Awards and Accolades: Prize Fight at the Harbor Stage Company

There are few people who don’t imagine being at the top of their art, or profession, gaining the recognition of their peers for all the world to see… but when Haas (Samantha Steinmetz, in her Harbor Stage debut) is selected for one such literary prize, she has to face the reality of what it means to accept.

That’s the central conceit of Brenda Withers’s new play, Prize Fight, now in its premiere production at the Harbor Stage Company. In recent years many artists (musicians, writers, painters, architects) have refused to claim awarded prizes and/or fellowships, most of them for political reasons, but Prize Fight goes beyond politics: it focuses on the meaning at the heart of any artistic practice.

In stark contrast to the soul-searching author is—perhaps inevitably—her slightly bumbling agent, Rog (Harbor Stage regular Robin Bloodworth), who complains that “this is going to be one of those talking plays.” He is obviously over the moon about the award and its subsequent implications, and seems at first genuinely baffled that Haas is digging in her heels about the acceptance.

Her objections are not political per se, in that they’re not connected to current world events; rather they’re looking at the multidimensional reasons for awards, which include politics of a different kind, a world where “you can’t get in,” she says, “unless you’re already in—you have the right MFA.”

That’s Haas’s point throughout the play: something bigger, greater, more elevated than competition should be happening in the artistic space, where “there is not top to a circle” and writers “are beyond competition,” the last observation possibly reflecting wishful thinking. The practice, she implies, is more important than the product. And there’s no one in the audience who can’t empathize with her plaintive protest that “this isn’t the way things should be!”

Rog is at pains, obviously, to point out the repercussions should she decided to eschew the event and refuse the prize, and while she’s earnest and driven, he is practical with flashes of humor. He has concerns about what he calls the price of protest, and presents the opposing point of view well: the prize offers a platform from which she can effectuate change; her future will be financially more secure, enabling her to do more of what she loves; recognition by one’s peers is the highest recognition available.

But she comes back with an answer to every objection; when he talks about the excitement of the event, she counters with, “writers don’t like daises—we love low-ceiling rooms and typewriters,” and when he’s on about moving forward, she laughs him off: “I used to love it when we called text messages ‘books’!”

The chemistry between Haas and Rog, despite their semi-adversarial partnership in this situation, is quite marked, and they share nice physical interactions which keep the play moving forward despite a premise that’s largely abstract. Director Jonathan Fielding’s deft hand is apparent throughout their moves and dialogue.

I can’t neglect Joe Kinehan’s scenic design, which is minimalist (to say the least!), but with lines across the back of the stage that could be bookshelves—or even, reflecting the title, fight ropes.

The Harbor Stage Company has done it again with an absolutely flawless production and inspired performances. Withers’ new play touches a lot of truths that are no longer confined to creative workers. No matter your connection to the artistic world, the arguments will ring true… and their nuances will keep you thinking long after the curtains fall.

review by Jeannette de Beauvoir

images by Joe Kenehan