The Fourteenth Grade players opened both their season, and the student theater season as whole, tonight with their annual Welcome Back One Acts. And, it was everything the annual event should be. There were a couple things that made this productions a real joy to watch. The first was the incredible amount of fresh, new faces on the stage. I don't believe I had seen any of the performers on the stage before. The second, was that Fourteenth chose to do longer shows than is typical. I remember when I came in as a freshmen and auditioned for WBOA. At that time, WBOA was more about sucking freshmen in and trapping them in the company (and, I suppose that worked in some strange fashion). But, throughout the past three years Fourteenth has really worked to change the image of this annual opening to the student theater season. It's wonderful to see that WBOA is now about attracting and encouraging new actors, rather than locking them in. So, without further ado, my first review:
Company Presentation:
I choose to start with company presentation because with a three show event, it just seems to make sense. Let's start with the poster for the production. The colors for the poster seem to have come straight out of a CI cabinet member's wardrobe, and that's not a bad thing! The flashy blue color is sure to catch the attention of those passing by Rome/Phillips on a busy class day. But, the layout and cartoony filter of the rest of the poster leaves me wanting a bit more. In fact, it's a little bit jarring. Still, if the intent is simply to snag people's attention then I'd say this poster would succeed.
Arriving at the theater was easy. No hassle getting in, some cool Jukebox the Ghost cruising the airwaves - a classically Fourteenth setting. And, to boot, Fourteenth is running a new promotion! This year they're selling season passes that allow you to save a dollar if you're seeing all of their shows this season. Plus, you get a pretty sweet 14th Grade cup - so that's cool I guess. Though it would be nice for students to save a little more than a dollar, any money saved is a blessing in college!
Set:
Out of necessity the set's for WBOA are always spartan at best. Yet, the technical team and the directors really made it work. Whether it was the two simple tables for Check, Please!, the bare stage of This is a Play, or the few bits and bunches of furniture for Way Station the actors seemed comfortable in their setting and we didn't get distracted by too much nonsense.
Lights:
Fourteenth ran into quite a bit of trouble with lights this time around. But that's to be expected. A mere two or three days before opening night the light board in the Downstage said its last farewell (rest in eternal pain, we will not miss you). With no lights and opening approaching fast the company faced one of the biggest challenges in theater: changing the venue. From the sounds of things, they weren't allowed to change any of the plot in the Bett's theater either so they had to work with what they had. In the end, things seemed to work out - for the most part. Way Station seemed to be plagued with quite a few lighting mishaps, however. Lights occasionally popped up on the wrong part of the stage and at a few times actors were forced to begin their scenes outside of the focus area. Nothing too out of the ordinary for a student theater production though, and I'm sure they'll work the kinks out for the remainder of the run.
Acting:
A huge round of applause goes out to this cast made up mostly of newbies to the GW theater scene. Welcome to the fold, kids! Since this was an intro show for most, I just want to give a few shout-outs to those who really stood out for me.
In order of appearance:
Aazam Sultan for his roles as Tod, Manny, and Ken in Check, Please! This guy really stole the show at times. Each one of his entrances was well planned and gave us a flare of the character we were about to see. Not to mention that each of his characters was entirely distinct.
Jon Weigell for his role as "male actor" in This is a Play. Jon kept the laughs coming so nobody in the audience had to shout out asking for them (anybody remember that one?). He played the stereotypical leading man well (it's not bad that he was stereotypical, the script calls for it I promise!). He did seem to be struggling not to laugh himself a few times, but you could tell he was having fun up there and that's what it's all about!
Nicole Cunningham was fantastic in the role of Luisa in Way Station. Fourteenth snagged a talented actress here! Her portrayal was believable and honest and I couldn't ask for more.
Directing:
Check, Please!
This was not the first production of Check, Please! I've seen. But, it was definitely one of the best. I find that directors tend to go a bit nuts with this script, choreographing in wild table movements and sometimes even revolving sets. It was a great relief to see that director Emily Messing took a much more simplistic approach. We bounced back and forth between tables creating a feeling that we were stuck in a never ending cycle of bad dates. Her coaching of actors seems to have been well done too - each actor played several distinct roles and it never got monotonous. Congrats, Emily!
This is a Play
This is a Play is a clever story about a play within a play. It is VERY targeted at people who themselves do theatre. Director Phil Anderson's strength here was in making the jokes accessible to those who have not done theater (also that lettuce over the shoulder moment, nice touch). On the other hand, the blocking did tend to get a little jumbled and at times repetitive. Though, whether that is because of the director or the script is up for debate.
Way Station
I'm certain director Shira Hereld had a unique experience among the three in that she wrote the show herself. Shira's character work seemed strong and lead to a touching performance. The show did suffer a bit from some inconsistencies though. One actor frequently change from wearing a simple t-shirt, to throwing on a sweater, even a scarf making it unclear what season we were in. Another actor frequently removed a corded phone from it's table, a movement that felt motivated only by a desire to diversify blocking rather than being grounded in the character's emotion. The biggest problem, however, is one that anyone who has read the scathing review of my production, Ecce, will call me a hypocrite for pointing out. She frequently staged scenes behind another character, sitting on a bench downstage, in the dark. Still, despite some odd blocking choices, the love that Shira put into this show clearly shines through. An excellent, student written, production that I hope to see again someday.
Well, that's it for me! Fourteenth Grade Player's Welcome Back One Acts was a great way to kick off a year of theater. Check in next week for Generic Theater Company's Freshmen Showcase!
See you in the theater,
Ed
Fourteenth Grade's Welcome Back One Acts runs Friday 9/28 and Saturday 9/29 at 7 and 10pm in the Betts Theater.
Edited for typos and grammar 9/28/12
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