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| Raymond Hobbs and Brian Trybom in “The Philadelphian” in Program 1 of the Bay One Acts Festival. |
Ranging in length from 5 to 30 minutes, this year’s selection of spirited one-act plays in the Ninth Annual Bay One Acts Festival (aka BOA) varies in genre, tone and style. The large number of plays are broken into two programs which rotate in a weekly repertory.
Under the new artistic leadership of Jessica Holt, the Three Wise Monkeys (3WM) theatre company has partnered with co-producing companies Sleepwalkers Theatre, No Nude Men, Piano Fight, Threshold, Playpen, and Climate Theatre to produce the Festival. Working with several freelance directors who have a history of dedication to new work, the program includes plays by local Bay Area playwrights Crish Barth, Tim Bauer, William Bivins, Stuart Bousel, Jon Brooks, Megan Cohen, Ben Fisher, Daniel Heath, Sam Leichter, Edward Luhn and Lauren Yee.
The Boxcar Theatre is a suitable venue for this year’s BOA, offering a far more intimate setting than its former host, the Eureka Theatre. There, subtle moments were easily lost on the larger, raised stage; set changes between the short plays often took too long; and the larger house was more difficult to fill.
Program 1 opens on a strong note with Edward Luhn’s “Generic Play,” a clever five-minute comedy of perennial domestic conflict wherein the subtext makes up the dialogue and only at the most difficult moments do more ameliorating clichés get voiced. Jill Maclean directs Laura Jane Coles and Derek Fischer, who are both adept at providing the quick emotional changes demanded by the piece.
Meg O’Connor directs “Query,” Ben Fisher’s comedy about bureaucracy, art and language. Actors Alana Waksman, Kathryn Wood and Brian Trybom do well, though the script meanders off-course a few too many times in its imaginative and detailed exploration of differently-perceived lifestyles.
Jon Brooks’ “Catcher in the Rye (Cancelled)” is directed by 3WM’s Jessica Holt. Mayhem ensues as the author examines the perils of copyright infringement and attempts to control personalities of the late J.D. Salinger (who would probably applaud Mr. Brooks’ daring efforts) and several other notable fictional characters. The eight-member acting ensemble doesn’t miss a beat in this well-staged riotous parody.
“Reading with Friends” by Chris Barth and directed by Paul Cello opens the program’s second half. A wry rumination on the nature of friendship, art and trust, it builds to a dramatic climax as secret alliances are revealed, and it ends with a surprise bang. Especially recommended to those involved in writing for the theatre.
Claire Zawa directs William Bivins’ fourth local premiere, “Altered Landscape,” a taut intimate portrait of a couple trapped in a vast scenic panorama. Patrick Barresi as the husband and Julia Mitchell as the wife are both convincing as they keep up the tension in this harrowing emotional tale.
The final offering of Program 1 is Sam Leichter’s “The Philadelphian,” a chilling character portrait, directed by Rob Ready. George (Raymond Hobbs) and Devon (Brian Trybom) are tied together by a violent dog-biting incident from their childhood and by the woman they both love. A strong ending to the evening, “The Philadelphian” is not for the weak-hearted.
Kudos to 3WM for a highly spirited Program 1 of their 9th Annual Bay One Acts Festival. Highly Recommended!
Program 2 of the Festival opens with Daniel Heath’s short comedy about failure, Nothing Works, directed by Amy Clare Tasker. Kat Bushnell plays the mechanic helping Mark (Adam Simpson) get his car started. “You can tell I’m in love with cars… I’ve got four of ‘em and none of them really work.” The Chef (Don Williams) reminds him that “Meyer lemons are much too sweet” for Mark’s sauce and that “everybody knows this.” The Computer Programmer (Logan Fox) manages to reboot Mark’s computer on this day where everything goes wrong in a short gem of a play that goes right.
Tim Bauer’s brilliantly executed trunk show Three Little Words, or Romeo & Juliet. The Entire Play. All the speeches. All the characters. With four actors. In three-word sentences. Which can’t be done, is smartly directed by Alex Curtis. At breakneck speed — stopping only long enough to create fabulously full moments — The Players (Megan Briggs, Nick Dickson, Dave Dyson, and Jasen Talise) take on all the major characters and some of the minor ones of R&J. It makes you wish Bauer would similarly reset the remaining 36 of the Bard’s theatricals, forsooth and wisely so. Truly hilarious and not to be missed.
Claire Zawa directs Megan Cohen’s charming, absurdist love story The Great Double Check. Dory (Lauren Bruniges) has convinced friend Alison (Claire Slattery) to assist her in finding her lost wallet in a café. Meandering a bit at first, TGDC gets more on track when another customer, The Man (Geoffrey Libby), has a grid theory that proves to be effective in more ways than one.
Stuart Bousel’s funny and imaginative fable Housebroken is tightly directed by Claire Rice and demonstrates just how far a pet of any kind can reflect the problems of its owners. Kirsten Broadbear and Andy Strong shine as the beleaguered possessors of the misbehaving entity, while Ryan Hayes and Julia Heitner double effectively in supporting roles to assist them.
Tore Ingersoll-Thorp sensitively directs the Program 2 closer, Lauren Yee’s personal and political drama The Life and Death of Joshua Zweig.
Annabelle (Ariane Owens) is in love with Joshua Zweig (Ian Riley), a 21 year old who “embraces the world as it is,” including his orders to go into battle alone. Fearful of losing him, Annabelle is already talking to the anticipated Dead Josh (Damian Lanahan-Kalish who also plays the Sergeant and Another Josh). When Another Josh fails at being like the first one, Annabelle is left single. Yee’s heartbreaking and humorous details truthfully capture the human dilemma of confronting the loss of loved ones.
Highly Recommended!
On March 6 (Saturday at 4pm) at the Boxcar Theatre, 3WM presents a symposium on new play development and the short play form with festival playwrights, directors, and producers featured on the panel. Additionally, BOA features two full Festival days: March 7 (Sunday) with Program 1 at 3pm and Program 2 at 7pm, and March 13 (Saturday) with Program 1 at 4pm and Program 2 at 8pm.
9th Annual Bay One Acts (BOA) Festival continues (Thursday to Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 4pm) until March 13 at the Boxcar Theater, 505 Natoma Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($12 to $24) call (415) 776-7427 or at threewisemonkeys.org.
