The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later @ Redtwist

I loved The Laramie Project's original script & its’ execution; this new epilogue of that script provided the same social commentary & insight into the insane while simultaneously offering contemporary insights, an update on the facts, & the answering of some lingering questions. Only the greatest of scripts & stories warrant an epilogue, but I didn’t realize the necessity for this non-fiction epilogue until I saw the play itself. The murder of Matthew Shepard was a horrific crime that gained national-attention & the aftershock of that crime on a community could never expire in anything less than a decade. I respect & admire the dedication of Moises Kaufman & the members of the Tectonic Theatre Company for their commitment to this project & insight to realize the necessity of this second script.

This script addressed the following effects on the community:

• The resistance & hesitation of locals to acknowledge the event of Shepard‘s murder. It seems similar to how talking about the Holocaust is taboo in Germany, the people of Laramie see this crime as the defining & humiliating factor that tarnished their hometown.
• The residual rumors permeating the community relating to the catalyst of Shepard’s murder. Certain people think it was a simple drug deal or robbery gone bad & completely unrelated to a hate crime. There is a very blurry line between memory & history that this script faces with a clean, clear, insightful perspective.
• The identity of the killers. There were 2; one was vile & the perfect picture in one’s mind of a creature capable of committing this crime; one slightly became a victim himself during that terrible night (due to his own weaknesses). It is dirty & upsetting, but the curious mind wants to find the facts behind what seems like fiction. The staged interviews of the killers actual words provided the answers to those questions.

The use of a Dialect Coach was evident & very much appreciated; I liken the plight of the Dialect Coach to that that plagues The Dramaturge. Dialect coaches are an asset that should be more heavily utilized in theatre because their presence causes such a richer sense of authenticity. I first interacted with a Dialect Coach when I played the title role in Jane Eyre; not only did she substantially improve my performance, but she allowed me further insight into my character & made me more confident in my performance.

The Costume Design was simple but stellar & incorporated smart, slight changes to differentiate between characters. The costume designer had a sense of humor & conscious perspective in design scheme that could have been flat-lined; the costumes were largely neutral in tone and used vests, glasses, & cardigans for snippy, quippy changes. This production was textually-based & the smart subtlety of the costumes communicates the artistic insight of the production staff & production as a whole.

April WishList

Freud’s Last Session @ Mercury Theatre

Freud's Last Session centers on legendary psychoanalyst Dr. Sigmund Freud, who invites the rising academic star C. S. Lewis to his home in London. Lewis, expecting to be called on the carpet for satirizing Freud in a recent book, soon realizes Freud has a much more significant agenda. On the day England enters World War II, Freud and Lewis clash on the existence of God, love, sex, and the meaning of life– only two weeks before Freud chooses to take his own. Not just a powerful debate, this is a profound and deeply touching play about two men who boldly addressed the greatest questions of all time. Mark St. Germain’s celebrated new play was suggested by the bestselling book The Question of God by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi, Jr., professor of psychology at Harvard University.

C.S. LEWIS RULES. During my senior year of high school I took a class at Church of the Saviour in Wayne, PA taught by Rich Craven. Rich Craven is a pastor, college professor, genius, & awesome guy. The class concluded with a trip to Oxford, London, & The Kilns to see first-hand what we had been reading & studying for months. It was amazing, enriching, & so integral in the structure of my growth as a writer, reader, & conversationalist. [Sidenote: this trip also marked my very first taste of alcohol: peach schnapps @ The Eagle & Child. I still have the bottle, obviously]. C.S Lewis is the best writer & I wish his writing had more influence on the theatre community. I have seen two pieces of his work put onstage: The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe (musical) @ Arden Theatre Company & The Screwtape Letters (play) @ Lantern Theater Company. The LW&W musical was lacking (only because the writer was too green to conquer such a subject matter), but the idea was GENIUS. I hate to say it, but Disney could/should produce a mean version of The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe & it would be a huge hit. The Screwtape Letters was a straight play that was well-written & decently performed. The notion behind the script was clearly awesome: 2-person play that does not lack for conflict & still provides the widest avenue for artistic, post-modern interpretation (and one of the characters is a DEMON, how‘s that for awesome theatrics?).

C.S. Lewis + Theatre = a trend that I would like to see expand.

THIS WORLD NEEDS SOME LEWIS.

P.S. The Weight of Glory is the most perfect compilation of words ever put together in the English language. Just sayin.

