All in the Timing - David Ives Evening of short plays
HE STORIES: SURE THING. Two people meet in a cafe and find their way through a conversational minefield as an offstage bell interrupts their false starts, gaffes, and faux pas on the way to falling in love. (1 man, 1 woman.) WORDS, WORDS, WORDS recalls the philosophical adage that three monkeys typing into infinity will sooner or later produce Hamlet and asks: What would monkeys talk about at their typewriters? (2 men, 1 woman.) THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE brings together Dawn, a young woman with a stutter, and Don, the creator and teacher of Unamunda, a wild comic language. Their lesson sends them off into a dazzling display of hysterical verbal pyrotechnics—and, of course, true love. (2 men, 1 woman.) PHILIP GLASS BUYS A LOAF OF BREAD is a parodic musical vignette in trademark Glassian style, with the celebrated composer having a moment of existential crisis in a bakery. (2 men, 2 women.) THE PHILADELPHIA presents a young man in a restaurant who has fallen into “a Philadelphia,” a Twilight Zone-like state in which he cannot get anything he asks for. (2 men, 1 woman.) VARIATIONS ON THE DEATH OF TROTSKY shows us the Russian revolutionary on the day of his demise, desperately trying to cope with the mountain-climber’s axe he’s discovered in his head. (2 men, 1 woman.)
Labels: comedy, contemporary, flexible cast
posted by Larisa at 7:48 PM
8 Comments:
Could work for a directors showcase kind of a thing, but I think that does limit choices for the directors. Ives is funny, but I have performed, directed, judged, and graded scenes from these plays so many times in various acting classes, speech competitions, and high school play festivals it is really hard for me to read it and see it fresh. I would like to hear others weight in.
OK - I am the one who proposed it. I don't have the strong reaction that Larissa and Don seemed to express when I brought it up. I think it is a whacky and smart comedy that is comparable to a Durang (and far less off putting). I think the mainstream TRP audience would think it was a bizarre piece with lots of word play and fun ideas. I think it would be a great opportunity to get 3 directors to collaborate on a project (each directing 2 plays) with a group of 6 to 8 actors. Very low tech and could be a fun creative project. Maybe a 2 week run in a window between opening and AC in the fall.
Not for me. I guess it might work as a director's showcase, or an academic exercise. As a paying audience member, I would not be happy if it were part of the season.
I liked it, but I wouldn't do it for a mainstage show in the regular season. Director's showcase or fill-in would be better.
I think it is a play showing its age and has more than a few of the world views of educated liberal white folks (it's okay to make fun of Oral Roberts University!) Ives is a very clever writer but he seems so self-consciously delighted with his own wit and I find that rather annoying after awhile. I would agree that choosing 2 or 3 of the best as part of a director's showcase may be a better solution.
My reaction to this script is similar to Men on Boats - it feels like a university acting program student production and might be more fun for the actors than the audience. Of course, I am biased by all my own years in acting training programs, so there is that to be said. I would have had a blast acting in these plays when I was a university student. But as a mature audience member, on the other hand, by the time that bloody bell rang for the fifth time I would be reaching for my coat. Plays that have gimmicks tread a fine line for me. Unless the gimmick is very clever and handled with panache, then it can become a tedious annoyance. Sorry, but the bloody bell made me not even want to read the other plays, so apologies to them, but based on the comments of others I am to be forgiven for skipping them.
It's a fun play with fun bits, but I think a lot of folks are correct: this play has been done so much in academic theatre that some people might wonder why we producing it for our season. It lacks the empathetical response that most TRP's season plays have. It is a great play to use for a showcase, though. We could use it to help six young directors with their development.
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