A small section of a college psychology course on agoraphobia stood out to Alexa Belli in an unexpected way. Not being able to get an image out of their head of a man being stuck inside with nothing more than the objects around them, they sat down to write what would become “Make Yourself at Home,” a play making its New York debut at the Chain Theatre on Oct. 19.
At the time, they didn’t recognize why the themes of loneliness and isolation stood out to them. That all changed after sending an early draft to their father.
“He called me and was like, ‘is this about me?’”, Belli said. “It was just one of those things where you realize that even if you don’t think you’re writing about what you know, it always stems back somewhere deep down inside of you.”
Reflecting on their upbringing, Belli saw the agoraphobic tendencies of the play’s protagonist mirrored in their father.
It’s what led Belli, coming from a background as a drag artist and musical writer, to focus on the written word. Originally, the piece was conceived as a more immersive experience, but numerous conversations with their family surrounding mental health ultimately pushed them in the direction of writing a play.
After an initial run in Seoul, South Korea in 2021, Belli has rewritten and expanded on the original concept to become the 90-minute one act soon to make its New York premiere. Although the play is about mental health and illness, Belli focused on writing about it in a way that feels relatable, rather than othering.
“It talks about mental illness in a way that’s very specific,” said Melissa Lewyn, the play’s director who was connected with Belli through a mutual friend. “I think this show does a good job of highlighting an experience, and making the audience feel like they can relate to that experience without it being spoon-fed to them.”
“Make Yourself at Home” is the story of Michael, who Belli is playing in this production, a man with agoraphobia who decides to lock himself in his home after his girlfriend decides to leave for both of their mental wellbeing.
Craving connection, Michael begins to imagine personified versions of household appliances interacting with him in a series of vignette- style scenes. Most of those scenes begin with Michael announcing a countdown directly to the audience on when he plans to leave his home.
Each appliance is representative of a different mental trauma. A laptop has connotations with addiction, a television with the difficulties of inner reflection. The one that plays the biggest role, however, is the vacuum, which is personified by the actor who plays Michael’s ex, Natalie. Representative of sucking out or “cleaning” negative thoughts, there’s another, more suggestive, purpose of the vacuum that Belli only alludes to.
In crafting a narrative surrounding mental illness and anxiety, Belli wanted to be careful to ease audiences in. Agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder that manifests in a person feeling intense fear of entering environments where they don’t feel safe, is a heavy subject to speak about and to watch on stage.
Earlier on in the piece, they were careful to make the scenes more comedic. As the lines between imagination and reality begin to blur for Michael, the structure of the play is thrown on its head as its themes on isolation and anxiety burst through.
“I think it’s wise for people coming into the piece to know that you will have a few good laughs, but maybe have a pack of tissues in your purse,” Belli said.
That structure is what initially drew in the team at Next Stop Creatives, who are producing the premiere, after hearing the pitch for the show from Belli and Lewyn.
“Humor is one of the best ways that people can process things,” said Joshua Keen, artistic director of Next Stop Creatives. “So for the audience it’s both entertaining and thought provoking.”
Getting the audience to think deeply about the play’s subject matter is a big focus for the creative team. Themes of isolation and losing control resonate differently in a world marked by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Although Belli originally wrote and set the play prior to the pandemic, they admit how their work has been perceived has changed in the years since.
Feelings of isolation and the loss of self control, already a mounting issue before the pandemic, were only further exacerbated by it. Just last year, the US Surgeon General issued an advisory designated loneliness and isolation as an epidemic.
In that way, “Make Yourself at Home” is intended not only as the title of the play, but as an invitation for prospective theater goers. To come together and collectively relate to the challenges of loneliness in their own lives, as well as connect on what “home” means to them; even when those conversations aren’t the easiest to have.
In Belli’s own words, “‘Make Yourself at Home’ is experiencing discomfort in the most comforting place.”
“Make Yourself at Home” premieres at the Chain Theatre in Midtown Manhattan on October 19 and 20. You can find tickets here.
