The Moors for final project

By Laureen F. Guenther Times Contributor

Emilee Nelson, a Rosebud School of the Arts graduating student, will perform an excerpt from The Moors from July 2-4 in Rosebud’s Akokiniskway Gallery as her final project for school.

Nelson, performing under the name Em Nelson, said they loved The Moors the very first time they read the play.

“The whole play follows three members of a house on the English moors, whose monotonous lives are interrupted by unexpected guests who shift that status quo,” said Nelson in an email interview. “The mastiff lives his life on the vast and bleak English moors, dreaming of something more,” which he gets when “a hoor-hen falls from the sky and upsets his quiet existence, setting them both down a strange path of love, control, and the universal need to belong.”

“The play is strange and absurd. The excerpt I chose follows not the humans of the story, but the strange menagerie outside of the house,” said Nelson. “There’s a freedom in the characters being animals, freedom from human shape and movement, from gender binary and stereotypes, it’s just two souls wondering about their place in the world.”

Along with choosing this piece as their final project because they found it fun and “spark with joy and curiosity,” their reason for choosing it also goes deeper.

“I see my own sorry in it,” said Nelson. “I see my journey in gender expression and coming out. I see my escape from an abusive relationship, and I see my breath of relief as I find a soft place to land.”

Throughout the process of production, the story has become even more meaningful to Nelson, who, as a non-binary person, says they are often unsure of their place in the world. 

“Belonging is fundamentally human … we all need a soft place to land when things get tough,” said Nelson. “Building community has been a large part of my time in Rosebud and I have learned to chase that feeling of belonging, which is why I think this piece speaks so deeply to me.”

Nelson’s “dream team” cast and creative team includes Nathan Schmidt as director, Islay McKechnie playing the role of moor-hen and Nelson themselves are performing as the mastiff. Anja Darien is designing costumes, makeup and posters, Brad Graham is lighting designer, Danai Allen is sound designer and Mark Lewandowski is stage manager.

“Our world has been through so much in the last two years and we are in desperate need for imagination and escapism,” said Nelson. “This story speaks to the need for belonging, the need to be needed, and in a time where we are so divided and polarized, how do we find common ground between creatures that could not be more different?”

With their performance, they hope to spark conversation and “help people embrace the ‘other’ that exists in all of us.”

Nelson will perform the excerpt of The Moors at 4:30 p.m. each day from July 2-4 in the Akokiniskway Gallery in Rosebud. The $10 tickets can be purchased at the door or by email (9.35theatre@gmail.com).