Text by Andra Moss
Photos by Adam Heller

Two one-act plays, written by Norfolk-based playwrights Sara Heller and Marinell Crippen, will premiere on Feb. 25 at the Norfolk Library. Both women are actors who have trained and worked in New York City, and Crippen is house manager at the Sharon Playhouse. Although neither had ever seriously approached playwrighting, somehow the two creative efforts, seeded independently, have taken root and grown together into two fully formed plays. 

As Heller recalls, “It happened so organically. I was at the land trust 5K race last fall and somehow mentioned my play to Marinell’s husband . . . and he said she worked at the Playhouse and had a play, too. It sort of evolved from that.”

For Heller, the impetus to write came from her own life. “The play is about a very personal experience of mine. It was my own journey to understand myself.” While she has written poetry and stories and had always wanted to write a play, Heller said she quickly came to understand that “this [experience] needed to be a play. So that’s what I did.”

The resulting one-act play, “Barren,” is the story of a woman’s choice to be a surrogate. It reflects on how her complicated relationship with her own mother contributed to this choice and how the relationships brought forth by the surrogacy changed her life forever.

Crippen’s work, “Let’s Play,” is also autobiographical. “I started this in college for a playwrighting class,” she recalls. “It was about a time in my life, 5th and 6th grade, when friends took me in when our house flooded.” The one-act play is set in the early 1970s and focuses on the friendships between three 12-year-old girls. Crippen describes it as “all about those early friendships and navigating difficult situations in the way only young people can. Looking back, that was a really important time for me. It meant a lot.” Eliza Little, Sara Heller and Hilary VanWright play the three girls.

Heller credits the actors—all from Norfolk—for bringing their pieces to life, noting that “they are so talented and willing to try. We’re just so impressed with them.” The casts include Erick Olsen, Adam and Mia Heller (the playwright’s husband and daughter) and Crippen’s husband, Peter. Kailyn Nadeau assisted with sets, costumes and props, and John DeShazo is managing lighting and sound.

For both women, writing, directing and producing their works for the first time has been, admits Heller, “a great challenge.” Crippen agrees but is especially glad that they saw it through. “I really wanted to do a play in Norfolk,” she says. “The town has a lot of music and there’s always a new art show, but plays are less common.” 

Heller says that the outreach from the community has been incredible. “There were times it felt so difficult and then someone offered help. It is definitely a community effort.” As the plays developed, support was provided by the Battell Arts Foundation and the Norfolk Library, which also offered its space for dress rehearsals and two performances.

Both artists agree that the journey to bring their plays to this point has been well worth all the hard work. Says Crippen, “It’s been a great process, and I’m sure it will continue to be.”

The two one-act plays will be performed at the Norfolk Library on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 26, at 5 p.m. These plays are meant for audiences preteen and up. The performances are free, but please RSVP at norfolklibrary.org or call 860-542-5075.