What is an ESSPY? Sounds like an award for artistic endeavor or a type of star or a physics particle, right? If you are a medical student or involved in the education process around medicine, you’ll know that it stands for Standardized Patient. Nandita Shenoy has captured the perfect trio – perfectly realized in our fourth wall bubble that so accurately depicts our imperfect world. Through a glass, with a dash of humor.
The lights come up on a state-of-the-art, in 2012, medical suite where a dour duenna sits like the Sphinx with a clipboard while William (Tim Liu), the first year medical student, has his first ESSPY encounter . The Sphinx is Dr Mendoza (Ching Valdes-Aran) who is charged with training up these green young doctors. Anu Shilpa (Lipica Shah) is the aspiring young actor who is working to channel her life into her art for a more reliable paycheck to supplement her acting work. Nandita Shenoy is an actor and award-winning playwright whose work sees each of these characters with a gimlet eye and exposes their foibles and humanity. This only makes us love them more. ESSPY is number 127 in the World Premieres that have seen the light of creative day at New Jersey Repertory Company in their 27th year of Award-Winning Theater. The Jersey Shore is more than sand, surf and seashells, and you need to see how this chambered nautilus unfolds.
Peter J. Kuo is no stranger to Shenoy’s work, and it shows. His deft direction moves the eye in a DNA spiral even as the play moves the mind. Jessica Parks’ sets do double duty as medical suite and coffee shop with just a few clever literal twists. Patricia E. Doherty’s costumes reflect the passage of time for our aspiring med student and young actor. Dr. Mendoza has her uniform – white coat and clipboard and of course, she is our constant. Jill Nagle’s lighting works seamlessly with Nick Simone’s sound designs as the music and news bytes flip the calendar first backward then gradually forward so the action is almost a time-lapse sensation. The exception is that as life unfolds, we see a contrary motion in whose strength flexes at which time. Valdes-Aran’s Mendoza uses Socratic method like watercolor and it is a delicious contrast to her surface-sharp demeanor. Liu’s William deepens as we watch, a greenhorn grows into a new expert yet just when he’s feeling his mastery, the most human of connections nearly beats him back. Shah’s Anu is like a Spring day in New Jersey – sunny, then cloudy, then bright, then dark and the full range of human experience touches her face and her heart, as it will yours. The scenarios play out and as Anu exposes the range of experiences a young doctor may have while examining an array of patients, William and Dr. Mendoza have surprises of their own. Add the fifth dimension (the fourth is time) of your own range of experience and the alchemy is complete.
“ESSPY” by Nandita Shenoy is playing now through March 17, https://njrep.org/show/esspy/ and it is a multi-faceted show with beautiful stained-glass moments. These are memorable performances, Thursdays through Saturdays only, and expertly directed with an amazing script. Consider it NJ Rep’s Spring gift and enjoy Shenoy.