Atlanta’s Carolyn Cook stars in solo play about a Vietnam War stenographer

The set is sparse: a desk, a chair, a stenotype machine, a few small props. There is only one costume (a suit jacket, blouse and pants), worn by only one actor (Carolyn Cook). Technically, there is only one character, the narrator and protagonist Esther Shannon, a government stenographer working for the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War.

And yet, as Esther recounts parts of her life story, the mind somehow sees it all, every character, every environment.

Cook effortlessly switches roles, fully embodying an entire cast of characters, including Vietnam soldiers just returned from war, Eshter’s not-so-nice boyfriend, her spunky grandmother, a tender love interest, gossipy coworkers and more. Her facial expressions, body language and vocal intonations change so fluidly, one invents an entirely new person.

Even the characters Cook never embodies — such as the Army officials who interview Esther while investigating the disappearance of a soldier who goes AWOL — seem entirely present. Cook’s piercing eyes look right at these invisible characters, and her authentic reactions to them make them real.

Credit: Courtesy of Horizon Theatre

Credit: Courtesy of Horizon Theatre

As the set remains physically the same, the environments feel different. The desk becomes a dining room table. Then a bed.

The ability to pull this play off so believably is a credit to both Cook, a veteran actress with almost 40 years of experience on Atlanta stages, and Lisa Adler, the play’s director, who creatively choreographed the action on stage. The duo has a long collaborative relationship. “I Carry Your Heart With Me” is Cook’s 11th performance with Adler and Horizon Theatre, and her second time doing an Adler-directed solo show (the first was “The Syringa Tree”).

“Lisa really knows how to bring out my best work,” Cook said. “She doesn’t let me stop short of what I’m capable of, and she’s very exacting in the service of the story.”

The story centers on Esther’s experience transcribing, in stenographer’s shorthand, the firsthand accounts of Vietnam vets returning from war. One story she transcribes is from Daniel Case, who recounts his time being shot down and captured as a prisoner of war. Daniel’s comrade dies in captivity next to him, and his captors never remove the body. He remembers the smell.

The horror of his story pierces Esther as she falls for Daniel’s vulnerability and inadvertently makes eye contact during the interview in spite of her bad-fitting boyfriend back home. Daniel tracks her down afterward, and the two exchange an intimate encounter. Then he disappears AWOL. Esther is left to answer questions to military authorities about his whereabouts and her possible involvement.

The script, by playwright Jennifer Blackmer, is a blend of fact and fiction inspired by the real-life experiences of Blackmer’s mother as a young stenographer on the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base during the Vietnam War. Blackmer’s words are written with the precision and beauty of poetry. Symbols are weaved throughout, planting seeds and popping up at key times to bring ideas full circle. The play examines humanity’s propensity for forgetting — or rewriting, or redacting — history. It also explores love, vulnerability and connection.

The themes resonated with Cook, who is 64 and remembers the Vietnam War. Her father, just like her character Esther’s, was a member of the Army Corps of Engineers and was stationed in Japan. Cook remembers watching the nightly casualty count on the news and men coming back damaged from the war. And at this point in her journey, she, like Esther, is reflective about life and love.

“It is not entirely about the war: It’s about family. It’s about love. It’s a coming-of-age story for a young woman as told by her older self,” Cook said. “And that just really grabbed me as much as the subject matter … On top of everything else, it’s just a really well-written play.”

Credit: Courtesy of Horizon Theatre

Credit: Courtesy of Horizon Theatre

Good writing is something Cook said she has found a heightened appreciation for in recent years as she’s gotten more time to write and direct.

“I’m so conscious now of structure and rhythm and pace, and how does this thing work?” she said. “How does this piece of writing pick up an audience and carry it downriver to a satisfying end of the journey? That is something this play does very, very well.”

Since retiring from her 30-year role as the founding director of Théâtre du Rêve last year, Cook said she plans to spend more time mentoring other actors, enjoying her husband, visiting her 28-year-old child in Maine, playing the fiddle and selectively choosing about one play a year to act in. “I Carry Your Heart With Me” met her measure.

“I am fortunate in that I have been able to do plays like this one that really mean a lot to me,” Cook said. “It’s incredibly fulfilling.”

If you go

Performances through April 2. Horizon Theatre, 1083 Austin Ave NE. Tickets start at $30. horizontheatre.com.