Sophia Mullins walks tentatively across the stage of the Cyrus Pavilion Theatre, her hands outstretched, groping for a surface to cling to. Her eyes appear unseeing, staring ahead, unfocused.
Mullins is not blind, but for the upcoming production of “The Miracle Worker” by Orono Community Theatre, she will act as though she were.
Mullins, a 12-year-old resident of Bangor, will play a young Helen Keller, who became blind and deaf at 19 months old after contracting an illness. Keller became one of the 20th century’s leading humanitarians and educators. She also was among the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The role is an entirely physical one with no lines, a challenge Mullins has risen to undertake.
As a young girl, Keller would kick and scream when angry. She had raging tantrums, and many of her relatives felt she should be institutionalized. Mullins will depict this role with the help of her castmate Jasmine Ireland, who portrays Anne Sullivan, Keller’s educator and lifelong companion, and director Angela Bonacasa, who holds a certified teacher of stage combat status with the Society of American Fight Directors.
The production is a three-act play by William Gibson and takes place in Tuscumbia, Alabama, chronicling portions of Keller’s childhood. It specifically recounts the development of the relationship between Keller and Sullivan as student and educator.
“It’s not a historical account,” Bonacasa said. “But a lot of the descriptions in the play are actually things that happened in terms of Helen’s relationship with Annie and Annie and Helen’s background.”
The production presented unique challenges for the cast. In order to immerse those who auditioned for the role of Helen Keller, Bonacasa had prospective actresses audition with eyes closed.
“This is your primary sense,” Bonacasa said, pointing to her eyes. “Until you are forced to not have that, it’s very hard to open yourself up to other ways of interpreting information.”
The cast also visited the Perkins School for the Blind in Massachusetts to learn more about Keller, Sullivan and the background and achievements of the two.
“To get to see pictures of them, see things that they touched, see the influence they had over education of the blind in this country, was a unique opportunity that you don’t often get with plays that are based on historical people,” Bonacasa said.
“I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to portray her greatness,” Mullins said of her initial reservations about the role. However, despite their difference in physical limitations, Mullins saw something in Keller that she could relate to.
“She had a fire in her belly,” Mullins said. “I can almost relate to her in a way because I have that fire.”
Mullins has been acting for eight years, participating in more than 20 productions at Penobscot Theatre Company as a member of their Dramatic Academy.
Perhaps most important was her established relationship with castmate Jasmine Ireland. The two auditioned together after Ireland, who acts as Sullivan, encouraged Mullins to try out for the role.
Ireland met Mullins while she was the director of education at Penobscot Theatre Company. The two became friends after Ireland left her position, which led them to attend the audition with the hope they would be cast in their respective roles.
Their duties in this show have challenged them intellectually and physically.
Mullins and Ireland are about the same height, which has created some difficulty because of the very physical and violent nature of the acting Mullins is required to do with Ireland.
“Most shows that I’ve done that have violence in them happen at the big, climactic moment of the show, and maybe there’s some occasional incidental stuff, but you spend all the time on the big thing and then you’re done,” Bonacasa said. “This show is physicality from the moment it begins to the moment it ends. … The breakfast scene in the middle of the show is a five-page fight — no lines. It’s five pages of stage directions. So for almost 10 minutes on stage there is no speaking. It’s just the two of them.”
For Mullins and Ireland, the roles are special because of their depiction of a relationship between student and educator and because of the incredible lives they document.
“I’m really glad that I took this role because I get to work with one of my best friends,” Mullins said.
Ireland agreed. “It’s a dream role,” she said.
Orono Community Theatre’s production of “The Miracle Worker” will take place 7 p.m. Jan. 15, 16, 21, 22, and 23 and 2 p.m. Jan. 17 and 24 at Cyrus Pavilion Theatre at the University of Maine. Admission is $12 per person or $6 with a student ID.
