“Through My Eyes” Tells Four Immigrant Women’s Stories of Reflection and Revolution Amid the Covid Era

Article by Alex Simmons

Obie Award-winning Off-Off-Broadway company Rattlestick Playwrights Theater,  along with and New York Theatre Salon, proudly presented Through My Eyes for their Global Forms Theater Festival, a festival committed to international and immigrant theater artists, Through My Eyes was conceived by Ines Braun and presents four solo monologues by four women performers. Each piece is the performer’s autobiographical account of lockdowns and social distancing and the emotions and introspection that comes with it. 

Vongai Shava’s Quarantine Is takes an unfiltered look at the actresses’ experience in self isolation in the wake of the pandemic, civil unrest over the death of George Floyd, and anti-immigration rhetoric from the Commander in Chief. Where, by Dorothea Gloria, recounts the performer’s escape from poverty and violence in the Philippines’ capital city of Manila. Chrysi Sylaidi infuses longing and powerlessness into Distance, a pensive speech about human contact, and the devastating feelings evoked when absent. In The Silence, Ines Braun reflects on the namesake’s association with loneliness, separation, and childhood memories of Argentina.

Each monologue is presented as voiceover with mood setting footage, performance footage of the actress, and quick editing between. The simple production values allowed the words and experiences of these four very different artists to take center stage. Despite their differences, these women all hone in on the same feelings from different perspectives. Through My Eyes gives an intimate look at the experience of artists amid a global health crisis and social upheaval, compounded with the shades of otherization felt by people of color and immigrants in the United States.

Rattlestick can be followed at @RattlestickNY on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and their eponymous Youtube channel. More information can be found at http://www.rattlestick.org.