"It's free - they let you come here," declares a homeless woman (EllaRose Chary '07) who stakes out a portion of the Production Workshop stage as her new home in Brendan Pelsue '08's "Homeless Play." Asked who gave her permission to do so, she points to the audience and replies, "Students, they're everywhere."
The homeless lady correctly identifies who is in charge of PW's "Three Chairs, Two Cubes" festival: students. The festival highlights student-written one-acts, and this year's series puts on a particularly dynamic cohort of innovatively written productions.
"We are trying to showcase very original student plays," said Sarah Campen '07, production manager and artistic director of the festival. "There is not that much emphasis on the production," she added. "It's on the writing."
The festival features more than 30 students in production, technical and acting roles. Each production is limited to a set of three chairs and two black cubes. Each show may feature an unlimited number of costumes and props but may not use more than four music and lighting cues.
The festival kicks off with "Homeless Play," an intentionally incongruous and self-conscious comedy featuring punchy dialogue that is reminiscent of the absurdist playwright Christopher Durang. The quirky homeless couple, played by Chary and Herald cartoonist Stephen Barlow '08, toys with the props on stage, mocking the minimalism of the festival.
"They're now plates," the man declares after dissecting a metal chair and splitting its seat in half.
Director David Greis '07 succeeds in crossing the often implicit border between audience and characters and between reality and art. Barlow and Chary make up a stunning duo who mock societal underpinnings with ease. Turning romance and modern life on its head in a whirlwind of semiotic questioning, they misname commonplace items arbitrarily as "stove," "ice cream maker" or "ricer."
Like "Homeless Play," Nina Mozes '08's "Better Half" tackles the interpersonal realities of a couple with wry realism. On their 25th anniversary, John (Owen McDougall '07) and Marie reflect on the passionate beginnings and dysfunctional present of their love affair. Mozes' dialogue is sharply funny; John and Marie retort and quip back and forth. Melissa Kagen '09's marvelous directing casts the argument in the natural style of a long-time couple: the tone is a deluge of crescendos and decrescendos.
Kato McNickle '10's "Swimming in the Ocean" toys with memory, framing the loss of a sister in the circular dialogue of the mind. The play returns multiple times to a final exchange between Gay (Ivy Martinez '10) and Becca (Olivia Olsen '08) on the last morning of summer. The sexual undertones between the sisters suggest a conflict between Rebecca and John, Gay's fiancé (Rob Wollach '07). Rebecca must decide to part with her sister while still honoring her memory.
Ben Struhl '09's "A Man Walks into a Bar" presents a perplexing swapping of identities at a bar. Kristen Saberre '07's directing conveys convincing bar dribble dialogue.
The quotidian conversation of Struhl's play re-appears in the festival's closer. Angie Thurston '07's "Rubbing Elbows: An American Courtship" frames the awkward conversation of nascent romantic tension alongside that of an established couple. Charlotte (Karin Freed '09), a college-bound student, discusses a novel she is writing with Shane (Devin Gould '10), a secret service officer. Charlotte paints a tale of a deeply involved sadomasochistic couple that hilariously derides modern American love while intertwining music and dance.
The "Three Chairs, Two Cubes" festival will run in T.F. Green Hall today through Monday.
