“I am not made of granite. I am made of flesh… and blood… and heart… and soul,” Dr. Martha Livingstone remarked.
The opening night of Agnes of God premiered on Thursday, January 30th, and continued through Saturday, February 1st. Luckily, there are three more airings: Thursday, February 6th, Friday, February 7th, and Saturday, February 8th.
The performance is currently held in the campus KCB Bank Auditorium in the Pauline Joyce Fine Arts Building.
This play is directed by Dr. Joshua Kelly, the drama and theatre instructor at Garden City Community College. Kelly joined the GCCC faculty recently in 2023.
One thing that makes this play special is the all-female three-person cast. The cast of Agnes of God is fairly small compared to the casts in previous plays at Garden City Community College. The 3-person cast consists of Phybee Madlangbayan, Veronica McCallum and Alyssa Santana.
“I resonated a lot with my character because I’m someone who is afraid of childbirth, so I understood where she was coming from when she says she doesn’t want a baby. It is pretty heavy,” Madlangbayan said.
Agnes played by Madlangbayan is a young nun with a history of youthful innocence. Contrary to what she is known for, Anges is quickly surrounded by a tragic event that swallows the life around her.
Dr. Martha Livingstone, played by McCallum, is an elder court-appointed psychiatrist that joins Agnes during her sudden and traumatic tribulations. Livingstone proceeded with her own life struggles such as faith conflict and trauma which makes it easier for her to gravitate toward Agnes with logic as well as love.
“We can feel the connections to girlhood, it is about shame, fear and many other topics that resonate with women,” McCallum said.
“Being a girl is so special, and to do it with them it’s just different than if there were mixed casts,” Satana said.
Mother Miriam Ruth played by Santana is a major religious figure in the play. Mother Miriam represents miracles and faith that are essentially the pillars of the plot of Agnes of God.
All three characters represent real feelings and actions that are beyond relatable and should draw audiences. There are three very different yet very similar emotional journeys to resonate with that should at least in one way or another validate any audience member.
McCallum, Satana and Madlangbayan embodied modern problems and most importantly filled every act, ad-lib and monologue with advocacy and that itself should never go without praise. All three young ladies depict strong messages beautifully so do not hesitate to open your mind to the realities of the world when attending this production.
