On Structure in Alchemy/Blues:
Svich considers her plays episodic in structure.1 She has also used the concept of collage to refer to the way in which she plays with a variety of structural forms, styles and tones including poetry songs ritual, and traditional western dramatic scenes. She notes "Alchemy of Desire/Dead Man's Blues in particular stems from a desire to re-imagine the United States from within: to take apart familiar structures and reconfigure them in a way that will forge a new theatrical identity, one that is reflective of a multifaceted culture yet rooted in ancient, even primeaval impulses and forms."2
The play also follows parallel stories as the wife and husband both embark on interior journeys. The double title reflects these two stories. 3
On Language:
Svich sees Alchemy/Blues as an ideal example of her visceral connection to language. She believes that "Language is physical. It lives inside the body, the heart, and the brain. Utterance, whether understood or not, is part of being human. A cry. A scream. I have always enjoyed exploring speech as a physical and cognitive act by my characters. The terrain where the characters live is manifested in the way they speak. This has to do with atmosphere, with establishing an environment onstage that is sensorial and real, even if it is pure science fiction. In my work, language often breaks down, and this mirrors or exemplifies a physical break-down of the body or the world. In Alchemy of Desire/Dead Man's Blues, the grieving widow Simone and the ghost of her dead husband Jamie find each other through a symbiotic breakdown of spirit and speech. The physical journey of the play is made three-dimensional."4
On Setting:
Svich thinks of Alchemy/Blues as "a very Southern play'' and this location deeply influenced her construction of the world of the play and the language used by the characters. She said "I made a decision to rethink my linguistic mind around the rhythms of an invented version of northern Florida and Louisiana.''5
On Theme:
Svich has said that the play began as an exploration of one woman's grief. She wonders "What happens to an individual when they experience an unexpected and unreasonable loss?" But her interest in individual grief soon grew to encompass the reverberations of her grief on a community. "What happens to a community which has suffered more loss than it knows what to do with? Whether in times of war or peace, there are always communities and countries who are having to struggle to survive, to simply get by. And in part, this play is my way of honoring those communities."6
But as the double themes of the title suggest, the play is also about desire. The playwright is "also interested in the nature of love, and how through it we can discover parts of ourselves we never imagined. How bold are we willing to be and go where we dare not have dreamed... On the axis of love and pain, the unknown liberates desire and allows us the possibility of motion."7
Spiritual themes are also important to this play. Svich "wanted to re-explore the rituals of Santeria, which have to do with exorcising ghosts and living with ghosts in your life. There's a tension in the play as the pedestrian and mundane jut up against the transcendent.''8
Works Cited
1. Grossberg, Michael. "Svich's Ghostly Drama Addresses a Woman's Grief." The Columbus Dispatch 15 Feb. 2001, Features - Weekender: 22.
2. Svich, Caridad. "The Writer Speaks." Out of the Fringe: Contemporary Latina/Latino Theatre and Performance. Eds. Caridad Svich and Maria Teresa Marrero. (New York: TCG, 2000) 394-395.
4. Svich, Caridad. "A Conversation with Caridad Svich." With Anne Garcia-Romero. The Dramatist. 3.3 (2001): 28 35
6. Svich, Caridad. Caridad on Alchemy. Alchemy of Desire/Dead Man's Blues. The Ohio State University. Department of Theatre website.