News-Letter

Media Credit: Laura Bitner [Click to enlarge]

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This weekend, Witness Theater finished up the semester with its final showcase of the year. The group presented four student-written one-act plays in Arellano Theatre. The crowd seemed to consist mostly of friends of the cast, but the actors had plenty such contacts, so the turnout was impressive. The crowd was perhaps too familiar with the players — an occasional inside-jokey comment sprang from the audience between plays — but the actors maintained a professional decorum. Two comedies, The Exit Strategy and Anonymous Source sandwiched two dramatic plays, Getting Away With It and A Good Life.

The Exit Strategy, written and directed by sophomore Oleg Shik, was an absurd, almost slapstick comedy about roommates trying to kick an unwanted occupant out of their apartment. Freshman Ramón Taylor and senior Chris Hamel were convincing as a gay couple coming out to their friend, while senior Dave Haldane thoroughly explored the messy, inconsiderate, vulgar roommate. One was forced to wonder, however, exactly how much acting Haldane actually had to do.

Haldane's antics and the awkward situations received a great response from the audience. The twist ending was well played, albeit predictable. It turns out that the couple was only pretending to be gay so as to have an excuse to kick out their troglodytic roommate. This, of course, led to a terribly awkward kissing scene. Overall, the play ended up being perhaps the best-received of the night.

Getting Away With It, written by junior Liz Eldridge and directed by senior Ashley Watson, was a darker play with an almost "black comedy" feel to it. The three actresses, sophomores Anna Ciuffo, Molly Schindler and Alice Marks all played the same character, Mia. The actresses gave a series of monologues in which Mia tells of her life, her thoughts and her travels.

The presentation was engaging, and the three representations of Mia gave variation to what otherwise would have been one long monologue. However, it is unclear what other purpose having three people play Mia had. It would have been reasonable to presume that each actress represented a different side of Mia's personality, but that did not come through in the play. Rather, the audience was left confused as to the purpose of the changes. There was scatological theme in the play (from which stems the title) that was done in such a way that it did not come off as "bathroom humor" — an impressive feat.

A Good Life, written by senior Sasha Rousseau and directed by sophomore Alena Geffner-Mihlsten, was the second of the more serious plays presented during the evening. Freshman Claire Kenney starred as Gladys, the bacchanalian single mother who lives her life like a carefree socialite. The play begins with an extended monologue from Gladys in which she goes on about her carefree style of living, her life philosophy and her attitude towards others. However, the illusion she has built up for herself falls apart with the introduction of Charlie, played by freshman Dave Santare. Charlie, Gladys' religious teenage son, provides a foil for Gladys, whose irresponsibility and destructive behavior comes to light when contrasted with her son's level-headedness. While not as immediately gratifying as the other plays, A Good Life was more thought-provoking, and Kenney's performance rounded it out to be an excellent one-act.

Anonymous Source, the final play of the evening, was written by junior Sal Gentile and directed by senior Sofija Korac and freshman Rory O'Rourke. Junior Paxson Trautman played a source for freshman Toni Del Sorbo, a reporter desperate for the big scoop on Guantánamo. The comedy focused on the source's absurd attempts to remain anonymous — for example, hiding from the waitress (sophomore Esther Bell) behind a flowerpot, or insisting that the reporter address him as "ma'am." Throughout the ridiculous interview, the duo is watched by the "bystander" — played by freshman Gerrad Taylor. It soon becomes obvious the "bystander" is actually an agent ­— validating all of the source's bizarre attempts at anonymity. The absurdity of the play was underscored by Trautman's performance, who did a more than convincing job of playing the conspiratorial, bewildering source.

Witness Theater's one-act plays were not perfect, but we do not expect them to be. The show may have been lacking in some areas, but the student-written plays were entertaining, sincere and importantly, free. Overall the event made good use of a couple of hours, especially on a campus where so many lament the supposed lack of activity.

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