Why I Loved ‘Let Us Join Hands’

By Tristan Young 

TW: mentions of death, suicide, abortion and religious guilt. 

Emerson College is filled with theaters; there’s one on every corner. But on April 4th, The Judee was the place to be, as it held the student written and directed show by senior Ellie Sebring. Let Us Join Hands follows a group of six teenagers of certain stereotypical traits that disrupt a church service for the catholic schools and get locked in an attic room as punishment. If that wasn’t bad enough, they discover a body, and together try to find out who and why the corpse was in the room. 

Director Sebring hand picked six incredible actors and directed them to perfection. The six emotionally diverse characters created a tight tension that corroded its way into the theater, floating back to each row, the audience feeling it as well. A minimal set shows a dusty room, with sheets and religious imagery such as crosses and statues, one door locked and the only other door a closet where the corpse resides. One of the most immersive elements of this show was the lighting, which would shift slightly or boldly creating a feeling hung over the audience’s heads. Every time one of the six students opened the closet door, they were flush with a bit of light, creating such a lasting impression. 

The actors, Audrey Mojica as Agnes, William Lessard as Cory, Katie Lew as Blair, Alex Lenox as Zach, Charlotte Cocozza as Violet, and Stryker Homan as Miles, created such an anxiety ridden performance that it puts beads of sweat on the hairlines of those watching. In between scenes, you could feel the tension lift as the audience remembered this horrific story was not actually happening. Mojica plays a reserved devout catholic teenager, Agnes, who constantly would look up to send a silent prayer. Agnes was a linear character; she was obviously freaked out, but it wasn’t until the last ten minutes where Mojica performed a five minute monologue with such passion, it stilled the air in the room. You see Agnes descend into madness and finally end up taking her life. Mojica’s performance spared nothing to be left imagined. Her loose pairing, Lessard as Cory, was matched perfectly. Cory was also a subdued and gentle character, – despite him being a quarterback. Cory struggled with living in his brother’s shadow and felt as if he was losing his potential each time he was compared to his brother. Cory was the one to comfort Agnes, and in that moment, you see why Lessard was cast. His sweet manner came through, creating a true layered teenager. 

Katie Lew was stellar as Blair, the hot-topic of the town. Blair could have been portrayed as a stone cold mean girl, but Lew brought so much more to her character. Little things like looking at her feet or picking her finger nails, while trying to keep a blunt face. Lew portrayed Blair as stubborn, not mean, which recent media tends to confuse. Blair wasn’t mean but scorned, and Lew made that clear. Her counterpart, Miles, played by Homan, took the teenager rivalry to another level. Starting off yelling and angry, you see Miles’s facade crumble. Lew and Homan have great chemistry; their stand-offs hitching breaths in the audience. As the show goes on, you are able to see the desperation in the situation and the creation of some sort of frenemies. Homan was able to take Miles and create a visceral angry teenager, and he did it amazingly. 

Cocozza played the stuck up class president, Violet. Cocozza was able to take a character that can be very dislikable and made the audience feel for her, which is not easy. In a quick trip-up, Violet reveals she stuffed the ballot boxes and would have never won alone, and that creates the image of Violet outside of the room needed. Violet is not a dense character, but so convoluted, and that is difficult to do, even more difficult to do in a likeable fashion, Cocozza did it in a breeze. Lenox, who played Zach, the school drug dealer, brings an anxious energy to the play. He constantly was pacing, and it was clear that he was keeping something – when his secret was released in a stunning performance moment, it all made sense. The six of them suffer from religious guilt, but Zach felt as though they could be forgiven and he could not. Lenox took the religious guilt portrayed in the script and made it technicolor onstage. 

Ellie Sebring is a close friend of mine, and their talent has always flown throughout their mind as air flows through their body. Sebring wrote and directed something so phenomenal that it deserves to be greenlit for a sequel, as they heard a couple times from audience members. Acting takes you far, but the direction you are given makes you the character you portray. It is clear that Sebring placed each line so delicately in the script to make the show flow like water. The writing was clear, and raw, as well as feeling natural and in a teenage dialect. Sebring isn’t afraid to tap into difficult topics; depression, slut-shaming, abortion, queer identity, religious guilt, suicide and feeling invisible are all themes that scream through the script, but not in a way thats overwhelming or digestible, but as a third thing that leaves a pit in your stomach and thinking about the show for days. 

This show takes religion and horror and creates something that creative minds have been too scared to do. I didn’t feel as though I was watching a college show; I felt as though I was watching a professional one. That is due to the actors, the directing, but most importantly the crew. Costumes, set, props, lighting, and sound created such a gorgeous and timeless picture of this story. 

Sebring created history, Mojica, Lessard, Lew, Lenox, Homan, and Cocozza brought it to life.

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