theater
Constitutional Drama
A PLAY ABOUT POLITICS BY A FORMER EUGENEAN
KICKS OFF THE SEASON AT OREGON CONTEMPORARY THEATRE
By Dorothy Velasco
W
ho knew that we could laugh so much about our nation’s
Constitution — and take it so seriously at the same time? The
opening show of Oregon Contemporary Theatre’s 2023-24
season, Heidi Schreck’s What the Constitution Means to Me, is
an invaluable choice considering America’s current political
climate of extreme polarization.
Schreck, an award-winning actor and playwright originally
from Wenatchee, Washington, studied theater at the University of Oregon. While living
in Eugene, she also starred in a couple of plays at Lord Leebrick Theatre, the precursor
to OCT. The first play she wrote, Creature, was performed in 2013 at UO after several
successful previous productions. It’s about time that her most acclaimed play, nominated
for a Pulitzer Prize, should be performed at OCT.
And what a production. The play, directed by Craig Willis, who also designed the set
— a realistic veterans’ hall — is essentially a one-woman show brought to stunning life
by Inga Wilson. In the first regional and New York productions, Schreck played herself,
the character named Heidi. Now the show is open to other actors, and Wilson is just as
charming, funny, emotional and forceful as Schreck.
Don’t be misled by the dry sounding title. It harks back to high school essays and
debating competitions, but Heidi is never dry. As played by Wilson, we see her at her
current age, around 50, and as a 15-year-old whose mother has convinced her to hone
her speaking and debating skills in order to compete around the country at events
sponsored by the American Legion.
These competitions offer generous prize money for college, exactly what young
Heidi needs. She’s so good that she manages to pay her way entirely through college
with her earnings.
The play runs about 100 minutes without intermission and eventually becomes
somewhat repetitious. Having seen a number of plays without intermission, I’m beginning
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5. “Futurama” co-creator
Groening
9. Actor B.D. of “Law & Order:
SVU”
13. “Need ___?” (possible truck
service tagline)
14. Push rudely
16. Food Network initialism
17. Bumble and Hinge, e.g.
19. “___ la vie!”
20. “Princess of Power” of
Saturday mornings
21. Stereotypical event for
fraternities in movies
23. Substack offering, maybe
25. Northwest Mexican state
26. Abbr. in a military address
28. Castle protectors
32. “Dang it!”
33. Fruit suitable for making
pies (rather than, say, a Red
Delicious)
36. Type of bar with mai tais
37. Finland-based
communications company
38. French silk city
42. Ripping to shreds
45. On the ocean
47. Braying equines
48. “Go, team!”
49. Putin predecessor
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51. Slide on something slippery
53. Apparel for striking poses?
57. Come after
60. ___-Lenape (Delaware tribe)
61. Small spaces between
areas, or what’s represented in
“Do You Mind?”
--if you were on the London Underground.
the long entries
63. The Weeknd, a.k.a. ___
Tesfaye
64. California berry farm
founder
65. Yale students
66. Washington, D.C., baseball
team, familiarly
67. Art sch. study
68. “Divorce Capital of the
World,” once
Down
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11. ___ account (term for a
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12. “Now I understand”
15. Those things, in Spanish
18. Actress Watts
22. Table game
24. “Haters ___ hate”
26. Several scenes, sometimes
27. Luau dish
29. Ancient Greek gathering
spot
30. Chips brand with a “Blue
Heat” flavor
31. “Press Your Luck” turns
34. Attachments for a seaside
hobby, perhaps
35. Volume count
39. Rummage event
40. Singer Rita
41. Furthest degree
43. Wild West Wyatt
44. Lopsided
45. One-celled protozoan
46. Official seal
49. “Blowin’ in the Wind” singer
50. American, in England
52. Actress Stevens of ‘60s TV
54. Mom’s mom, in some places
55. Sci-fi movie with a “Legacy”
sequel
56. Mlle., in Monterrey
58. ___ arms
59. Old U.S. gas brand
62. Mel of baseball
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What the Constitution Means to Me is playing at Oregon Contemporary Theatre through Oct. 1; times and
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to believe there must be something in our DNA that tells us 90 minutes is just right and
100 minutes is slightly too long.
During the show we see approximate examples of Heidi’s defense of the Constitution,
as much as the adult Heidi can remember. Oh, the sincerity and passion of a 15-year-old!
The older Heidi tells us she fell in love with the Constitution at a young age, and that she
loves it to this day, but now she understands much more than she did as a teen. Back
then when she read about the rights provided to “the people,” she didn’t realize that
people had to be white, property-owning men. No women, no Blacks (who were mostly
enslaved at the time the Constitution was written) and no Native Americans had those
rights. Only the white male property owners could vote.
She also learned more about domestic violence and sexual abuse, topics she could
never discuss in her teen years, but by asking questions and piecing together bits of
information, she learned about several generations of mistreatment within her family.
As an adult, she can tell us, the audience, about her family history, and reveals that now
she realizes the Constitution, the Supreme Court and the elected government may have
failed to provide equal protection to all and might benefit from a makeover.
Serious topics, but the explosive humor is a strong counterweight. My favorite example:
Heidi tells the audience she’s prone to crying, not just daintily-dab-your-eyes crying, but
what she calls Greek tragedy crying. Wilson’s demonstration would make Carol Burnett
proud. She starts with full-out howling and shrieking, she twists her face into a tragic
mask and she contorts her body in tortured writhing. Funniest crying I’ve ever seen.
Wilson is backed up by two other actors in small but important roles. Alexander
Holmes plays two characters: an upright Legionnaire timekeeper at the competitions,
as well as Mike, an actor who traveled with Heidi to play the Legionnaire. Noah Oristano,
an actual teen, plays a spirited debater.
E U G E N E W E E K LY . C O M
S E P T E M B E R
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