“Collected Stories” by Donald Margulies is a play about the complex relationship and interactions between a writing professor, Ruth, played by LouLou Schiavo, and her student Lisa, played by Abigail Elizondo. Ruth is an experienced short story writer, while Lisa is a young up-and-coming writer. “Collected Stories” focuses on the meeting of Ruth and Lisa, with both sharing stories they have written and life stories they’ve lived. Themes of mentorship across generations are prevalent throughout the whole show as it compares the young aspirations of Lisa and the learned wisdom of Ruth. 

Elizondo and Schiavo do a great job drawing the audience into the world and the relationship these two characters form. Both mentioned the important work they put into the rehearsal process to understand their characters. Schiavo said there was “never a moment where we could sit back and breathe. It was always from the moment you walked into the door, you got to be ‘on’.” 

Although pacing felt a bit slow at the beginning of Act One, both actors were able to use their space effectively, engaging the audience. It picked up towards the end of Act One until the end of Act Two, with the play's climax, where Ruth and Lisa part ways after a fight. The fight is between the personal stories Ruth shared and the taught and story-hungry writer Lisa, wanting to write what was honest to herself and what she had heard from her mentor. Elizondo said that the story's ending is “crazy in how it all ties together. Ruth says that things are never resolved in a relationship, and that’s so true.” 

A play with such a small cast like this one can sometimes be a rarity in theater, but as Schiavo said, “Small cast shows like this are good because it really strengthens actors and puts the attention on strengthening specific skills.” 

For Schiavo and Elizondo, this was their first show with the Theatre Department. There were both high expectations and trust given to both of them for their roles in this play. Elizondo said, “I was so fortunate that [Tony] Vezner, our director, was able to trust me on this, especially for it being my first show, because it’s such a tight-knit show. I feel incredibly lucky and excited for the future. I think it’s great here at Concordia's Theatre program.” 

This play surely touched my heart and the hearts of many others who went out to see the show, with many moments that left a great impact on both the cast and audience. A moment for Schiavo that stuck out to her was during Act One, Scene Three, where Ruth sits with Lisa, Schiavo said, “I tell her that I am very very proud and she's just like looking at me a couple of inches away. It’s just her and I. I feel like that line is so dialed in. I love that line because I actually am so proud of Abby.”

Now that “Collected Stories” has finished, Concordia's Theatre program is now looking towards their next musical, “Little Women.” Elizondo said that she is “super excited for ‘Little Women,’ I’m going to be doing costumes for that. I love the story of ‘Little Women.’ It is such a good show. I'm really excited to work with a big cast again.”

Tags: Theatre, music, Review

---

About Colin Wheeler

More articles by Colin Wheeler