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Since the first time local actor Amelia Resendez read the Jean-Paul Sartre play No Exit when she was in high school, she has dreamed of someday being involved in a production of it. So it really is a dream come true to be making her directorial debut with the show, currently running at North Coast Repertory Theatre. 

“I’ve been thinking about this play ever since I first read it,” Resendez told the Outpost in a post-show interview at the theater. “I’ve always loved these characters. It’s a dream play of mine to be a part of … It’s not like most shows you see.” 

And No Exit definitely is not like most other shows you see. Written by Sartre in 1944, the existentialist play features a cast of only four and takes place entirely in one sparsely decorated room. There are no set changes, no costume changes and virtually no entrances or exits from the stage, apart from each character’s initial entrance.

The story revolves around three people – Garcin (played by Andrew AJ Hempstead), Estelle (Bella Rose) and Inez (Liz Whittemore) – who have died and are entering into some kind of afterlife. After the Valet (played by Sun Lanzilli, but on opening weekend was played by understudy Holly Robertson) ushers each character into a room holding only two sofas, a chair, a lamp and a fireplace and mantel topped by a bronze state, the three main characters begin to get to know each other, unfolding their stories and confessing the dastardly things they each did in their lives on Earth. 

Director Amelia Resendez

It becomes clear that the characters are in some form of hell for the atrocious sins they committed. But “hell” is not what they expected – rather than the fiery lava, demons and torture chambers they thought they’d face, the three characters are forced to eternally endure something far worse: each others’ company. Each character has their own eccentricities and irritating traits, but they also share a couple of major things in common: they are selfish, self-centered and, like many humans, desperate for others’ approval.  

“Sartre is an existentialist and his whole thing is that the worst kind of people are the ones who need other people’s opinions to dictate who they are,” Resendez said. “They’re very reliant on how other people see them.”  

Resendez graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt with a degree in Theater Arts and has been involved in many local productions, including recently playing the role of Pearl in Redwood Curtain’s production of Bull in a China Shop. But this was Resendez’s first time directing a production. Though she didn’t have to undertake the difficult task of memorizing lines, she said, there were many other elements to keep track of that presented unique challenges for her to overcome. 

Though Resendez was always drawn to No Exit’s script, she had actually never seen a production of it, since it is not a play that very many theatre companies choose to put on. So Resendez didn’t have other productions to inspire her, but this did mean that her directorial choices all came from her own vision of how the play should look and sound. 

Resendez also designed the set and some elements were called for in the script because they are referenced by the characters, but other choices – such as the entrance door being placed in the middle of the room and framed by neon blue lighting – were made by Resendez. The director said she wanted the door to be a centerpiece of the set, but at the same time something that didn’t pull focus for the entire show. Resendez made another interesting choice to include the sound of a clock ticking throughout the entire show, which added a vexing element, while at the same time was something the viewer will sometimes forget about. 

The cast prepares backstage at NCRT

These choices definitely added to the tense feeling of the show, which touches on many  themes including morality, deception, selfishness, vanity and – of course – death. Though the play is full of comedic moments, it is also dark and is the kind of show that leaves the viewer pondering the absurdity of life, relationships and human nature. 

Liz Whittemore, who has been involved in many local theater productions, said that she was a philosophy major in college and was immediately drawn to this script for its philosophical themes and complex characters. Unlike physical comedy or musical theater, which tend to be more popular, this play is much more dialogue-heavy, character-driven and psychological. 

“This [show] is much more dialogue-heavy and character-driven, it’s very psychological,” Whittemore said in a pre-show interview backstage. “It has a level of depth to it that can either fall flat or really enrich the audience.”

For this type of show, Whittemore and the other actors said they appreciated that there is a small cast because they really get a chance to become close and to feel more comfortable being vulnerable with each other. 

“I love small casts,” Andrew Hempstead, who has been in many productions at NCRT and Ferndale Repertory Theatre said. “A large cast is powerful in its own right. But for a production like this, [a small cast] does a lot for building the ensemble.” 

And feeling a connection with both their castmates and the audience is a big part of why these local actors continue participating in local theater. There is a kind of experience that comes with a live show that is very different from what someone gets watching a movie or a tv show. “Something is created when you’re doing something live with other people,” Hempstead said. “Theater is not going away. COVID has shown us that.” 

Resendez added that theater is an important part of a community and life in general, because it can be used to address many different subjects and themes. 

“I never understand when someone says theater is not an important thing to teach in school, because literally every single subject is used in theater,” she said. “It’s so fantastic that with shows like this you get to see all of that come together.” 

No Exit will continue its run at NCRT – 300 5th St, Eureka – on May 19 through 21 and June 2 through 4. Sunday, May 21 will feature a “masked matinee,” where masks are required to provide a space for the immunocompromised and most vulnerable in our community. You can purchase tickets at this link.