The Seymour Sisters
Two estranged sisters, Eleanor and Cecile, now in their 50s and 60s, meet to sort through their deceased parents’ belongings. Awkwardly falling into old patterns of bickering, Eleanor argues against the task at hand, while Cecile is desperate for her to stay. The sisters go through each box and bin, with Cecile moving box after box into her pile to take home, while Eleanor attempts to put everything she can into the trash. In the midst of all the sorting, the sisters connect, sing, and laugh. However, the two cannot avoid the truth and ultimately confront their painful childhood of incest, the loss of their sister, and why the two broke apart. A touching, provocative, and often funny look at family, asking what, if anything, we owe our adult sibling relationships.
Summary
The play opens with Cecile in a room surrounded by old worn boxes and bins. Looking through a box of drapes and bedspreads from the ‘70s, she is surprised to find her childhood stuffed animal, when Eleanor arrives, clearly reluctant to be there. The sisters, who haven’t seen each other in many years, awkwardly fall into an old pattern of bickering. Eleanor argues that there’s no need to go through their parents’ belongings, while Cecile begs her to stay. Eleanor acquiesces on the condition that they work quickly and not reminisce. From there, the sisters go through each box and bin, with Cecile moving almost everything into her pile to take home while Eleanor puts what she can into the trash pile. In the midst of all the sorting, the sisters remember their past, sometimes even playfully, singing and laughing. However, the two cannot avoid the truth and end up confronting their painful childhood, the loss of their sister, and why the two broke apart.
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Reviews
"A confrontational, emotional, yet humorous trip down memory lane. Not a play to miss; be prepared to laugh, but also to cry. Many from the audience said they eagerly await Carole Vasta Folley’s next play."
-The Vermont Journal
"Though the play contains levity and laughter, the subject matter is solemn: The slightest provocation from one woman can set off an avalanche of hurt feelings and resentment in the other."
- Seven Days Vermont
Inspiration
The genesis of The Seymour Sisters came from the playwright's desire to create a two-woman play with no set; the “container” for the story would be the boxes and bins that represent the characters' past. A Vermont Artist’s Space Grant awarded from The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts supported the initial development. A subsequent grant from The Vermont Arts Endowment Fund of The Vermont Community Foundation supported a workshop tour around the state. Vasta Folley says, "It was an intense and intimate experience, while being informative to the writing process. Although this play is fiction, it draws emotionally from truths in my own life. It's been a privilege to tell this story.” Also drawn to write about sisters, Vasta Folley notes that adult sibling relationships, "often divine, can be fraught with expectation and old ways of being,” adding, “Also, sisters are funny. I know, I have four of them.”
CAST SIZE - (Character & Stage Age)
2 Women (Eleanor and Cecile - 50s - although could be in their 40s through 70s, with some minor script adjustments)