“Letters From Max,” an intimate drama by award-winning playwright Sarah Ruhl, opens Friday, July 17, at the Ancram Center for the Arts.
The play is based on letters exchanged between Ruhl and her former student, the poet Max Ritvo, who died of cancer in 2016 at age 25. Ancram Center Co-Director Paul Ricciardi directs the production.
“The play has things that speak to us—the joy of poetry, the celebration of poetry. It teaches us how to be human,” Ricciardi said.
Ruhl, a MacArthur fellow, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, and Tony Award-nominated playwright, appears as a character in the play, which unfolds through conversations between Sarah and Max.
That personal form appealed to Ricciardi, who also leads the Ancram Center’s “Real People, Real Stories” program, working with local residents to shape their experiences into stories performed for an audience.
“The storytelling program and the plays we choose to do have much in common,” Ricciardi said. “The room lends itself to communication between actors and audience. The thing we love is happening.”
Ricciardi, who trained as an actor at Trinity Repertory Company and has created and toured his own solo show, said his approach to directing emphasizes collaboration.
“I’m open to what other people have to say. I have good ideas, but I assume there will be other good ones. I want to give actors agency. I see myself as the first audience member.”
The production places the actors on a thrust stage, with audience members seated on three sides. The configuration allows the performers to remain close to the audience.
“The thrust brings you into the action. The actors are talking to you, working through a thought,” Ricciardi said.
Because the play is set in a classroom, Ricciardi and the creative team drew inspiration from the Ancram Center’s history.
“The Ancram Center was a grange hall — farmers came here to solve problems,” Ricciardi said.
The team ultimately decided to treat the theater itself as Sarah’s classroom. Designers initially considered covering the walls with words, but instead created a long, white aisle resembling a sheet of paper.
The creative team includes Lily Guerin, scenic designer; Evan Anderson, lighting designer; Alicia Austin, costume designer; and Liam Bellman-Sharpe, a musician and sound designer who remains onstage throughout the performance. Ricciardi described Bellman-Sharpe as the production’s “theatre angel.”
Andrus Nichols plays Sarah, and Evan Horowitz plays Max.
“It has been a joy to work with this company,” Ricciardi said. “I hope the audience comes to experience joy. The play is about poetry and grief, about loss, life and the aftermath. The student becomes the teacher. It’s a memorial of a friendship. It offers a new way to think about these things.”
“Letters From Max” runs July 17 to 19 and July 22 to 26 at the Ancram Center for the Arts. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays.
A post-show discussion with the cast and creative team will follow the July 19 performance. The July 22 performance is pay-what-you-wish. Post-show drinks with the cast and Ancram Center team will follow the July 24 performance, with a cash bar.