It is difficult to categorize an evening of Witness Theater since the writing, the acting and the directing differ so greatly from play to play. The most recent showcase was no exception. Featuring five plays, rather than the measly three produced two months ago, Witness, it seems, tried to "make up" for unwilling writers the first time around.
"The Fork" began the night with a high note. In a monologue piece about a young man recently ditched by his girlfriend at a restaurant, freshman Michael Alfier certainly shined as the appropriately cast awkward young man. Alfier gave a credible performance.
The script itself was sweet and realistic. Writer Erin Donohue, a junior, stuck to material that the entire audience could relate to, creating an entertaining, well-written and humorous play.
In the first few moments of senior, Sal Gentile's "Freudian Slip," one cannot help but chuckle. An incredibly creative premise for a play, a man named Dave, played by Dave Haldane, is a Sigmund Freud impersonator who owns his own Sigmund Freud impersonator agency. As he explains this to Chuck, a pathetic young man at bus stop, the play is light and delightful. However, as Chuck begins to spill his guts over his recent breakup from an unfaithful girlfriend, the play drags a bit - junior Shawn McDonald seems a little flat and the dialogue is a little uninspired.
However, soon McDonald breaks into a recollection of an incredibly bizarre dream in which he is a deer in a forest. The dream escalates into a ridiculous over-exaggeration in which Chuck, as the deer, obsessively drinks from a feces-filled stream. Although entertaining at first, it seems Gentile got a little carried away. McDonald, however, redeems himself throughout the dream scene in a much livelier and appropriately insane portrayal of Chuck.
The role of Dave did not require an extraordinary performance, but Haldane did nothing to extend the character beyond the basics. Gentile seems to have caught himself without a good way to bring the play to a close. As is, the ending is incredibly corny, as Chuck exclaims, "You're not a Freud, you're a fraud!" and an admittance by Dave that he is indeed, nothing more than a fake.
The last moments of the play end with Chuck asking Dave to sell him some cocaine, a reference to an earlier comment about people asking "Sigmund Freud" to sell them cocaine. Overall, although Gentile provides a promising beginning, the rest of the play falls short of total success.
Immediately before the intermission, sophomore Kristen Calogero's "The Checkup" featured another monologue piece by a young woman in a gynecologist's office. Marla, while waiting for the doctor, goes into a discussion of the men who have traipsed through her life, beginning with (surprise!) an unfaithful boyfriend and leading to the ideal man of her dreams, the first boy she ever played with. Calogero does well to use the doctor's office as a jumping-off point for the rest of the play. Calogero's writing shined during the more day-dreamy parts of the monologue.
Junior Laura Gordon, who played Marla, certainly had great stage presence and a huge voice, perfect for the stage. However, at times, this personality overwhelmed the character. Just a little too bouncy, a little too smiley and sometimes inappropriately sexualized, Gordon's acting made Marla's character a little less sympathetic - it was no wonder that her boyfriend cheated on her! But like Calogero's script, Gordon too was at her best during the more delicate, dream-like sections.
After the intermission, junior Jessica Aloe's "Postal Experiment" delved into a more philosophical realm, questioning the patterns that appear in everyday life. In an excellent performance by freshman Emma Brodie, Raleigh, the quirky protagonist (yet another!) breaks up with her boyfriend and in a mad dash to find meaning the world, decides to send off objects such as a hammer and a pack of crayons. While the concept behind Aloe's script was admirable and certainly thought-provoking, the mechanics of the play didn't follow through. The characters of the mother and friend, Natalie, played by freshmen Rebecca McGivney and Remy Patrizio, respectively, were completely extraneous and at times unbelievable. This was especially true for the character of Natalie. If she is supposedly the best friend of Raleigh, would she really be so committed to the boyfriend? Sophomore Jack Berger, however, did a fine job of portraying the angry, confused and weary boyfriend himself, Ethan.
What is it with student writers and using curse words? Expletives were flung about so carelessly in "Postal Experiment" that it took away from the powerful underlying philosophical messages. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
The final play of the evening was "Model Behavior" by junior Christen Cromwell, a hilarious if over-the-top satire on fame. Sophomore Caity Stuhan played Madison, a stereotype of the diva supermodel, with ease. Taking place in a raw-vegan-ultra-healthy restaurant, Madison meets a friend for lunch after being approached by a crazed fan, played by a disturbingly accurate freshman, Derek Carey. Freshman Pierce Delahunt played the disgruntled waiter with quiet, and sometimes passive, aptitude. The real star of the show, however, was senior Samantha Engel who played the role of Olivia, the jaded Hollywood friend, with perfection and excellent comedic timing. From being angered by the lack of wine, to smoking a joint to planning a revenge plot against the paparazzo constantly snapping pictures, Engel elicited most of the laughter from the audience. Junior Rajiv Mallipudi also produced entertaining moments as the acrobatic paparazzo, randomly running onstage and taking pictures of Madison in compromising positions. However, though the play was certainly hilarious, it quickly escalated into an overly drawn-out and ridiculous romp in which Olivia and Madison beat up the paparazzo. It seemed as though the in-your-face humor would never end. This felt especially true as "Model Behavior" was the last of the five plays. At that point, the audience was ready to call it quits.
Witness needs to balance the number of plays it produces at once; however, the performances were enjoyable and it is always refreshing to see talented playwrights, actors and directors in sea of engineers and premeds. Despite some flawed moments, this round of Witness plays proved to be entertaining and original.
