During the Holocaust, many people found themselves in a difficult moral situation: To allow the Nazis to try to live out their regime or oppose them and risk death. There was no black-and-white answer to this situation. Everyone had to decide for themselves which choice to make.
This is one of the issues explored in “Notes to the Motherland,” Paul Rajeckas’s one-man show that opens this weekend at the Quick Center.
“Motherland” tells the story of Paulius, a first-generation immigrant to the United States who grew up listening to the stories of what his family experienced during the Holocaust.
Although the subject matter of “Motherland” is serious, Rajeckas describes it as a tragic comedy. The concept of finding comedy in something as horrific as the Holocaust has offended some people.
On the other hand, there is a sense that when confronted with too much tragedy audiences tend to shut down. Rajeckas said he sees comedy as playing a crucial role.
“The comedy part allows you to see what I am talking about. Otherwise, it becomes much to pedantic, much too heavy and too preachy,” said Rajeckas, adding that the play originated from an exercise in a storytelling class about key memories in a person’s life.
“I came up with this memory of my mother sharing all these photographs of all my cousins when I was a little boy. Of course, these are the cousins that are her nieces and nephews, her aunts and uncles, her brothers and sisters,” said Rajeckas.
“When I told this story people were leaning forward and by the end of my 10-minute presentation, people were crying,” he said.
The emotional reactions received from the audience prompted Rajeckas to develop his stories into a play with help from close friend and poet George L. Chieffet. Chieffet, who directs “Motherland” with a background in history, was able to broaden the show and make it relatable to many first-generation Americans and WWII survivors.
The show is semi-autobiographical. Asked what that means, Rajeckas said, “I didn’t just make it up out of nowhere like a comedy routine. It is real in its intention and it is steered by the kind of people that talked to me. They really existed and things like this really happened. I just cut and shaped it together into a theatrical experience.”
Rajeckas sees a communal understanding of the immigrants’ experience in the audience.
“I am surprised at how relevant it feels to a lot of people,” said Rajeckas. “A lot of people stand up from different races and nationalities and say, ‘This is my story. I am a first-generation American. I am from Ganhia. And this is my story.'”
For Rajeckas, connection with the audience is essential for a successful performance.
“The connection, the emotional connection to the audience is the undefined variable; you can’t guarantee it will happen,” he said. “The best performances have been where I have been performing and there’s pitched silenced; you can hear a pin drop, then you hear people laughing uproariously all as if they are one person, then silence again.”
Rajeckas, a native of Stamford, Conn., said he is excited about performing in Fairfield.
“I wonder how people will react. It is always very exciting for me,” he said.
“Notes to the Motherland” will open this Friday at the Quick Center at 8 p.m.
Leave a Reply