Maggie Chestovich, Joy Dolo, and Katie Bradley Photo by Tom Wallace

The play has the feeling of a folk tale, incorporating several traditional folk motifs. To start with, each of the three sisters' different temperaments expresses a different manner in which we humans engage the world. Albienne (Joy Dolo) indulges in sensual experience, represented by her passion for cake. She is also the only sister with a flirtatious nature. Beatrix (Maggie Chestovich) seeks discovery and enlightenment, represented by her fixation on the sun. Carmen (Katie Bradley) is attuned to serving others, feeling as if she carries the weight of the world in her backpack as she bears the needs and concerns of others.

Once the nature of the three sisters is introduced, their saga begins, again following familiar tropes. After an idyllic childhood, they suffer a loss on the brink of adolescence and are pushed out into the unknown world by their dear but hapless father. From that point, Albienne and Beatrix each venture off on journeys in opposite directions, on which they learn about themselves and the world. Carmen stays in the woods where their father left them and creates a life there, where she will await her sisters' return. The play progresses over a couple of decades. The sisters lead armies into war, cultivate an epicurean society, bring joy to a dim and dreary city, hob-nob with the rich, provide shelter for the needy, begin a family of their own, and even cross the ocean on a lighthouse–that last making for an especially inventive bit of storytelling.

The intricacies of their tales keep us constantly engaged, and though they embark in vastly different directions, they seamlessly find their way back to a singular and brilliantly satisfying end. All of this is told in story theatre style, with alternating narrators and every actor serving as an ensemble to populate specific character's narratives. It is creativity incarnate, and also outlandishly funny, when it isn't gently tugging at our heartstrings. Director Markell Kiefer masterfully keeps the stories flowing, shifting between the sisters' tales without ever a sliver of pause.

Like all Ten Thousand Things shows, This Girl... is performed on a small square space surrounded by a couple of rows of chairs on each side, with all the lights on for the entire show. Four weeks of public performances are scheduled at two venues (see below) along with single performances at a variety of community facilities such as schools, adult learning centers, shelters and prisons, bringing live theatre to locations and audiences that rarely have that experience. This is why the lights are left on. Without stage lighting and with extremely simple, albeit extremely creative, set elements and props (designed by Joel Sass), the company is able to transport their productions and present them just about anywhere without need for special facilities or equipment.

Performing in a Ten Thousand Things production always appears to be a hugely fun gig, which is not to say it looks easy. Far from it, the rapid transformations required of the cast surely requires extreme concentration, and coordination of blocking on such a tiny stage calls for exacting precision. Those qualities, along with the heart to bring a genuine presence to their primary characters, are evident in all five cast members in This Girl.... At the same time, they are a loose-limbed troupe, able to ad-lib and engage the audience, sometimes enlisting a front-row sitter to hold a prop or confirm a stated point of view.

The three actors portraying the sisters–Katie Bradley, Maggie Chestovich and Joy Dolo–who in fact do not look anything alike, convey an invisible connective tissue that would have us believe they really are sisters. Bradley convinces us of Carmen's kind but burdened heart, unable to put herself on the list of those whose needs she must meet. Chestovich expresses Beatrix' intellect, a seeker always looking beyond the next rise and undaunted by any obstacles. Dolo exudes Albienne's exuberance, one who experiences everything in life with all her senses, whether it be cake or combat. Tyson Forbes and Marisa B. Tejeda complete the ensemble as father, mother, and a wide mix of other roles: people, animals, and sometimes even a set piece, as when Forbes' tall, lanky frame becomes a lighthouse tower.

This Girl... would be nowhere near complete without its evocative musical accompaniment, composed and performed by Julie Johnson. Johnson's primary instrument is the flute, though others are brought to the mix and on occasion Forbes and Tejeda add musical flourishes to the soundscape. Sarah Bahr's folkloric costume designs are also essential, helping us track when the actors take on a different roles and adding a beguiling array of color and texture to the stage. The bit of dancing incorporated into the show is wittily choreographed by Jim Lichtsheidl.

Full disclosure: I arrived at the play in a foul mood. The weather was awful, I had trouble finding the community site where that day's performance was being staged, and parking was a problem. Within a minute of watching This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing, I was not only calm, but engrossed and laughing. The show is a wonderful balm for all the things chipping at our nerves, and boy, is there a lot of chipping of nerves these days. It shows us the rewards of living in accord with our uniqueness, even through times when we are challenged by it, while also embracing the uniqueness of others. That is the core of what makes these three sisters a family, and what has the power to join us together as a human family.

This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing, produced by Ten Thousand Things Theater, runs February 20, 2025 - February 23, 2025 at The Open Book, 1011 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis MN and February 27, 2025 - March 16 at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, 511 Groveland Ave., Minneapolis MN. All remaining community performances are sold out. For tickets and information, please visit www.tenthousandthings.org.

Playwright: Finegan Kruckemeyer; Director: Markell Kiefer; Composer and Music Director: Julie Johnson; Scenic and Props Design: Joel Sass; Costume Design: Sarah Bahr; Choreographer: Jim Lichtscheidl; Stage Manager: Jason Clusman; Production Manager: Ryan Volna-Rich.

Cast: Katie Bradley (Carmen/ensemble), Maggie Chestovich (Beatrix/ensemble), Joy Dolo (Albienne/ensemble), Tyson Forbes (Narrator/Father/Ensemble), Marisa B. Tejeda (Narrator/Mother/ Eleanor/ensemble), Ashwanti Sakina Ford (understudy).