Meet the Cast - Becca Petersen as Clara Johnson

By Kristen Leinbach, Dramaturg

When asked about writing The Light in the Piazza and about the relationships of the characters, Craig Lucas said the following

“Clara apprehends the world differently than her mother. [Margaret] goes through Italy with a guidebook. But the girl sees experiences, she sees the light in the piazza. She literally experiences the light as representative of her deepest feelings…That’s why the score has moments where words no longer suffice or are no longer important. It’s the feeling and light. Those things carry us. Human beings are just a conduit for love. I think Clara sees that. Love comes before her and after her.”

I asked Becca Petersen, portraying Clara Johnson, to share a little about her life as well as her experience getting to really know Clara.

“I am Becca Petersen from Carmel, Indiana. I am a senior studying Music Dance Theatre. I will be graduating in April with plans of moving to New York City! At BYU I have performed in PETER PAN as well as two years in the Young Ambassadors traveling to Southern Africa and China. These past two summers I have performed professionally at The Muny and Music Theatre of Wichita. Aside from musical theatre I love to go thrift shopping, take naps, eat out, and spend time with my friends and family.

Clara Johnson has always been one of my dream roles and I could not be more excited and grateful to have the opportunity to play her.

The Light in the Piazza follows Clara and her mother, Margaret, as they travel through Italy. Clara is a very youthful girl who lives life exactly in the moment. She is bright-eyed as she sees and experiences this new place for the first time. The plot is centered around relationships: Clara’s relationship with her mother and her new budding relationship with a Florentine boy, Fabrizio. I feel that I connect with Clara on many levels. I love to travel, explore, and see new places. Because of previous travel opportunities I have had I understand what it is like experiencing different cultures and having to figure out how you fit in. In the show many of the characters, including Clara, go through big life transitions. Currently I can relate as I am getting ready to graduate, preparing to move to NY, having family members and close friends get married, and trying to understand love and relationships of my own. All of these experiences can be scary but can also be incredible if we let ourselves learn, grow, and live in them. We must allow ourselves to find the happiness and joy in all things we experience. In essence, that is what Clara does. Clara finds what makes her happy.”

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By: Eric Stroud, dramaturg Last time we discussed Director David Morgan's usage of a tree in his concept for this show. A representation of "human kind," the tree is an omen of what might befall those who hold a soft spot for war mongering. However, David's concept ("any war we have today, is simply evidence that human kind has not learned from its mistakes.") is not clearly accomplished with just a tree that is center stage. Circles are also an important part in this production of Mother Courage. While the tree may represent "human kind" for David, the circle represents the monotony of human kind's choices. In this play, killing shows up constantly, in dialogue, implications, and actions. Davod felt that the cyclical cycle of killing that has existed since the dawn of time can easily be represented with a circle. Additionally, watch as Mother Courage pulls her cart around the tree, over and over. Pay attention to how her lack of progress makes you feel. Does it frustrate you? Did you even notice it? As you watch the show, ask yourself whether or not you agree or disagree with Mother Courage's choices and write about it in the space allotted in your program. However, perhaps David draws his circle concept from Brecht's play on the idea of repetition through dialogue. One of my favorite examples of this comes in the scene proceeding the intermission. Mother Courage's daughter Katrin has just been attacked. She stumbles into camp with a dazed and downtrodden look to her. Mother Courage makes an attempt at consoling her, but is unsuccessful. In her frustration she exclaims, "curse this war!" However, this exclamation is quickly followed by this line at the start of the next scene, "I won't have my war all spoiled for me!" One second Mother Courage is cursing the war and the next she is claiming it fondly as her own, "my war." This hypocrisy is Brecht's showing of repetition. There are countless times in this play where characters act opposite to what they claim. It is easy to see that Davod's concept draws from this inclusion of confusion by Brecht. It plays on the idea that just as Brecht's characters never learn, or progress, neither does the human race. In my next post I will explore my lobby display. Tune in to read about where I got my ideas and how it ties in with the show.

Meet the Cast - Becca Petersen as Clara Johnson

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