Med student debuts show

To one of his fellow classmates, Adam Fisch might appear to be just another second-year medical student, but to the theater community, he is much more. Fisch, a playwright who received his undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania, is currently preparing for the opening of his play. "Sunflower and Blue," which took more than two years to write, will be performed Jan. 25 and 26 at the John Waldron Arts Center.\n"The idea came after I visited the Van Gogh museum in 1999. When you see him for the first time, it's so dramatic," Fisch said.\nFisch said "Sunflower and Blue" involves a young artist who is very talented but doesn't want to learn art history. Instead he wants to work from his gut. He is commissioned to paint a Van Gogh forgery by a character named Hieronymus Bosch. Alex involves his 73-year-old grandmother, with whom he goes to live, as well as his girlfriend, in the act. But there is a deeper message in this production Fisch really aims for.\n"Alex is living with his ailing and suicidal grandmother and is forging a relationship with her," Fisch said. "He is learning the humanistic side of art." \nThe characters in "Sunflower and Blue" are dynamic. Fisch said Lilya, Alex's girlfriend, is the polar opposite of him and embraces the art establishment and its values.\nAlex's grandmother Alice is also a very dynamic and unique character.\n"Alice is a wonderful cross between Emily Dickinson and Audrey Hepburn, with a mouth like a sewer," said Joss Marsh, who plays Alice in the production.\nAlice's character is one who uses language as her defense. Although Marsh greatly enjoys playing the character of Alice, she said it is difficult at times because it means coming to grips with difficult issues like death.\n"There were face-your-mortality moments," Marsh said.\nMarsh said she became interested in this play because of her love of words and image. An IU English professor, Marsh is a third generation member of a film family and bases the class she teaches on the marriage of language and the visual arts.\n"Sunflower and Blue" is Fisch's second play. He wrote his first play, "House of Cards," in 1996 as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania. During his career as an undergraduate, he took playwrighting courses and creative writing classes. He also pursued independent study in the art of playwrighting.\n"All of the experience from before went into this play. I had good teachers along the way and started in theater as an actor. I inherently got a sense of what makes a good script," Fisch said.\nJanice Skinner, development and marketing director of the Bloomington Area Arts Council (BAAC), said she likes having student playwrights perform at the John Waldron Arts Center.\n"I think it's exciting to have new work done," Skinner said. "I think the Waldron is a good place. It has a larger audience capacity than the Bloomington Playwrights Project (BPP)."\nWhen Fisch first arrived in Bloomington, he got a group of actors together and formed a relationship with the BPP. He found the courage this past fall to set something up with the Waldron Arts Center.\n"You get out of the BPP what you give. They are very receptive people and were very helpful in guiding me forward with my goal," Fisch said.\nThe BPP helped Fisch realize his dream of seeing his production on stage.\n"People keep saying they find things in it they didn't see before. (Director) Brian Hartz has done a wonderful job bringing it to life. Without his vision it wouldn't have happened," Fisch said.\nSkinner said she is happy that the BPP and the BAAC are partners in the arts scene.\n"It's just another positive partnership," Skinner said. "It leads to cooperation instead of competition."\nFisch said he hopes "Sunflower and Blue" will be received warmly. \n"The show is very funny. I hope people laugh. If they don't laugh, I'm screwed," Fisch said. \nMarsh also said he hopes the play is well-received.\n"I hope the audience understands that people of 73 are not washed up -- they are vibrant. Illness does not define our self," Marsh said.\nMarsh will miss several things about being a player in "Sunflower and Blue."\n"I will miss the camaraderie and my character. She's a tough old bird, and I wouldn't mind being like her when I\'m an old bag," Marsh said. "She's given me an infusion of strength, and I hope to take it with me."\nFisch's decision to pursue medical school might seem an atypical one for a playwright, but he has a different view.\n"Medical school has been very helpful with writing. It shoves you into reality very quickly," Fisch said. "It's humbling to read about illness and what people must face. It keeps you honest as a writer. I don't want to fake people's misfortunes. I plan on continuing to write plays. I have to work enough writing into my life or everything goes stale"