The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
The gradient
The Gradient runs through Oct. 24.
In the summer of 2018, playwright Steph Del Rosso found herself having the same conversation with friends that many did. #MeToo had exploded over the previous year, drawing more attention than ever to the constant problems of sexual assault and toxic masculinity, and Del Rosso and her circle of friends had all seen the slew of apologies from powerful, famous, mostly male offenders.
"I'd spent nearly a year pretty obsessively tracking the various people, most often men, who had been accused of sexual misconduct or assault and reading their public apologies," says Del Rosso. "It just seemed like, to me at least, they all had one thing in common, which was that they were just wholly inadequate. I also found myself having a lot of conversations with friends of mine about how we weren't just dissatisfied with these more public, famous men who harmed, but with men in our own lives who've harmed and the ways that they were reckoning or not reckoning with that, and that started to bother me. Usually when something bothers me, I write a play about it."
That play is The Gradient, which will have its world premiere at COCA's Berges Theatre on Oct. 8. Directed by The Rep's Associate Artistic Director, Amelia Acosta Powell, The Gradient stars Stephanie Machado as Tess, the new hire at a buzzy tech startup that claims it can rehabilitate men accused of sexual misconduct through its revolutionary algorithm. While the topic is, at its core, a heavy one—the actions themselves that send people to The Gradient are nothing to laugh at—Del Rosso hopes that her satirical approach can open people up to tackling what's uncomfortable.
"I think comedy is pretty crucial. When you're laughing, you're open, you're receptive, you're taken care of in a way. You're just sort of more able to receive. You can laugh out of discomfort, you can laugh out of recognition, you can laugh as a kind of catharsis, which I think and hope is happening with The Gradient," Del Rosso says, "It's really important when writing about trauma that I'm not retraumatizing my audiences. I don't think I always have to, nor do I want to, actually reenact the specifics of that trauma. I think comedy can be a vehicle through which we're engaging with that very real trauma without reifying it or perpetuating it."
Beyond the story itself, which follows Tess, other employees, and some of the clients of The Gradient who hope to be rehabilitated (And, really, can they be?), audiences are also encouraged to engage with several provided resources on the topics covered. The digital program—a COVID-safe playbill complete with clickable links—features thoughtful background and ways to support victims of sexual assault and violence compiled by dramaturg Sarah Slight. The St. Louis County Library has also compiled a reading list full of books covering similar themes, featuring titles such as Ronan Farrow's Catch and Kill and Roxane Gay's Not That Bad.
Though Del Rosso's experience staging the play for its world premiere with The Rep has led to some tweaks, most notably in the Client interactions and the play's central relationship, the main story hasn't changed much from from its first readings and workshops. And, from the previews at least, it seems audiences are receiving the message. Del Rosso says early audiences have approached Artistic Director Hana Sharif to share "positive, receptive" feedback, and the play is drawing laughs.
"I think people should get ready to maybe reflect on their own lives and the ways in which they have or have not made amends for things, and get ready to definitely laugh," says Del Rosso. "I try to put a mirror up to the world, but I always try to make it kind of a fun house mirror. I just think that, you know, we're in a theatrical medium, we should have fun with it. So I guess get ready to see a world reflected that is slightly surreal, but also familiar."
For more information on The Gradient, or to purchase tickets, visit the Rep's website.
