Letter to the Editors: The Language Archive

Dear Editors,

As members of the creative team of The Language Archive, it has come to our attention that the Quest’s review misrepresented the very core of the play.

The article’s main criticism of the play was that it “never really felt like it found its climax.” This is the very point of the show. The Language Archive does not follow a climax-based plot structure, as life does not follow a climax-based plot structure. Instead, the show focuses on emotional depth, communication, and the struggles inherent to interpersonal relationships—which are all part of everyday life.

There were several flaws in the article. The criticism of Adrian Zhang’s makeup was uncalled for. The description of the character Emma as “the smitten secretary” is inaccurate; Emma is George’s lab assistant and fellow linguist. The article mentioned most of the actors by name, but failed to mention the contributions of Maya Gutierrez and Evan Heintz.

The largest flaw was the commentary on Adrian Zhang and Isabelle Wong’s portrayal of the characters of Alta and Resten. The article’s writing was both unkind and inaccurate. It claimed “their individual characters got lost in caricature” and “[both] floundered in more dramatic scenes.” While Alta and Resten may seem one-note at first, at the end of the first act, both characters gave touching monologues on language, love, and the reality of long-term romantic relationships. If you missed that, you weren’t paying attention.

The criticism of the show also goes against the nature of the production. The cast members were all Reed students, participating in the show as part of the Theatre 100 class. To create a supportive learning environment, criticism should only come from those in a position to give it: the show’s directing team. The criticism in the article, especially in such a public setting as the Quest, has the potential to be hurtful and embarrassing to the actors, and to hinder their growth as artists.

While the article may have been aiming to match the tone of a professional theater review, this play was put on by students. Being a professional actor comes with scrutiny and criticism—scrutiny and criticism that should not be applied to a classmate. Adrian Zhang and Isabelle Wong are both incredible actors who put in tremendous work and improved their skills greatly over the rehearsal process, and the direct attacks on their abilities were wrong in both senses of the word.

We acknowledge, and are extremely appreciative, of the article’s glowing review of the sound, set, and lighting design, some of the actors’ performances, and the generally positive tone the review ends with. However, because such a significant portion of the article is devoted to criticism of specific actors, these positive aspects are overshadowed.

The Quest’s review did not understand the core of the play and was unnecessarily negative. For the incredible work that the cast and crew put into this show, they deserve a celebration of their achievements, not public criticism. 

We hope that future Quest reviews will demonstrate more understanding and depth, especially when commenting on shows involving students at Reed. One suggestion we have would be to incorporate interviews with students or faculty involved with the show, in order to better understand the artistic decisions made by the cast, directors, and crew, and give better positive publicity to the amazing artists at Reed.

Sincerely,

Ray Perry, dramaturg

Sterling Kennedy, assistant stage manager

Annabelle Hopkins, assistant costume designer