pgUnderConstruction

Under Construction Critique
 * Note: Please excuse the crude identification of the actors and actresses from what I remember of their physical traits. I had no other way of identifying them as the different characters they played.

__Under Construction__, directed by C.A. Farris III, was not a play with a plot or main characters and wholeheartedly rejected the ceremony of traditional drama. Likewise, it was not designed for the uncurious that want to be entertained with a mishmash of hackneyed plot lines and predictably executed roles for actors that “look-the-part”. This production shocked. It left the audience members with strong images that, while largely unrelated, had a theme; however, this fractured style was at times hard to follow. The directing style reflected the experimental spirit that Charles Mee intended for the play with elements of uniformity and spontaneity, experimentation and traditional dialogue. From effective blocking, to choosing scenes from the malleable script, there were very few noticeable shortcomings for Farris. Without all the noise of a traditional play—elaborate staging, costumes, and gimmicks—success relied heavily on the ability of the cast and all the available talent was milked from them, culminating in an impressive display of their diversity and acting strength. The set design and lighting were simple and used effectively.

While the play jumped between seemingly unrelated scenes, the director managed to unify elements of the play, which were important to the audience’s interpretation and identification of themes. In particular, the juxtaposition of past and present lifestyles was brought out by the base costume for the actors: all black. Having the ensemble all dressed the same gave them a transcendent quality and allowed them to take on multiple—often juxtaposed—roles. An example of this is the shorter bald black actor that, in one scene, portrays a father giving advises to his son, and, in another scene, he is a man that is masturbating under a sheet. Seeing the actors in different roles with such minor changes in costume and a base of black was a way to emphasize the juxtaposition intended by Mee. Likewise, the acting style was consistent when dealing with different subject matter. For scenes that dealt with idealistic Americans from years past—presumably the 40’s or 50’s—the acting was very stylized, as if the people were part of an informational video on what life is like in America. The style consisted of smiling, polite movements, modest language, and inoffensive gestures. For scenes with more modern subject matter, the acting style was more free and passionate, exemplified in the scene where the man in leather and a dog collar comes on stage and begins asking the audience about their sex life. This clear liberalization in acting style reflects the liberalization of the general American sentiment and was used by Farris to help exemplify that theme.

Farris’ scene choices and rewriting of the script had a consistent focus on the sexuality of Americans. From the multitude of scenes to pick from Mee’s production, Farris chose the ones that had to do with sexuality and transformed ones already present to having sexual theme. For example, the scene entitled //“//Film Noir” in Mee’s production features the inception of a love and a man professing his love to a girl who does not believe that he actually loves her. In Farris’ rendition, the scene devolves into a rape scene with a dancer avoiding the man in a romantic dance across stage. The taboo subjects in times past, sexual violence, homosexuality, and masturbation were pitted against idealistic conservative dating scenes from the mid-twentieth century. Sex pervaded every aspect of the play from the live rock-n-roll music to the sensuality of the slender black dancer rebuffing her aggressive suitor. While Farris may have chosen to focus on sex for a number of reasons, it is likely that he wanted to hone in on a specific aspect of American society that has changed in the past fifty years (and is continuing to change) in order to demonstrate the theme of America being “under construction”. By weaving sex into all aspects of the play, Farris once again focuses the theme of the production.

While Farris’ choice of subject matter and direction to actors made the play have a focus on sexuality, the incorporation of the different artistic disciplines such as dance, singing, and traditional soliloquy recitation gave the play an entertaining variety to display that message. The emotionally heavy material was combatted with a humorous and light tone in other parts. Telling the audience they could not get away because there was no intermission, asking the audience when the last time they had sex was, and having a head-banging performance of rock music were all interesting ways to get the audience involved in the show and lighten the mood. Music was an equally effective medium that entertained the audience, and its intermittent interjection was fun and welcome. Overall, these experimental techniques, humor, and the appeal to multiple forms of artistic expression worked because the variety of style mimicked the variety of scenes that were portrayed.

Casting for the piece successfully targeted talented individuals that were versatile in their range of acting ability. Each actor or actress had something different to bring to the performance and also could connect emotionally with his or her role for emphatic results. The strength of the acting in the piece was exemplified in the scene where all the cast members appear on stage (in their base black) and listen to each other give a monologue on a particularly traumatic event that has affected the rest of their lives. From the Asian actress describing her father’s struggle with language and literally breaking down in tears on stage, to the hopelessness in the voice of the young white man describing his path to alcoholism, the acting in this particular scene was intense, displaying the kind of emotional investment the actors had in their characters. The brilliance of their acting was only more impressive when these two actors turn around and perform a song on piano and guitar, respectively. Whether they could sing, dance, or had good comedic timing, the cast did a stupendous job at juggling their talents with nitty-gritty emotion laden acting. The ensemble’s passion and technique was impressive and there were no members of the troupe that made an unimpressive showing.

Scene design, while basic, worked in a number of ways. First, the use of clear plastic sheets in the background gave the impression that the stage was a room being renovated and was under construction. The clever use of black boxes, while nothing new to theatre, helped to focus the audience’s attention on the actor and subject matter rather than be distracted by elaborate gimmicky staging. Also, the black boxes were effective in allowing the cast to switch between the various scenes. Differing lighting techniques, though not frequently utilized, were interesting. The single bulb swinging above the head of the girl describing her rape was a eerily effective way to make the scene memorable. Projecting the American flag on the differently decorated cast members during the shows finale was likewise an interesting lighting device that made the scene memorable and visually pleasing.