Excerpts from comments …
"Exit Stance" is a remarkable play about aging. An old man, called only OM, born in India, who has lived most of his life in the US, now spends his final days in a nursing home that provides him with assisted living that dehumanizes him as it prolongs his life. The play is a one-man tour de force of anger and frustration relieved by passages of poetic beauty. Important is the OM’s universality… He is a kind of everyman ranting about the injustices of life, His ethnic identity fixes the play in reality, but the specific Indian identification of OM transcends mere individual concerns. His sense of rootlessness, his living between languages, his sense of belonging to no land and to no culture, his loneliness relieved only by a few memories and snippets of poetry recalled from the classical literature of his youth place OM in one of the grand traditions of literature represented best by Beckett. OM maintains his dignity with irony and humor as he confronts his end. His disquieted suffering and his methods of coping provide a bitter hope to all who face the last stage of existence.
Bob
(Dr. Robert Conrad, Professor of German language and literature, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio)
*****
The staging was effective the actor (Mohan Dali) did a wonderful characterization of Old Man.
I loved the shadow of light from the mirror on the floor. That had the touch of genius in the staging. Also I loved the screen effects and especially the large wide screen and the smoke.
...This play is complex, but it does grow on you and the play does have direction, ... It becomes more and more intimate, and then finally explodes in OM's going totally zonko and imagining that they are coming for him (death?) and then his cat (his Deva? God) comes to him and he throws him away and then finally gets into his bed terrified, only to wake up, (where?) Back here or in "heaven?"
My colleague Robert Conard, who came with me, thoroughly enjoyed the play, as you can figure out from his participation in the dialogue of the discussion session.
I believe this would do better in NYC or Chicago where the F and P and SH words and other four-letter words are common occurrence in their daily life.
From another note from Prof. Enrique Romaguera…
(In retrospect) the F word and others vulgarities are not bad, for they become a statement of who the character is and how frustrated he is to be losing his abilities.
...In my French-training mentality this is a comedy. A darkish comedy but still a comedy with a fanciful tweak. …I loved the ending with the Voices and the Cat. And the constant irruption of Indian melodies from films and of American voices also. This accents the fact that this play really takes place more in his mind than in this senior-care home.
There are very tender moments and some horribly frightening (to him) moments.
Again, I think that your staging of the production was very effective!
I sincerely hope that some time in the future Mohan (Dali) can do this play, or if not him, some other actor.
Again, I think that your staging of the production was very effective!
Jai Bhagwan! (Glory to the God )!
Narad, (Enrique Romaguera)
Professor Emeritus of Languages, University of Dayton
*****
I was able to visualize the production but the main impact was what the lead character says …his feelings and deterioration are powerful.
(The) quote "a crude, depressing and dark comedy-an existential angst form a foul-mouthed frustrated curmudgeon," certainly covers the play. But the actual content seems of a higher nature than the description. The (Old Man) is wrestling with significant issues and raging about them in intellectual and angry ways that I think will hit many people in audience right between the eyes...
Ralph
(Ralph Langer, former Editor/Publisher Dallas Morning News)
*****
The Old Man is caught in an endless loop of figuring out the ultimate questions about life and death.... I also enjoyed the sampling of songs and the deft mingling of Indian and American viewpoints...
Alpana Sharma, Associate Professor, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
*****
I found the recreation of the claustrophobic conditions very good. I (found Exit-stance) as a series of spaces - the space of the (quoted) poetry, the space of literature, of the self and finally of the home all turned in on them.
The neurosis-paranoia was indeed frightening …
… I see the point of this 'unreal' setting as being the character's very real reality (if I am making sense at all). I enjoyed … it for the extreme claustrophobia, which I mentioned above - powerful and scary, redeeming (he has not lost his humor or his literature)…
Pramod
(Dr. Pramod K. Nayar, Dept. of English, University of Hydrabad, Hyderabad, India)
*****
… I so enjoyed working with you and want to thank you for
giving my students a chance to experience some theatre of a different
variety than they are used to. I really thought the play was challenging,
thought provoking, and honest. The show's existential nature is certainly
a clear tribute to Beckett. Great work!
I hope we can work together again in the near future!
Margie Strader,
Drama teacher and Theatre Manager, Northmont High School, Clayton, Ohio
*****
It was my pleasure! My wife and I enjoyed it (Exit-stance) very much, and we spent much of the rest of the day talking about it. Certainly, parts of the story are hard for us to imagine, having both been born and raised in the US. Important, though, for us to consider those issues. And the universality of the story struck me, too, and I thought you conveyed that extremely well. We all sometimes feel removed from our environment and we're always struggling to understand why.
(People who could not attend the opening of the play) …missed a fascinating program.
Again, congratulations!
John (Harris) Executive Director, Cityfolk – a reputed cultural organization in Dayton.
*****
The community is very proud of the fact that the India Foundation has enriched our lives ever since its inception many years ago. You have done a tremendous job in bringing to Dayton a variety of plays, dances and the music concerts for our enjoyment. It takes a tremendous amount of time and effort to organize these events and you have done this for many---many years. The Exit-stance was such an effort and you have again done a great job in writing, producing and presenting the play on Saturday.
Congratulation!!!
Kailash Mehta
(Trustee, the India Foundation, and a former President, the India Club of Dayton)
*****
…Our community is enriched because of the programs
like "Exit-stance". Alok
(Alok Khare, a Trustee of the India Foundation, former President of the India Club of Greater Dayton)
*****
Congratulations on the successful opening of your play. Chand and I want to express our appreciation for your and Sharon's efforts to bring quality "events" to our lives. The community is indeed the beneficiary of the hard work and efforts of you two.
We enjoyed getting to know Mohan Dali (the lead actor in the play).
Rajiv & Chand
(Rajiv and Chand Verma, a long time patrons of the India Foundation).
*****
Great show. It was clear you put much of your time and heart into the production of Exit-stance and it showed. Very well done!
Mark
(Mark Taylor is a Chairman of the Centerville Arts Commission and is in real estate business…)
*****
The show was very insightful, and well produced. I'm glad I was there to see it.
AUTHOR! AUTHOR!Congrats on a wonderful production.
Suzi
(Suzi Fischer is a member of the Centerville Arts Commission and is a voice and piano teacher)
*****
You have done excellent job, it takes lot of efforts and courage and just and immense zeal to work,
I think response was good. Everybody who attended enjoyed the play.
Keep it up.
Chaitanya & Purnima
(Chaitanya Kadakia is one of the permanent Trustees of the India Foundation, former President of the Gujarati Samaj and former Trustee of the Hindu Community Organization.)
*****
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