“Practice” at Playwrights Horizons: A Disturbing Exploration of Cult Dynamics in the Theater
Contemporary theater is finally confronting our cultural obsession with cults, and Nazareth Hassan‘s “Practice” delivers a deeply unsettling, yet riveting, exploration of power, vulnerability, and the pursuit of artistic authenticity. The world premiere at Playwrights Horizons expertly directed by Keenan Tyler Oliphant, with electrifying movement by Camden Gonzalez, conjures a theatrical experience where the boundaries between artistic rigor and psychic violation become dangerously blurred.
The play taps into a broader cultural moment, as cults have moved beyond niche fascination to permeate American mass culture-appearing in horror films like “Hereditary” and “Midsummer,” and fueling documentaries and bestsellers about real-world groups like NXIVM.
the opening scene of “Practice” immediately establishes a chilling dynamic. Seven young performers – Opa Adeyemo, Karina Curet, Amandla Jahava, Hayward Leach, Maya Margarita, Ronald Peet, and Omar Shafiuzzaman – audition with the same monologue, absorbing direction unquestioningly from asa (Susannah Perkins), a charismatic but unsettling director. Karina Curet), a self-effacing heiress; and Rinni (Susannah Perkins), a German transplant. Their initial interactions, filled with theater games and icebreakers alongside Asa’s designer husband, Walton (Mark Junek), and dramaturg, Danny (Alex Wyse), quickly give way to a more unsettling methodology. Asa introduces a chart mapping the actors’ perceived values,encouraging them to assess each other’s “needs” – a process that feels disturbingly like charting their own undoing.
structurally, “Practice” unfolds as an audacious diptych. The first act, a nearly two-hour immersion in the granular details of rehearsal, meticulously accumulates gestures, glances, and micro-negotiations. This slow burn gradually escalates into something deeply disquieting,evoking the dynamics of Stanley Milgram’s famous obedience experiments. The act’s length isn’t merely punishing; it’s an ethical provocation, implicating the audience in the ritualized degradation onstage – a theatrical stress test of power and complicity.
The intermission arrives as a jarring break, with Asa remaining onstage, overseeing the set change to a mirrored cell, stripped bare, designed by Walton.the subsequent 40-minute second act presents the performance-within-a-performance, “self-Awareness Exercise 001.” Masha Tsimring’s sinister scarlet lighting and Tei Blow’s unsettling sound design, featuring option opera, amplify the sense of dread. The play deliberately withholds catharsis, offering instead a “grotesque inevitability.”
“Practice” resonates especially strongly with those familiar with the intense vulnerability inherent in theatrical training. Methods derived from Stanislavski and Meisner demand emotional excavation and peer scrutiny, which can appear coercive to outsiders. As the review notes, “Drama school alumni, consider yourselves warned.” Though, the play is not solely a critique; it’s also described as “exhilarating,” a mesmerizing combination of fascination and dread.While the pacing may challenge audiences seeking a conventional narrative, the play’s provocative nature and compelling execution make it among the most compelling works of the year. It’s a production that lingers in the mind long after the curtain falls.
“Practice” is currently running at Playwrights Horizons (Off Broadway). The play is written by Nazareth Hassan and directed by Keenan Tyler oliphant,featuring Opa Adeyemo,Karina Curet,Amandla Jahava,Mark Junek,Hayward Leach,Maya Margarita,Ronald Peet,Susannah Perkins,Omar Shafiuzzaman,and Alex Wyse.The running time is 2 hours and 45 minutes, with one intermission.
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