play is a 2017 Ashland New Play Festival semi-finalist.
The Checkpoint cast includes a number of veteran Eugene-area actors, including Bary Shaw, Kari Welch, Kelly Oristano, Tony Stirpe, Denise LeCroix, Jennifer Appleby, and Robert Hirsh. Also featured are Damon Noyes, Thomas Weaver, and Jesse Ferreira. The stage manager is Rebecca Lowe.
When: 8 p.m. on Feb. 1-2, 8-9, 15-16; and 2 p.m. on Feb. 3, 10, and 17
Where: Wildish Community Theater, 630 Main St., Springfield
Tickets: $19; $17 for senior citizens and students, available online at wildishtheater.com
