Press
Legacy was reviewed in the San Francisco Bay Times
By Linda Ayres-Frederick
Published: January 31, 2008
And now for something completely and excitingly different: Legacy, written and directed by Channing Sargent. This fantastical, true tale is a complex story of Ms. Sargent's family tree. She is a fifth-generation granddaughter of Brigham Young, [first president] of the Church of Latter Day Saints, which means she has the inside dope on secrets of Mormon history, polygamy and Utah, all of which are revealed in this intimate guided tour. Now, just because you are a direct descendent of the Church Head Honcho doesn't mean you are OF the church, or stodgy or dull. Ms. Sargent didn't go to church as the other children had to do. Instead, she was free to wear shorts and play outside on Sundays. More importantly, she was free to think for herself. Channing developed a mind of her own outside the confines of her neighborhood. With text, personal narrative, video, and movement, Channing's active imagination quietly deconstructs that life and steadily rebuilds it as she persistently asks the question, "What does it mean?" to be the descendent of such a personage.
With her assured voice and calm timbre, Ms. Sargent and her cast go through the list of the wives of Brigham Young, accompanied by projected photographs of those women's faces. As their names and statuses are acknowledged - how they stayed with or escaped the oppression of their marriage to that man - one feels the powerful presence of those long-deceased women giving thanks. If Ms. Sargent has inherited anything, it is an innate sense of the power of the spoken word and the pioneering spirit to use it for just cause. She is definitely a performing artist whose voice we look forward to hearing more of.
DaveRogue's Reports
Published: January 21, 2008
Nearly three years ago, the actor Channing Sargent made her first appearance on the San Francisco stage performing in my production of TWILIGHT ZONE: The Long Morrow.
Tonight, I caught the first night of what will likely be Channing's final SF production, a personal theatre work she wrote and is performing in called LEGACY.
Though Channing has plans to further develop the piece, in its current form it's stunning. The structure is beautiful, and Channing draws you in very quickly to her world, her history, her perceptions. She deftly avoids the pratfalls common to this kind of work - it's never self-involved, never preachy, never too directly confessional. It's been a long time since I've seen a performer weave together the historical, the personal, and the political to such moving effect.
Though it's largely a solo work (and I believe has been workshopped as such), the current iteration of the production boasts a quartet of performers fleshing out the world of LEGACY: they are Celeste Martinez, Sharon Mashihi, Jamie Venci, and Pearl Marrill. All four of them are beautifully present in their roles, supporting the drama and creating the background without ever disappearing into it.
For a work-in-progress, it's beautifully well-rounded, absorbing, fascinating, moving.