THE CONDUCT OF LIFE
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In Pillar Studio’s production, this grim vision is incredibly potent. Riveting, actually–full of force and drama, and not at all depressing until it’s over and you have time to stop and think about it. That’s good theater. Pillar Studio seems to have a knack for good theater. Each member has given impressive performances in the past few years, and collectively the troupe brings a lot of intelligence to this production. Although there are some weak moments, The Conduct of Life establishes this as a new company worth checking out.
Set in a present-day Latin American country (though the costumes would indicate otherwise), The Conduct of Life follows the moral decay of Orlando, an ambitious young man who knows instinctively that his “degrading sexual passion” might impede his ability to rise in the ranks of the military. Unsure of his own merits, he decides to achieve his goal of “maximum power” by marrying well. But once Orlando marries a wealthy woman named Nena and begins to rise in the military, his sexual passion grows more perverse and lewd. Unbeknownst to his wife and their housekeeper Olimpia, Orlando keeps the object of his passion, a young orphan named Leticia, imprisoned in the basement, where he regularly beats and rapes her.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Mitchell Canoff.
