Lauren Marut ’25 and Jordi Bertrán Ramírez ’24 are actors, singers, dancers and most recently, everything from set designers to stagelight specialists in their latest show, “I and You.”
On the surface, “I and You” is about two high schoolers, Anthony and Caroline, meeting to work on a school project about the use of pronouns in Walt Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself.” More deeply, it discusses terminal illness, literature and growing up. Marut and Bertrán Ramírez’s co-proposed and self-starring play, written by Lauren Gunderson, is the third show which the two theatermakers will collaborate on this academic year. It makes sense, then, that they answer a call the same way they seem to do everything — together.
“Hey, can you hear us okay?” Bertrán Ramírez said. “Lauren’s here with me too.”
“I and You” is likely the first fully undergraduate-produced show at the Yale Cabaret, a David Geffen School of Drama performance venue that until now has primarily featured productions by School of Drama graduate students. In contrast to past years, this year’s proposal process allowed anyone, regardless of college affiliation, to apply for a show.
Marut and Bertrán Ramírez shared that what is most important about this production is its potential for artistic freedom. Bertrán Ramírez particularly enjoyed the ability to imagine a show from the ground up and make artistic choices so that the audience feels truly engaged with the story.
“Part of our process was making the show more about how the story was told and making audiences realize that theater isn’t just going to watch a narrative play out,” Bertrán Ramírez said. “[We] wanted to push the audience to participate in the show just as much as the cast and crew.”
The unique and intimate space of the Cabaret venue allows for a greater sense that the audience is not only watching, but also experiencing the show in a more personal way.
Sarah Cain DRA ’22 added that what makes this production special is the opportunity for School of Drama and Yale College students to share their creativity and artistry with one another.
“We get pretty siloed here at the School of Drama,” Cain said. “I’m glad to get to work with more undergrads. To see someone 10 or more years younger than me, coming forward with a proposal with such excitement and interest to a place that I am everyday is so lovely and a good reminder of why we’re here.”
There is particular weight on the performance due to it being a rare undergraduate production, but Marut said that the team has enjoyed taking agency in the theatrical artist process. Marut added that, in reality, this production, like all the productions that came before it and will come after it, is simply trying to do something new.
“Even though this specific process is history-making, it is in every way a reflection of how every production in Yale College strives to operate,” Marut said.
Striving to operate, that is, with an innovative and constantly changing lens on the theater world, especially in the tumult of COVID-19 variants and ensuing performing arts restrictions.
“So many people on our team have never done theater before,” Bertrán Ramírez added. “It’s not only history-making on an institutional level, but also history-making on a personal level.”
When the characters Anthony and Caroline first meet, they are awkward, shy and a little afraid in the way that high schoolers tend to be. But as they start to talk about the meaning of “I” and “You” in the larger poem, it’s clear that the play perhaps is not about their group project at all, but instead a singular kismet between two people who are inextricably tied together, through body and soul. The play tackles growth and decay, mortality and rebirth; It transforms the human body into a conduit for universal human connection.
On the phone, Marut and Bertrán Ramírez mimicked their in-show characters, finishing each other’s sentences, tacking on addendums and appendixes to each other’s comments.
“We are the first fully undergraduate team,” Bertrán Ramírez said.
Marut continued, “But by no means do we aim to be the last.”
“I and You” is showing at the Yale Cabaret from Feb. 24 to 26. Tickets are available on the Cabaret’s website.