By Amanda Estes

Staff Writer

    Agnes of God is a play of ideas. The most utilized
props on stage are the chairs that represent psychiatrist Dr. Martha
Livingston’s office and the cigarettes she chain-smokes throughout the
play. Without a flashy set to distract the audience, the pressure is on
the actors to captivate the audience for the length of the play. The
Portland Players’ production, currently playing until March 25,
transplants the audience to Livingston’s office and memory, providing
an emotional and thought provoking look at faith: why is it so
important and once it is gone, can it be restored?

    Tagged as a “metaphysical whodunit,” Agnes of God
tells the story of a 21-year- old nun, Agnes, played by Anna
Gravel-Foss, who is accused of murdering her baby after the asphyxiated
newborn is found in a trash can in Agnes’ room. After Agnes insists
that the baby is not hers and she was never pregnant, Dr. Livingston,
played by Kate O’Neill, is assigned to the case to determine the state
of Agnes’s mental health. Dr. Livingston clashes with Mother Superior
Miriam Ruth, who is weary of an interrogation process that will “cut
(Agnes’s) mind open.”

    Mother Superior believes that Agnes’s is a holy
innocent and her beautiful singing voice is evidence that she is gifted
and special. As Livingston’s journey into Agnes’s psyche progresses,
both women become invested in the outcome, with Mother Superior needing
to believe that Agnes belongs to God and Livingston, combating her own
objections to the Catholic church, wanting to prevent Agnes from
becoming a victim of her faith.

    According to some sources, including Wikipedia.com,
the play is based on a real incident at a convent in New York. In the
real life incident, however, the nun was older and well educated. It
was determined that the nun had been away at an educational conference
at the time of the baby’s conception. The trial never revealed who the
father was.

    “I was just having a theological conversation,” said
Paula Price, entering the dressing room area from the lobby.

    Each weekend, Paula Price, of Cape Elizabeth, puts
on the habit and the Rosary beads required for her transformation into
the Mother Superior. Onstage, she is authoritative and stern, a woman
unwilling to open up the convent or her faith to the outside world. She
conveys an air of superiority that fortunately melts away when she
steps off stage.

    “I’m really a pussycat,” said Price in an interview
following Sunday’s matinee performance. “When I’m assertive my family
and friends say there’s Mother Superior,” she said.

    To prepare for the role, Price did some research on
Catholicism and learned how to put on the habit. To become even more in
touch with her character, Price said she took a break from makeup and
shaving her legs because “Mother Superior wouldn’t worry about those
things.” Glancing at the dressing room mirror, she said she was looking
forward to wearing makeup again. 

     Although, this is not Price’s first
performance with the Portland Players, she said Agnes of God is the
“most challenging play” she has acted in. She said her role as Mother
Superior also marks the first time she has officially felt like an
actor. Surprisingly, Price didn’t want to play Mother Superior. She
initially auditioned for the role of Dr. Livingston.

    “I wanted to wear the pretty clothes,” she joked
about her preference for the psychiatrist’s role. She said she knew
playing Mother Superior would be a challenge, but said that she is
drawn to roles that allow her to play someone completely opposite from
herself. That doesn’t mean, however, that she doesn’t look for some way
to relate to her character. Price said she was able to relate to Mother
Ruth’s huge capacity to believe in a higher power. She said she
believes everyone has those moments when they feel the presence of
something bigger than themselves.

    Even if you are not a religious person, it is an
emotional experience to see the drama unfold on stage. Dr. Livingston
and Mother Ruth are both desperate to save Agnes from different evils
and in the process they both become tied to her fate. Gravel-Foss’s
portrayal of Agnes as a fragile girl, much younger than her 21 years,
also makes it easier for the audience to become invested in her
well-being.  Price said she was exhausted after Sunday’s
performance. After one scene, she said she couldn’t stop crying
backstage.

    Price’s first performance at the South Portland
theater was in 1993 when she got a small role in a production of The
Odd Couple. In 1997, she performed in a production of Teasers and
Tormentors and last year she performed in The Passion of the Dracula
and played Penelope Sycamore in You Can’t Take It With You.

    Price said that with each performance she considers
that it might be her last one, but by the time auditions come around,
she has changed her mind. She said her loyalty to the Portland Players
stage is due in part to the way it complements her desire to pursue
acting as a passion and not a career. For one thing, she said the
theater is just around the corner from her house. Performing at the
Lyric Music Theater, also in South Portland, is out of the question she
said because she doesn’t sing. She also said she doesn’t have an
interest in working as an equity actor. 

    When Agnes of God ends its run next weekend, Price said she would be sad to see the experience end.

    “It’s like losing a friend,” she said. “Every play stays with you for awhile.”