Photo by Quill Nishi-Leonard ‘27
Rooke Theatre is home to the theater portion of Mount Holyoke College’s film media theater department; it is located on the southern end of campus by Gorse Parking Lot, Creighton Hall, and Buckland Hall.
BY GENEVIEVE ZAHNER ‘26
NEWS EDITOR
Visiting Assistant Professor in Film Media Theater Olivia Finch recently had the opportunity to present her play, “Iris,” in a staged reading at the Majestic Theatre in West Springfield. “Iris” follows a couple, Harper and Iris, through their grief following a miscarriage. Different characters — including Iris’ mother and an unnamed child — flitter in and out, representing different experiences and moments in the couple’s journey. The realistic and emotional tone draws the audience into the moment with the characters, allowing them to feel the grief as if it were their own.
Finch told Mount Holyoke News in an email, “I wrote Iris because I'd never seen a play in which a miscarriage was the narrative's entire focus … But a single pregnancy loss can be a life-altering experience.” She said that the “cycle of creation and transformation” that happens during a pregnancy loss was “rich and compelling” material for a play.
Finch also noted that she wrote “Iris” because it was a play that she wished she had seen in her own experience of loss. “That's normally how my process begins. I write the thing that I haven't yet seen but feel like I need,” said Finch. Finch wrote how it can be healing to see a representation of one’s own experiences, and that “the theatre is a unique place of collective witness,” which is one of her favorite qualities about playwriting.
“Iris was a commission that was part of a fellowship that I did after my MFA in Iowa. I got to spend a year writing and developing it through the University of Iowa and the Dee Silver new play commission,” Finch said. This is the third staged reading but the ninth draft of “Iris.” “It can be challenging to feel like you're still "discovering" two years after starting writing, but I've learned to trust the process as much as possible.”
Additionally, Finch loves the collectivism of the theatre and working on pieces for an audience; being in rehearsal is her favorite part of the process. “I love how much actors and a director bring to a piece, that they bring it to life. I always feel so grateful that something I wrote alone at a desk allows a bunch of people to come together and make something.”
For Finch, the most rewarding part is sharing the play with others, in collaboration with actors and directors, as well as audiences: “To hear how the piece resonates with other people and how it touches them is really rewarding.”
At the performance on Nov. 17, the audience reacted viscerally, with some members wiping away tears, or murmuring in agreement during key moments. The play took place in the rehearsal space for the Majestic Theatre, with rows of chairs set up black box-style and actors carrying stands around the minimal set and stage space. While at times the silence was palpable, occasional tension was broken with light laughter, and people seemed to really appreciate the intense attention to detail of the nuances of this play.
Angelina Godinez ’28 contributed fact-checking.