The setting is a church summer camp, now the site of the First Annual Solidarity and Truth Conference. Before the play begins, voices and visual projections describe the lives of T.I.s (Targeted Individuals). The attendees begin gathering, getting their name tags and coffee. There’s casual chatting about the conference topic: government attacks on Targeted Individuals by radiation or CIA mind control. Grace Dolezal-Ng directs this tragicomedy about people creating a community to share their suffering.
With Dolezal-Ng's direction, the six actors portray the characters as real people and the script offers some humor. But the pace is sluggish and nothing much happens in The Targeted to appeal to an audience that might have been expecting a more rousing assault on a government about which many of us are suspicious.
Rhonda (Kristen Fitzgerald), who has published a book on the subject, says, “Someday, everyone’s gonna realize that the whole system is run by a bunch of pedophiles and sex pests, but everyone who tries to point it out now is ‘crazy’ or–"
Sherry (Sadieh Rifai), who has read Rhonda’s book, asks her if she’s attended many of these events. Rhonda tells her “There’s never been anything like this before. Usually it’s just a handful of us at Denny’s.”
Jeff (Lawrence Grimm), the conference leader, welcomes the attendees (and the audience). The five actors representing the conference sit in the first row of the theater. Jeff tells us that there are 170,000 T.I.s in the US and 37 of them are attending this first conference. “The strong. The brave. The ones who are willing and ready to fight back and end our relentless torture!” Jeff also notes what happened this past week with Nathan. His death (by suicide), Jeff says, is a call to action for us.
What is the source of this anxiety about being targeted? Most T.I.s believe that the government is planting microchips under their skin.
Didi (Natalie West) thinks the targeting is random. Rhonda says it obviously isn’t.
But Didi says, “Yes it is. They aren’t choosing people they think are special. It’s because we’re normal that they’re able to make people think we’re crazy. Because why would the government be spending so much money and time torturing someone normal?”
The radiation attacks are why the attendees bring tin foil, except Didi, who has something fancier. Her quilt “blocks 99.99% of all radiation. It’s lead, what X-Ray technicians use.” The others wrap themselves in tin foil before sleeping.
Another attendees is Eric (Glenn Obrero), who is suffering from the same symptoms as the others. His sister Mia (Stephanie Shum) joins him to support him but her presence at the conference is questioned by Jeff, Rhonda and the others because she’s a “normie,” a non-T.I.
The action of the play is primarily conversation about being targeted by radiation and how to handle the effects. Some attendees suffer from itching and rash that they believe is from the implanted chip. (There’s no discussion about how the chips are implanted in the first place.)
In her program note, director Kime says “I’ve often heard people describe The Targeted as ‘a play about conspiracy theorists,’ but I don’t like that description. For one thing, there are so many examples, through history and in current events, that demonstrate why we all should feel a deep distrust in our government, or our medical system, or our law enforcement. It is reasonable to believe that these apparatuses of power do not have our best interests at heart, and it is normal to feel like a cog in a machine too complex to understand.… It is not crazy to feel exploited by those in charge, it is human.”
Those of us who might doubt the symptoms suffered by the Targeted Individuals in Kime’s play might consider another suspected Russian government attack that has been going on for years—off and on since 1953. The “Havana syndrome” is a series of symptoms associated with localized loud sounds that have caused brain and other injuries to US and Canadian government officials in overseas locations. While this is a “disputed medical condition,” many national security and embassy officials have been affected with serious health impacts.
Scenic design on the Chopin Theatre mainstage is by Lauren M. Nichols, with lighting by Josiah Croegaart and sound design by Angela Joy Baldasare. Projections are by Ema Ospina-Lopez and props are by Spencer Diaz Tootle. Stephanie Cluggish designed the costumes. Anna Vu is stage manager.
The Targeted by A Red Orchid Theatre continues thru June 14 at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St. Running time is about 90 minutes with no intermission. For tickets ($55) and more information, visit the Red Orchid website.
For more information on this and other productions, see theatreinchicago.com.
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