Exile presents moral dilemmas at the (real) water's edge

When Theatre Exile opens playwright Lucas Hnath's darkly topical Red Speedo on Wednesday at its Studio X headquarters, it's not the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd that will be most noticeable. Rather, the pungent scent of chlorine and the splashing of pool water will predominate.

Set designer Colin McIlvaine has created a locker-filled training area complete with the edge of an Olympic-sized pool (18 inches deep; no swimming) for Hnath's caustic tale of doping and the moral dilemmas at its heart: How far would you go for the ultimate win? How much family and love would you eschew for a shot at the gold?

Hnath's not-so-sporting story - a clipped, survival-of-the-fittest docudrama fueled by performance-enhancing drugs - is played out by four fast-talking, Mametesque characters (played by Keith Conallen, Brian Ratcliffe, Jaylene Clark Owens, and Leonard C. Haas) and is a perfect fit for Theatre Exile.

"While Hnath plays such as The Christians fit our mission in one way or another, Speedo fits in every category: content, size, exploring the truth and grit of human nature," says its director, Deborah Block, Exile's producing artistic director.

Exile's plays don't tell you what's right or wrong. They make you question decisions - those by the artists and those made by the audience - inside and outside the stage space.

"Red Speedo gives you a deeper understanding of the business of winning, but also wonders how much we'd be willing to give up in order to achieve our dreams," says Block. "The characters navigate life's gray morality in varied ways, with Lucas creating strong arguments for each of their moral choices."

That nebulous gray area's navigation is made palpable by two particular transformations, that of Brian Ratcliffe and that of Exile's intimate Studio X.

As Speedo is spare and immediate, with each character engaging in ethical acrobatics, Block needed Philly's best "pool of actors, no pun intended, to find balance on stage. Also, our lead had to be Olympic hopeful-worthy," i.e. fit and prepared to be nearly naked on stage for the whole 80-plus-minute, one-act play. (Sweat Fitness gave Ratcliffe a membership so he could swim every day.)

She recalls that one of her most awkward-ever costume conversations was "when Brian and I had 'the talk' about full body-hair removal to prepare for the part of an Olympic-bound swimmer."

Then there was the use of real water and the truncated Olympic pool devised by set designer Colin McIlvaine. While Block finds primal poetry in azure blue aquatics - "We're born from the water. In Red Speedo, its seductive, soothing, and dangerous traits are all exploited" - McIlvaine looks at the pragmatic side of an imagined space.

"The audience is seated in a traditional proscenium orientation, so it gives us the chance to present a slice of realism," says McIlvaine. "It was tricky, though, because Studio X is about 28 feet wide and the pool takes up 18 feet of that. Add light boxes and a false ceiling, this project is the trifecta of scenic hurdles. Luckily, our construction team rolls with the punches."

McIlvaine and Block put as much thought into the depth of the pool as Hnath did into the precision of his language and its rapid cut-and-paste rhythms.

"We wanted deep water, which means a taller pool deck; but if the deck was too tall, the actors would be too close to the lights. It was a delicate balance where we needed to make the room feel larger, but also make the pool read accurately," says McIlvaine of its 18-inch depth, which through the magic of lighting appears deeper. "Our pool is deep enough for a nice soak, but laps would be difficult," he says with a laugh.

Playwright Hnath wasn't available for an interview - he was participating in Emory University's (Harold) PinterFest - but Block states that he's been checking in on how the water is working. "It was written for the wetness and chlorine to be in the room, as it's a liquid and sensual play."

One of the more interesting aspects of Exile's use of real water and chlorine scent (Block likes to use smell in her productions, feeling it increases a sense of the space and greater emotional recall) is that this is the first production of Red Speedo to include a pool.

Block suspects that because the 2013 Studio Theatre world premiere in Washington, D.C, did not involve one (there were showers), Hnath purposely avoided moments that would have made a pool essential.

"That gave us leave to play and explore its uses," says the director. Now, "I can't imagine doing Speedo without it. At one point, we learn that one character had run away to the desert in their past. The audience understands that in a way that might slide by without notice in a production without the water. The metaphors of Red Speedo work in a way they wouldn't without that large, moving body of water."

And McIlvaine calls the pool one of the best supporting actors he's ever worked with.

Red Speedo Through Nov. 23 at Theatre Exile's Studio X, 1340 S. 13th St.

Tickets: $25-$40. Information: 215-218-4022, www.theatreexile.orgEndText