Elemental Theater

     3.a.go.go

Three different plays with everything in common

             Elemental Theater's world premiere production of 3.a.go.go presents the audience with three short plays. This ninety minute long show, done without an intermission, runs like a well oiled machine, keeping the audience constantly engaged. The plays themselves were written in an intriguing fashion: three writers were given 30 days to write a 10 to 30 minute play that contained six specific elements. Drawn from hats, each writer was given two events (a possession and building a fire), three objects (a mirror, a black hole and a bellows) and a “wildcard” (something in the distance is coming closer) to incorporate into their shows. The resulting plays ranged from dark comedies to powerful dramas, all with the refinement and attention to detail one could expect from a plays written over the course of years.

            A Mark

            A Mark, written by RISCA Merit Award winner Nancy Lucia Hoffman, and directed by Alex Platt, takes place in a salon operated by vampires dedicated to providing their customers with whatever it is they desire....for a price. Hoffman provides her cast with a clever concept and clearly defined characters. D'Arcy Dersham  does a convincing job as the head vamp, Victoria. With her slow, deliberate speech and her relaxed yet confident posture, she exudes all of the sexual energy one would expect from a typical female vampire. Sara Betnel gives Victoria's mostly silent assistant, Therese, a strong presence and provides the audience with several laughs through her physicality. The two women, paired with a minimal set of antique chairs and draperies (in cream and blood red), provide the show with a foreboding, yet playful undertone that perfectly captures the essence of modern vampire folklore.

            The two eager customers of the salon are played by Michael Locicero and Jeffrey Dujardin. Locicero's character, Dylan, is introduced to the audience as a frequent visitor to Victoria. He nervously twitches while attempting to seem cool and collected in front of Victoria, easily portraying his characters' inner conflict between getting what he desires and paying the vamp's unusual fee. Dujardin plays the struggling college senior, Connor, who visits the salon upon Dylan's recommendation. Dujardin flawlessly embodies the stock-character of  the nymphomaniac college flunky, interacting in perfect disharmony with Victoria's smooth and slinky manner.

            The entire play is like a well executed tango: a constant tension and release of emotion, physicality and introspection.

True Time Bloke

            True Time Bloke, written by Alex Pratt and directed by Peter Deffet is a modern, abstract drama. With a minimalist set consisting of a two-step staircase and a metal frame filled with empty wooden picture frames, the show leaves you feeling lost and disoriented from the start. The two-person cast consists of the nameless, Man and Woman, played by Michael Locicero and Nicole Maynard. Each does a fine job delivering Pratt's poetic lines, while neither share dialog until the end of the show. The play takes place in a “moment of almost unendurable loss.” I would say more about the plot, but piecing together the story is half the intrigue of the show. Locicero handles the intense drama well, playing an anguished man tormented by previous events and the current nothingness he is surrounded by. Maynard is trapped inside a room of mirrors and windows, constantly shifting and changing to show her different things. She, too, has a strong hold on the gravity of the show,  showing her fatigue and frustration with the physical and emotional entrapment she is dealing with.

            The play is artistic, beautiful, sad and touching. The juxtaposition of the intense emotion and fine language, and the minimal set and color is very effective.

6 Short Films About Black Holes

            6 Short Films About Black Holes, written by Dave Rabinow and directed by Jill Blevins follows three eccentric movie ushers asking “What happens when you get too close to the hole at the center of the universe?”  Through their “3-D films”, they engage the theater-goers with Rabinow's six,  high-energy, fast paced shorts, ranging from laugh-till-you-cry comedies to heartbreaking dramas. The three players are Elizabeth Gotauco, Kelly Nichols and Christopher Rosenquest. Each actor shines in this show, demonstrating their wide ranges of talent not only as actors, but as singers and dancers too. Gotauco shows her range, playing campy comedic characters and strong dramatic figures. She is hilarious as a ditzy space cadet and heartbreaking as a  mother whose world has been turned inside out. Kelly Nichols is also a very strong actor. Handling her sharp-tounged comedic dialog with ease and switching gears to be a worn-down paper boy pushed to tears, Nichols also demonstrates her many facets. Rosenquest is not to be out-done by the talented women he shares the stage with. He sends the audience into hysterics with his rendition of a physics professor explaining the mechanics of black and white holes, and puts a lump in your throat with his thoughtful and heartbroken father whose son has been lost. The three make a great team, and they all do an amazing job taking the audience from one emotion to another and then back again. Even the very last moments of the show are perfectly acted and startlingly unexpected.

             3.a.go.go is an experience you don't want to miss. The chance to see brand new local work acted, directed and staged this finely is one not to be ignored. Shows run until February 3rd at Perishable Theater. Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows are at 8pm, Sunday January 27  at 7, and February 3 at 2pm. Tickets are $15 at the door.

Perishable Theatre ( Jan 27 - Feb 3- 2008)
95 Empire Street, Providence, RI
Reservations at (401) 447-3001

More information visit  http://www.myspace.com/elementaltheatre