RUNS UNTIL JUNE 3

Laramie: 10 Years Later @ Redtwist Theatre

The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later is the epilogue to the original. Ten years after Shepard's murder, members of the Tectonic Theater Project returned to Laramie to conduct follow-up interviews with residents featured in the original play. Those interviews were turned into this companion piece. The play debuted as a simultaneous reading at nearly 150 theatres across the US and internationally on October 12, 2009 - the 11th anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death. Most of the theaters were linked by webcam to New York City where Judy Shepard and the play's producers and writers gave an opening speech to begin this unique memorial and evening of theater.

I LOVE INTERVIEW THEATRE.

I define interview theatre as the act of interviewing participants surrounding an event & using their direct words to concoct a script. I first fell in love with this script-writing method after reading Fires in The Mirror by Anna Deavere Smith.

In August 1991, there had been an accident in Crown Heights, Brooklyn (a racially-divided community comprised of African-Americans & Hasidic Jews). The accident involved a 7 year-old, Caribbean-American boy who was killed while learning to ride his bike when a Jewish man drove a car  veered onto the sidewalk. There were issues with the response of the medical staff which instigated protests; during one of these protests, a Jewish student visiting from Australia was stabbed. This caused days of riots, which resulted in 129 arrests, 190 injuries, & an estimated $1 million in property damage.

This community conflict caught the attention of the nation & Ms. Smith, so she decided to go the scene of the crime(s) & interviewed the widest range of community members. She comprised those interviews into 29 monologues delivered by 26 different characters; it is a stunning script & one of my favorites. In the play’s introduction, she wrote: "My sense is that American character lives not in one place or the other, but in the gaps between the places, and in our struggle to be together in our differences." Fires in The Mirror made its’ debut at New York Shakespeare Festival on May 1, 1992 with an official press opening on May 12, 1992. There was also a film adaptation of the play with Ms. Smith performing all the roles [also directed by George C. Wolfe, produced by Cherie Fortis, & filmed by American Playhouse]; it is one of the best & richest pieces of American archived theatre ever.

RUNS UNTIL APRIL 7

Equus @ Redtwist

Equus @ Redtwist Theatre

What the production lacked in innovative production, it made up for with an excellent cast who created a tight, familiar unit of strong individuals. The quality of this production always depends on the casting of Alan Strang and Dr. Martin Dysart; these performances of these two actors could positively or negatively override all the other aspects of any production of Equus. Luckily for RedTwist, the two men fronting this production exceeded expectation in every direction.

Andrew Jessop’s portrayal of Alan Strang lacked nothing. His small, tightly-wound physical stature and expressive eyes that somehow mirrored the stare of the horses created a physically perfect slate for his performance. He was reminiscent of my mind’s picture of a school shooter, which is an appropriate contemporary association to how this timeless role should be performed. His delicately expressive face, chilling performance, and unwavering consistency led to a performance that was much more colorful and articulate than the highly-publicized portrayal given by Daniel Radcliffe on Broadway last year.

Equally strong was Brian Parry’s portrayal of the psychologist Dr. Martin Dysart. His role serves as the grounding force of play because his sessions with Strang pull out the narrative’s story and his monologues slide into those of a narrator. His most defining strength was his strong, gruff, elastic voice that danced over dialogue with dimension and grace. This voice was one made for bedtime stories, Falstaff monologues, Grishams on tape, and serious commercials. Dr. Dysart is the backbone of this play, and Brian Parry provided a strong spine.

Also giving a stand-out performance was Jan Ellen Graves as Hester, the judge who sends Allan to Dr. Dysart for diagnosis. With her smiling but serious eyes, she lived up to the doctor’s line, “you’re really quite splendid.” She was quiet, consistent, charming and crafted a character one could envision as a magistrate or in other arenas of her life.

As Allan’s parents, Debra Rodkin and Laurens Wilson provided some poignant moments. Rodkin especially presented a contemporary and natural interpretation, and managed to deliver lengthy monologues with the clean, conversational tones. Wilson was not quite on par with the talents of the rest of the cast, especially during some monologues that required some inflation.

In the role of Jill, Holly Bittinger was adequate. She shined in terms of likeability, charm, and having a lovely speaking. Bittinger would have made a great guest star on Friends or Seinfeld, but I don’t agree with the choice to cast her as an aggressive older girl; whether it was the choices of the director or the choices of the actress, she seemed mismatched against Jessop.

In the last three minor roles, the actors shown during their spotlighted moments. Scott Butler played both Nugget (the horse) and the horse rider who first introduced Allan to horses as a child. In both roles, his physicality was fluid, languid, and controlled; he exercised the same skill in the delivery of his lines and carved out clever characters through subtle inflections and perfectly-timed delivery. As Harry Dalton, the owner of the mutilated horses, John Rusing presented a cohesive, distinctive, and engaging performance. Meredith Hogeland performed the role of the Nurse, and her presence/costume felt like a reminder of the setting when the set remained stagnant.