“A young mother discovers that she has breast cancer and reluctantly attends a support group during chemotherapy treatment. The group consists of six breast cancer survivors that band together to take on more than just their cancer and its side effects. They face death and take on life! They find new meaning for their lives through love and laughter. The play is both a comedy and a tragedy. Comedy is how many of the members deal with the tragedy of cancer. It underlines the tremendous and relentless spirit of breast cancer survivors. Cancer is nothing to laugh about – but you can choose to laugh at it!”
“Pirates of the Chemotherapy” won the Audience Choice award for Best Play at the Smithfield Little Theater One Act Festival in August. Schutte got the idea for the play when he noticed a friend with breast cancer who was undergoing chemotherapy. She was wearing a scarf and had hoop earrings and they reminded him of a pirate’s outfit. This lead to other similarities such as pirates being portrayed with missing parts: a hook for a hand, peg for a leg and a patch covering an eye. And yet, like pirates, they spit in the face of overwhelming odds and win.
The play’s primary focus is on the camaraderie of women. It is as much a story of the courage and strength of women as it is about breast cancer. Breast cancer and chemotherapy strike women at the heart of modern culture’s definition of woman – beauty (hair) and breasts. And yet these women become more not less. The play tries to raise the awareness of the importance of early detection without being preachy. It uses comedy to get people to lower their guard. If the play causes one woman who has been putting off a mammogram to go ahead and get one, it will have done its job.
This is Schutte’s second play. In May of 2008, Palomino Productions presented “Our Little Buttercup” at the Williamsburg Library. After writing a draft of the play, he asked the cofounders of Beyond Boobs!, Mary Beth Gibson and René Bowditch, to review it. The idea of using comedy when discussing breast cancer resonated with them and the group served as further inspiration for the play. Schutte decided to present the show at the Kimball Theater. Le’Royce Bratsveen, who runs Iron Street Productions, was cast as the role of Nancy. Iron Street has produced a number of plays, including the recently acclaimed production of “The Wiz” at Thomas Nelson Community College. Bratsveen asked if she could put on the play at Thomas Nelson as well.
The breakdown of the characters follows:
Judith is a busy soccer mom who finally stops putting off that mammogram only to find that she now has stage 3 cancer. She fights to hold on to her old life while cancer and the support group tug her in new directions.
Winnie is a spirited working woman who has dealt with many struggles in her life before cancer including an addiction to cocaine. Winnie sees things ‘as they are’ and fights to cut through defenses and fears and get to the truth. All the while holding her own truth from the world.
Doris is a slightly oversexed, brash, no-holds-barred Southern gal. She likes to talk about herself and she will be happy to talk your ear off. Doris aptly describes herself as crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.
Peace is a new age earth child. She listens to her inner princess and channels chi rather than sending prayers. In a past life, Peace was Marilyn Monroe’s grandmother. For all her spaciness, Peace shows that the world is a bigger and more wonderful place than the others realize.
Nancy is the founder of the support group and the maternal figure in the play. She likes to keep things running by the book and doesn’t like it when Winnie attempts to do things in an ‘unconventional’ manner.
Karen is suffering not only from breast cancer and the side effects of chemotherapy, she is also having to deal with the fact that her husband has left her and taken all of their money. She is ready to give up when the group throws her a lifeline.
