Now about last night. The real reason I'm writing this column today. I attended Thirst Theatre at Joe's Garage. This is a series of short plays that has been coordinated by Alan Berks, Chris Carlson and Tracey Maloney. The performances are on Monday nights, and they take place in the restaurant around those who are viewing the pieces. Each week the line-up is different, but five scripts are always seen, and they all feature actors who are members of Actors Equity Association. Since the entire evening is an experience...sort of a dinner theatre at a bar...I'm going to give you a rundown of the night from start to finish.
I arrived at the pub at 6:15, having been informed that I'd probably want to get there between 6 and 6:30 so I would have time to eat prior to the show. That was stellar advice! Get there early if you go, because the service is slower than death. In fact, after having been seated it was 20 minutes before someone took my drink order, and another 20 before they took my dinner order. I did eat prior to the show starting, but I also had time to write two poems for my Poetry Writing Workshop that I'm taking this term, and plenty of time to write part of my column, too.
Anyway, As you sit there in the restaurant, you have to sit and wonder what is performance and what is not. It that server who just knocked something over clumsy, or part of the performance? Just the act of having this performance in a public place such as Joe's made standard people-watching an artful part of the experience. As I sipped my Joetini (Stoli Vodka with a splash of pepperoncini juice), I noticed others walking in, sitting down, chatting about this and that, and most importantly constantly guessed at what was planned and what wasn't. Of course none of it was planned, the show started at 7:30 and not a moment before, but due to the setting and the nature of the thing, it made people-watching much more interesting.
The meal, when it came, was great. I had the Spinach and Lentil soup which was just about perfect, although I couldn't really tell that there was spinach in it. And then I had the Mashed potatoes topped with chicken, mushrooms, and sage gravy. You may not know this, but I consider the dish of mashed potatoes as one of the world's most perfect foods. It, to me, is like the hot dog. Both can be topped with just about anything and be a perfect meal. The Mashed Potatoes are why I go to Joe's on non-theatre nights, and I was naturally going to get them on this night.
Just shortly before the show, Eban Cooper (Executive Director Leah Cooper's brother) joined me at my table. I thought it was cool that Joe's had no qualms about sitting two strangers together for a theatrical event. We had great conversation and both enjoyed the show, and that was a nice surprise. I'd thought that I was going to be the only person sitting in the performance at a table by himself, but that wasn't the case once they appointed me a table-buddy.
So... Then the shows began:
#1 -- The Adventures of Corky and Dean, episode 2 by Dominic Orlando. This show starred Brian Goranson and Steven B Young, both of whom I've worked with before. To tell the truth, Steven is one of my favorite actors of his age set. The writing was rough to begin this show. It seemed that Dominic has forced the dialogue and that made for an unfortunate development. Brian Goranson tends to always sound the same. Now, Brian is a good actor, but the first part of this script had him sounding like he can't act. Once the script got on a roll it was no longer nearly as painful. Brian and Steven have a great chemistry that is fun to watch, and as they portray two friends who play an odd role-playing game, they suck you in. It seems like Domonic had something he wanted to say with this script, and he had to find a way to get into it. His attempt at entry was awkward, but the execution of the actors pulled it through and got into the rest of what was a solid script thereafter.
#2 -- Lucky byRosanna Staffa. This was the best of the plays of the night. It revolves around two homeless guys who come in and start bossing the waitress around. One is more bossy than the other. The second one seems to be a bit on the retarded side. The waitress character was a little convoluted at times with her dialogue, but when it comes down to it, that was very minor. The acting across the board was very natural, and energized. Unfortunately, I don't know the names of any of the actors who appeared in this show. The retarded homeless guy may have been Charles Fraser, but I couldn't really tell, given his glasses, hat, and otherwise obscurred position in relation to where I was sitting. I'd love to give kudos to all involved on this one, though.
#3 -- Real Life by Dominic Orlando. This show featured J.P. Fitzgibbons and Erin Anderson. J.P. was part of a Composer/Libretist studio that Dominic wrote for a little over a year ago, and so my hunch was that this play was going to have some singing in it, and by Jove, it did! The plot revolves around a guy who comes through town every couple of weeks and frequents a certain callgirl. They are out at dinner together, and he brings her a gift because it is their 5 year anniversary. Conflict ensues from the fact that he's treating the business relationsihp between hooker and john as something romantic. And then they start to sing. The a cappella song was pleasant, witty, and fun. I did wonder who wrote the tune, though... was it Dominic, JP, or someone else? The melody was not credited to anyone. A side note, for Dominic specifically: MAN! Stand still! If you're going to stand near where your play is being performed, think better of it and put your ass in a chair! There is nothing more distracting than having you incessantly rocking back and forth right in the line of vision of the audience as they watch your piece. I was enjoying this piece, but you made it hard to watch.
#4 -- Play by Alan Berks. This was the second best of the night. Carried by two terrific actors who yet again I'm not sure of their names. At the heart of the story was the fact that one friend was trying to save another from his addiction by leading him upstairs at a restaurant instead of taking him to their dressing room where he'd be able to get a hit of whatever drug he was doing. The dialog faltered from time to time when it was dependent on talking directly to the audience, but the back and forth between the characters was beautiful. I'll say more on this one in the description of #5, because it also was by Alan.
#5 -- A Dead Language by Alan Berks. It was interesting to see this one back-to-back with the other one that Alan wrote. It primarily featured Stephen D'Ambrose and Catherine Johnson. Christopher Carlson had a bit part and a 4th actor played a young man at the bar, but I didn't catch his name (my apologies to everyone who I didn't actually name). This script is an experiment in surrealism. Alan played with our sense of time, the possibilities of ghosts or hallucinations, and split-screen acting in a found-space venue. I found the show a little confusing and I don't think that was Alan's goal. I do think he was trying to accomplish something more profound, but I got stuck on my confusion, rather than gathering the meaning. There was an ending that seemed much like a moral at the end of a fable, that pointed out the meaning...which, although not terribly effective as an ending in my opinion, it did clear some things up in retrospect. The acting was stellar in this, but my confusion didn't allow me to fully appreciate their performances. It was fun to have Stephen spouting Latin phrases as a modern day Polonius to his "son." And there were some touching moments between Catherine's and Stephen's characters.
All in all, it was an evening worth the $10 I spent on it (not including price of food, which was also worth the money I spent on it). It is a good way to support the Fringe, and it keeps Equity actors off the streets on their night off, so that's a good thing, too.
I'll be headed back in a couple of weeks to check out another 5 scripts, and I'd suggest that you should, too.
Time for the random crap portion of today's column:
- I just yawned.
- Last night's box office chica was Caitlin, a fellow blogger from this past year's Fringe Festival!
- My cats have grown drastically more aggressive over the past two weeks. I'm wondering if it has to do with the weather, or if it is something else entirely.
- A little fact from www.hookedonfacts.com : "The leading cause of poisoning for children under the age of six in the home is liquid dish soap." -- this is the problem with lemon scent. Kids aren't apt to put it in their mouths if it smells like soap. If it smells like lemon or orange, guess what! It's going in their mouths! Big surprise! This reminds me of my first trip to the ER. As a child I got some of the white powder from my dog's flea and tick collar on my hands. It looked like powdered sugar, so my 5 year-old brain told me that it would taste good and I licked it off my fingers. it didn't taste too good so I told my mom about it... one quick trip to the hopsital and 3 blood draws later, I was declared okay, but I never licked flea and tick poison again.
- I'm getting excited about the potential of this upcoming year's Fringe. Looking at the list of who got in and who didn't, this'll be a completely different year from any other. I think I'll write about that on another day, though.
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