In Cassie M. Seinuk’s From the Deep, we watch Andrew and Ilan’ interaction in captivity – a place full of trauma and uncertainty. Loosely inspired on Jonathan Dailey and Gilad Shalit, the real-life counterparts for these characters were also countries and years apart, never having even met. Despite this, Seinuk draws inspiration from local and international cases, bringing attention to not just prisoners of war but missing persons everywhere.
Jonathan Dailey (Inspiration for Andrew)
Early Life: Born and raised in Charlotte, Norh Carolina, Dailey studied architecture with his friend Miles Smith at Appalachian State University.
Boston: Dailey moved to Boston with Smith for graduate school at Boston Architectural College. During the time of his disappearance he had taken a semester off due to financial reasons.
Disappearance: Went missing on October 2, 2012 and was last seen in Allston, Massachusetts by Smith. He didn’t answer phone calls or show up for his job as a sales associate in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Finding: On October 9, 2012, Boston University rowing coach saw a body in the Charles River, ankles in chains and tied to a cinder block. The dental records were later matched with Dailey’s, though.
Early Life: Born and raised in Charlotte, Norh Carolina, Dailey studied architecture with his friend Miles Smith at Appalachian State University.
Boston: Dailey moved to Boston with Smith for graduate school at Boston Architectural College. During the time of his disappearance he had taken a semester off due to financial reasons.
Disappearance: Went missing on October 2, 2012 and was last seen in Allston, Massachusetts by Smith. He didn’t answer phone calls or show up for his job as a sales associate in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Finding: On October 9, 2012, Boston University rowing coach saw a body in the Charles River, ankles in chains and tied to a cinder block. The dental records were later matched with Dailey’s, though.
Gilad Shalit (Inspiration for Ilan)
Early Life: Born in Nahariya, Israel, Shalit excelled in science at his high school before beginning is military service in July 2005.
Capture: On June 25, 2006, an attack on the Gaza Strip left Shalit wounded in his gunner’s seat in a tank; he was captured.
Life in Captivity: To keep his sanity, Shalit maintained a daily schedule and itinerary and was constantly active, making up lots of games to keep his mind occupied.
Timeline:
June 2007 — Audio released that proved he was alive.
April 2008 — Hamas leader confirmed Shalit was alive.
June 2008 — The last of a series of letters Shalit sent to his family.
October 2009 — A video was released where Shalit appealed to his family and the Israeli Prime Minister to release him from captivity.
October 2011 — Shalit is released after five years in captivity.
Andrew and Ilan in Rehearsal
Working on characters who have real life groundings comes with perks and challenges. Through dramaturgical research, Charles (Ilan) and Jeff (Andrew) have learned about the back-stories that inspired the fictional figures they portray, and this research informs their understanding of these people. But it’s also up to them to decide: when do you remain true to these characters’ real-life counterparts, and when do you create your own unique interpretation that isn’t connected to them? Andrew and Ilan are very much their own people; Andrew’s personality is more closely connected to his scripted lines than to Jonathan Dailey’s life, and Ilan’s demeanor is written as much more of an energetic go-getter than Gilad Shalit. By both using the background material on Jonathan and Gilad, and letting the creative juices run freely while we play in rehearsal, Jeff and Charles have crafted an Andrew and Ilan that pay homage to their inspiration, while becoming their own unique characters in a very similar situation.
Early Life: Born in Nahariya, Israel, Shalit excelled in science at his high school before beginning is military service in July 2005.
Capture: On June 25, 2006, an attack on the Gaza Strip left Shalit wounded in his gunner’s seat in a tank; he was captured.
Life in Captivity: To keep his sanity, Shalit maintained a daily schedule and itinerary and was constantly active, making up lots of games to keep his mind occupied.
Timeline:
June 2007 — Audio released that proved he was alive.
April 2008 — Hamas leader confirmed Shalit was alive.
June 2008 — The last of a series of letters Shalit sent to his family.
October 2009 — A video was released where Shalit appealed to his family and the Israeli Prime Minister to release him from captivity.
October 2011 — Shalit is released after five years in captivity.
Andrew and Ilan in Rehearsal
Working on characters who have real life groundings comes with perks and challenges. Through dramaturgical research, Charles (Ilan) and Jeff (Andrew) have learned about the back-stories that inspired the fictional figures they portray, and this research informs their understanding of these people. But it’s also up to them to decide: when do you remain true to these characters’ real-life counterparts, and when do you create your own unique interpretation that isn’t connected to them? Andrew and Ilan are very much their own people; Andrew’s personality is more closely connected to his scripted lines than to Jonathan Dailey’s life, and Ilan’s demeanor is written as much more of an energetic go-getter than Gilad Shalit. By both using the background material on Jonathan and Gilad, and letting the creative juices run freely while we play in rehearsal, Jeff and Charles have crafted an Andrew and Ilan that pay homage to their inspiration, while becoming their own unique characters in a very similar situation.
