IMFourPlay

Like a Phoenix From the Ashes: Performance Number Nine

And I think we're there... We've had a lot of really good shows in the run to date, but this was a pivotal weekend in that both shows really broke the learning curve. It feels as if the company has really found its groove, and the structure is now successfully sticking when needed. Gina, the Assistant Director, and I shared a sigh of contented relief in that it feels that our baby is now walking on its own with more predictability. Many of my worries of a week ago are fading into the past.

What a great house! It was large in number, spirit and generosity. I had a good number of my troupe from Rollins College in attendance, and I'm glad they got to see a strong performance as well. Mark, assuming the role of a young woman, started the show strongly as a young janitorial worker who had a snobby college friend, a masculine crush, and an 85-year old grandfather who had taught her the business. The toilet humor started flying early! As always, Mark delivered a fantastic solo as his character chose to abandon her family career in order to pursue her dreams (of GAP?!) Then came Ron as a young man living in a tiny bedroom at home much to his chagrin and the ire of his demanding and somewhat superficial girlfriend. Ron and Robyn's controlling mother created a great duet, and Mark added romantic intrigue as a potential rival. In one of our more interesting offers of late, Robyn worked in a Miami refugee camp as a kind-hearted volunteer. There she was pulled by the needs of a strange variety of characters, including Ron's quirky Pedro, an older man with deceleration issues, and Poppa, an obnoxious Australian who wanted to whisk her away from it all on the back of his kangaroo. Finally, we returned to the bathroom with my character, Jordan, who liked to take books into the toilet with him. At his weekly book reading meeting we met his rival, Graham, his mentor (?) Professor Wiggins, and the apple of his eye, Jordash. Heather, our choreographer and my wife, and my father, who have both seen the last several weekends agreed that not only were the characters unique and specific tonight, but that we also lacked our usual handful of random or ill-fitting personas--an indication of strong listening and sharing in general.

Act two followed Jordan as he tried to improve his life by actually reading the books he'd been taken into the restroom. As he enrolled in college courses, his rival, Graham, turned out to be his biology TA, and thwarted Jordan's efforts at every turn. Robyn provided a great finesse in a scene where she played Graham's sidekick while burning the clothes of Jordash, a character she also embodied! Jordan entered just in time to believe that Jordash was now a pile of ashes. Robyn's character work and comedic timing was dynamite tonight. Mark, as Professor Wiggins, created some of the biggest laughs of the night, and as his former janitorial worker, nearly brought the house down when he counseled Jordan in the bathroom stalls of GAP to "spill it." Ron did great work as the villain, providing a wonderful twist at the final moment of the show, and his Pedro 10:00 number was one of the funniest and most playful we've had in a while. The final song of the show also built beautifully, with Mark leading a slow applause reveal, and Robyn emerging from the ashes (like a phoenix) just as the song culminated. Other than singing myself hoarse a little during the second act, I feel the show really went well for us all tonight, and the work was shared well and with generosity as we had on Friday.

The show is still getting out a little late. We keep starting late and having intermission extended unexpectedly. One of the difficulties of the 10:00 slot is that regardless of show quality, people get ancy around 11:45/11:50, and I'm keen that these delays don't make the show feel longer than it actually is (we rarely run past 90 or 95 minutes of actual performance time.) Has the show been feeling long to any of you blog readers? I'll keep fighting the good fight...

Your time-conscious Director, David C.