when Monica met hillary

BY WINTER MILLER

MIAMI NEW DRAMA

2022

Directed by Margot Bordelon

Set & Projection Design: Reid Thompson

Costume Design: Dina El-Aziz

Lighting Design: Yuki Nakasaki Link

Sound Design: Palmer Hefferan

Photographs: Stian Roenning

Actors: Kyra Kennedy, Danielle Skraastad, Mia Matthews, Rasha Zamamiri

Winter Miller’s play imagines scenes between 4 women - The famous two women of the title, in addition to Huma Abadeen, one of Hillary Clinton’s most trusted aides, and Marcia Lewis, Monica Lewinsky’s mother. Rather than focusing on the public moments that we are aware of, When Monica … focuses on private moments around the famous events of Bill Clinton’s presidency and the following years of the lives of the title characters. The play culminates in an imaginary meeting (the two historical women never met) between the title characters "in the future.” For this collection of mostly two-hander scenes which riccochet between locations, we pulled the action close to the audience with a series of walls and doors parallel to the proscenium.We incorporated doors and paneling inspired by interior details in the white house, and a overscale striped wallpaper that felt very 1990s. A decorative cornice with a black border above flew in and out to change the shape of the walls. Projected text, sound cues and bold lighting helped place us, along with minimal props and furniture. For the last scene we flew out the secondary walls and cornice, revealing an enormous wall with one door. For the final moment, the final wall flew out and Monica left upstage through the empty theater.