CARIS’ PEACE

Years ago I was lucky to work in the theater with a beautiful, talented young actress named Caris Corfman. Caris possessed a sweetness that made everyone adore her, a beauty that aroused male crushes and a focused intelligence that inspired respect. She also had something else; that combination of vulnerability and strength, openness and courage, ambition and insouciance, earnestness and “joie de vie’ that drew people to her paradoxical mystery.

And then one day she became a paradoxical mystery to herself.

In her forties, Caris was diagnosed with a brain tumor and underwent surgery. The operation left her long-term recollection intact but left her without short term memory. Her doctor compared it to a filing cabinet that holds old information but cannot accept any new documents. He also said it was more frustrating than Alzheimer’s, as many of those patients don’t know what is happening to them. Caris could remember well who she was. Discovering who she had become was painful and excruciatingly difficult.

Caris had been successful in theater, television and some film but it seemed clear she would never act again. The foundation for acting is trust: trusting the script and the playwright, trusting fellow actors to bring to the stage what you need for your part but most of all it is based upon ‘trusting the moment’, that split second before you can think of what you’re going to do and just do it, that moment before you consciously remember the lines you’ve memorized and have the surety that they will just be there. Caris would never enjoy that trust again.

She did have the trust and love of a wide circle of friends from the theater and one of them helped Caris find a way to perform again. She starred in a one-woman show in NYC and I was fortunate to see it. Her talent was intact and once again mesmerizing. Two other friends, Gaylen Ross and Rebecca Nelson helped her make a film about her struggle and triumph. It’s called “‘Caris’ Peace” and will be shown at the Hamptons International Film Festival Oct. 14th and 17th and at The Williamstown Film Festival on Oct 23rd. I urge you to see it if you can.

It’s a film that explores identity, memory, mortality, transience, the essence of acting, and the endurance of friendship. Although it is Caris’ singular story it has resonance beyond the particulars of her life. Her debacle may have placed her questions and frustrations in high relief but they are echos of questions we all ask ourselves as we transition in life.

Once again, for this one last time, Caris’ talents, determination and beauty inspire.