The actors are lying on the floor, breathing deeply and relaxing their muscles per director Roxie Perkins’ instruction.
“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” She imparts Samuel Beckett’s wisdom as though she is a woman seasoned by years on stage and in the world, as though she has tried and failed dozens of times.
Yet she is just 18.
Perkins, a Jewish teen and a senior at Albany High School, is directing her original play “To All the Ideas I’ve Loved Before, Pt. 1” for the Target Teen One Acts Festival at the Berkeley Repertory School of Theatre. Opening night is April 3.
The play is Perkins’ fourth, but her first with a Jewish theme. Based on the biblical story of Lilith — Adam’s first wife before Eve came along — “Ideas” examines what might have happened before Lilith left Adam.
Perkins is café-culture cool, with short curly hair, beaded earrings and purple plastic frames. She started writing poetry and short stories in elementary school, and after discovering acting in ninth grade, she began not only reading plays almost exclusively (making an exception for mythology) but also writing them.
This is the second year Perkins has written and directed for the annual One Acts Festival, which is sponsored by Target.
Each year, the Berkeley Rep’s teen council selects two original scripts penned by local students (from about 50 submissions) to be directed, performed and produced by a team of local teens.
The winning writers are paired with mentors from the professional theater community, and Perkins is drawing rave reviews from hers, MaryBeth Cavanaugh, an associate director of the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre.
“She’s one of the most talented students I’ve ever worked with,” Cavanaugh said. “She’s commanding, and that instills confidence in her cast. I can tell her actors feel safe with her.”
The teen directors orchestrate all elements of their play: auditions, rehearsals, set, lighting and costume design, all the while receiving support and feedback from the Berkeley Rep staff.
Perkins’ passion for playwriting and directing “is unique for somebody so young,” Cavanaugh said. “She’s taking on so much responsibility without the glory and attention that most teenagers, and even actors, crave.”
Perkins’ play is a prologue to the oft-told myth: God creates man (Adam) and also a woman (Lilith) because he does not want Adam to be alone. When Adam pronounces himself superior, Lilith argues they are equals and the pair begin to fight.
Lilith eventually leaves and then refuses to return after being tracked down by three angels. At that point, God sends Eve to Adam.
When Perkins heard this story, she had already written a play about a young woman unhappy in her relationship, and how she finally became empowered to leave it.
Perkins was so enamored by Lilith that she rewrote her play, making it a prologue to the story, one that portrays what is going on in Lilith’s mind before she decides to abandon Adam.
Perkins said that because she’s a non-practicing Jew, she had to do significant research. She read different translations and looked at ancient and contemporary paintings and illustrations of Lilith.
Her findings bothered her. History had pigeonholed Lilith into two archtypes: a staunch feminist or an evil woman responsible for the downfall of humanity.
Now she hopes her play inspires people to rethink such a complex biblical woman.
“[Lilith’s tale] is an incredible story,” she said. “I love that it transcends Judaism, that the myth has been retold in Native American and Greek [folklore] and even Japanese animé. It’s so interesting to me that the story went beyond its source.”
Target Teen One Acts Festival at the Berkeley Repertory School of Theatre, 2071 Addison St., Berkeley. Performances at 8 p.m. April 3, 4, 10, 11, and 2 p.m. April 5. $12 general admission, $7 for students. Information: (510) 647-2974 or www.berkeleyrep.org/school.