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__Under Construction__

Farris did not hold back in his production of __Under Construction__. Instead, Farris purposefully strays away from the conventions of theater and takes a risk by delving into the off-limit topics of society. He entertains the audience with a simple set and few props that work to engage the audience in a roller coaster of emotions. The play covers serious issues from various decades through a chaotic plot line and manages to comment on current day issues as well. As a result, my reaction to __Under Construction__ was very mixed as I was taken aback by how vulgar and sex orientated the play was. Yet at the same time, I was thoroughly pleased and moved by the play. The concept of experimental theater was new to me and as expected, there were several aspects of the play that I found to be more favorable than others. Overall, Farris was able to deliver a production that left the audience in shock.

In regards to lighting, I thought that the lighting really complemented the play very well. I appreciated the back lighting near the farthest row of seats where whenever the characters came up close to the audience. The single spinning spotlight during the sex slave trade scene was clever and contributed to the frantic and scared mood. I appreciated how there were two light settings on the main stage. The yellow lights ranged from a dim setting to a very bright setting when there were many characters on stage. After the soldier leaves the stage during the army scene, there was an attempt made at creative lighting. I liked the concept behind the use of shadows and silhouettes in the backdrop of a wall made of draped plastic, but I thought its execution failed. The movements of the characters’ hands were very random and confused me as to where I was supposed to be looking. I was distracted from watching the soldier character on stage and felt like it was important to watch him and his emotions and not the many people that were behind the plastic backdrop. I could also see most of the characters faces and only a few of the actors’ silhouettes turned out to be completely anonymous. The staging techniques, given that this is a theatrical play, were quite clever in the use of minimalism. One thing about staging that I did not like was the constant moving of the black boxes around the stage. I felt as if too much time on stage was spent arranging a new set for each scene and the awkward silence during these transitions broke the flow of the play. I really liked how the table was set at the beginning of the play in which all of the food items were paper cutouts placed on two wooden planks. The use of a cart as a bed that was simply rolled out on stage was a good idea because it allowed the audience to concentrate on the action of the play. I actually appreciate the fact that there were minimal props used because I was able to better focus on the characters. The use of live music and singing were also effective props and added intensity to the scenes. The photographs in the background did a good job of reminding the audience of the setting such as in the final scene with the picture of the American flag.

The actors in the play were phenomenal, especially in their ability to be adaptable and express emotions. The actress who performed the dance that doubled as a rape scene managed to bring tears to my eyes while later in the production, she played the comic role of a cat lady so well that I could not stop laughing. The Asian actress played her role and character so well that it was visibly noticeable that she personally connected with the issue she was portraying when she had tears streaming down her face. The actress who led the singing had an insanely incredible voice and talent. I thought the casting of the play was phenomenal and it was obvious that each individual actor had been chosen for a specific reason aside from acting. On another note, the costumes of the characters were very well done, especially the all black costumes that all of the actors wore at the beginning of the play. I felt like the choice to have all the characters wear black showed how the actors were not particularly associated with one particular character. The actors were universal and this made it easier for the audience to connect with the emotions of the characters. The cardboard costumes at the beginning of the play were symbolic in that they showed the typical American family cut out from a cookie cutter.

Farris’ rendering of the script was impeccable and even though his scenes were hackneyed, they were malleable and fit together under the overarching theme of “Under Construction.” Starting with the traditional American family, the play explores America under the lens of current day issues such as sex slavery, immigration, and environmental protection. The under construction yellow tape that bordered the stage was a perfect reminder of the overarching theme of disillusionment with the American Dream and its collapse. At the end of the play, I felt enthused and in a way, the entire play was a call to action. The ending scene with the American flag unified all of the separate scenes and by doing so, unified the audience members and actors on stage as all being American. Overall, I felt as if my money and time were well spent even though I would be very cautious about recommending this play to other people. It was nice to be reminded of the past, where we have come from, and where we are heading in the future.