WASHINGTON – “All we really have,” actress Tonye Patano says, “is this moment. … Live in the now and the present, and you won’t have to worry about regrets or have fear about what’s going to happen in the future.”
Patano is part of the cast of “The Blood Quilt,” playing now at Arena Stage. The show is about the battle between family legacy, traditions and the future.
It’s set on an island off the coast of South Carolina, where four sisters are holding their first quilting bee since the death of their mother. But they struggle between holding on to their Geechee/Gullah culture and trying to move on to create a future for the family.
Patano plays the oldest daughter, Clementine.
“She is someone who feels obligated to take control and responsibility, and thrives in that,” Patano says.
Meeya Davis plays the youngest daughter, Amber. She’s educated and estranged from her family, but she’s also the one who tries to persuade them to sell the quilts her family has made for generations.
“I can relate to her coming back with knowledge and just wanting to help,” Davis says.
Her sisters berate her for trying to get rid of family herilooms that were made with her ancestors’ heart and soul, but she is trying to save them.
Author Katori Hall says her work is universal.
“A white woman from New Jersey can see she is like Amber,” Hall says. “It doesn’t matter what color the sisters are on stage. Family is a colorless thing.”
Davis says she wants the audience to get a clear message from the show.
“No matter where you’ve been, or who you are in the world,” Davis says, “there’s always a home.”
Click here for ticket information.
