Last week, from Feb. 26 to Feb. 28, the Theatre Department presented the play “Birthday Candles,” as described by senior Cody Lee Crist: ”Birthday Candles follows Ernestine Ashworth from her 17th birthday and over the course of her many birthdays, we see her ups and downs through life in the course of 90 minutes, all in one birthday cake over the course of a century.”
Crist, the director of this play, said there were some logistical challenges. “The show involves ageing decades at a time without the actor having the ability to leave the stage. So it was fun to work with the creative team to create our version of how time progresses in the show,” Crist said.
I went to the performance, and I did not expect myself to cry my eyes out. First of all, shout out to the amazing actors, especially senior Ella Zubieni, who played the main character. I could tell that she was really feeling her role. But the main thing I want to talk about is their use of lighting and sound. When a character died, the stage would go dark and a sort of light would be their beacon to heaven, then there would be a sound in the background that implicates their death, for instance, when Madeline (Ernestine’s daughter: Played by junior Emily Dominguez) dies there is a clock ticking in the background representing Madeline’s dread and lost will to live. They also used the same thing for Atman, the gold fish, when they count down until he forgets everything represented by a yellow light that shines down. I give a round of applause to the lighting designers.
But to the story, Ernestine is just a young girl at the start of the play, just wondering where her life is going and what her purpose is, and all she has are the traditions, which she doesn’t much care for. But then her mother dies of cancer, and all she has is the cake recipe that her mom would always bake for her. So she kept the tradition going for many years, even at the worst moments of her life, and even near the end of the play, where she is shattered and breaks into the house, to make the cake one last time. But what got to me was that time can pass like it’s nothing, and people will meet their end at some point, whether it’s sickness or old age or even when dread has consumed them to a point they can’t see meaning anymore. It makes us think of our loved ones, and someday, they won’t be with us. It’s scary to think about, but that’s how life goes, and it makes us appreciate everyone we have in the moment.
I guess that’s why Crist was so drawn to it. So hug your mothers, tell them how much you love them, and hell, on your birthday, make yourself a cake, invite your family, and just have a good time.
