Young UMD
Playwrights Explore Rocky Landscape of Emotions in Fractured Love
Lawrance Bernabo, Duluth News Tribune
November
20, 2014
Fractured
Love, the title given to the collection of original short works that opened
Thursday night at the Dudley Experimental Theatre, is something of a misnomer.
That is because more often than not the point where the particular love on
display was fractured is in the rear-view mirror and fading fast. Ultimately,
the unifying factor here is not the theme of the works, but rather the efforts
of the young playwrights grappling with their craft.
A company of eight
student actors performed a series of what were advertised as 10-minute plays by
UMD students and alumni, all directed by senior Joe Cramer. It turned out the
evening’s roster consisted of eight dialogues and five brief monologues. True, Aeschylus
never needed more than two actors on stage and everybody remembers him, but it
was a tad odd that nobody got to at least a third on-stage character.
The arrangement of the
pieces worked well. The evening began with the funniest piece, and ended with
the most touching moment. The opening piece by Bailey Boots was titled John, basically because there was one on
either side of a locked bathroom door (although neither has a line). A lot of
the humor in the piece came from Kyliah Thompson’s facial expressions, which
included some good old fashion mugging, as Kelly, who is horrified to discover
an engagement ring on her finger.
The Third Date by Jared Walz finds James (Jacob Fazzio) waking up tied to a
chair by Anna (Anna Gwaltney), and then things start getting weird. Alex
Goebel’s Mine has Olivia Blake’s
bartender trying to get the drunken Courtney (Gwaltney) out of the bar so she
can close up and go home. In Elephant in
the Car by Joshua Stenvick, a couple have run out of gas in a blizzard and find
their relationship is in a similar state.
Things turned decidedly
more serious after intermission. Erik Meixelsperger’s Fish Bowl has Thomas Matthes and Cassie Liebercowski as grieving
parents about to bury a child after an unspecified tragedy that has clearly
gone viral. This one explores an aspect of enabling that we have never really
seen in these all-too-frequent stories. However, the drama took a turn toward
humor; it was not that the moment rang false as much as it seemed to come too
soon in a piece this short. I would like to see how better Meixelsperger could
pull this off if this piece was lengthened to at least a one act.
All Fun and Games by Wesley Erickson starts during the final moves of a brutal
game of Candyland being played by two teenage boys (Ryan Cooper and Ryan
Richardson) that serves as an impetus for long simmering issues to come to a
head. Russell Habermann’s Burning Eden
is about a pair of siblings conflicted over putting their mother in a nursing
home. This was the one piece where I thought the performances could have gotten
a lot more out of the material, but both roles were done with a narrow range of
vocal shadings and pitched rather low.
The last piece, Waltzing with Eli by Carla Weideman,
offered another pair of siblings meeting on a park bench, with the sister
discovering the title character is off of his meds. Cooper’s performance as Eli
did a nice job of avoiding caricature with such a character, and created a
rather moving moment in less than ten minutes that served as a fitting note on
which to end the evening.
It there was a recurring
tendency in these pieces it was to go for comedy rather than drama, and by this
I do not mean simply that they were going to laughs, but that over the dramatic
construction of going from A to B to C, they like to go from A to 6. However,
it should be noted that very few of the situations presented, whether dramatic
or comedic, were commonplace ones readily within the life experiences of most
college students. So there is something to be said for going outside the usual
stricture of “writing what you know.”
As the monologues, Cassie
Liebercowsk’s Wrists Are Sexy was the
one that best provided a glimpse at a character whose past and future I was
instantly interested in finding out more about. But as for her Baby Killer piece, my immediate reaction
was that if you are going to go there, then you have to come up with something
more than this.
I heard a film director
say today that a monologue means either the other person has stopped listening
or you are talking too fast. Harold Remarc’s Taped Glasses, about the ironies of incompatible nerd love, was the
piece where I most wanted to meet the unseen listener. There might be something
more than a “Big Bang Theory” episode here that could be explored further.
Stenvick’s Until Tomorrow created a nice little
moment that I thought was a fitting endnote, but it turned out that was only
the halfway point and the real ending ended up paling in comparison. He’ll Get It Eventually by Susan Lynn
offers a quick glimpse at a quirky character, again making me curious as to
what more might be out there.
Such short pieces are
clearly unconventional drama. Self-contained and consisting of a beginning,
middle, and end, while at the same time suggesting more to the characters and
their conflicts outside of the limited time limit. With most of these dialogues
there was a point where you could see where it was that they needed to go,
while with the monologues you were usually left wondering where they could have
gone next. Within all of these works there are such … possibilities.
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ReplyDeleteTonight was the opening night of Fractured Love, brought to us by Stage 2 Theatre Company. Once again, Stage 2 surprises us with their unique styles along with an impressive cast and crew. The audience really connected with each of these thirteen plays and monologues, laughing when humor broke out and silent during the more serious tones of the dialogue. Director Joe Cramer did a great job creating a fabulous composition of different art forms, bringing them all together in a way that flowed well and stirred the emotional feelings of the audience. The props included in each scene were also picked to perfection. The first play is called “John”, by Bailey Boots, and had one of the most unique scenes, with a real toilet seat in the center of the stage—definitely giving an obvious tone and connection to the audience in regards to conversations that can go on in the bathroom of a restaurant. Prop master Sophie Geerdes does excellent work in bringing the scenes together with her choice of props in each of the plays. Lighting is another important aspect of these many plays because the lighting sets a tone, tells what time of days it is, sets the mood, and tells the audience how they are suppose to feel. With these many contrasting emotions in each scene, the lightning is especially essential. Solveig Bloomquist did a fine job of controlling the lights and matching the colors with the tone and mood or time of day in each scene in order to guide the audience in their journey through each play.
ReplyDeleteThe play by Joshua Stenvick called “Elephant in the Car” was one of the many plays that stood out due to the realistic conversation and argument between a boyfriend and girlfriend stuck on the side of the road in a blizzard after running out of gas. It is these types of plays that give the audience an outside view of the quarrels that we as people have many times throughout our life but never see from this perspective. The experience of listening to such dialogue between two people definitely brings us all back to an argument we had and makes us question if we would have changed it if we could. Relatable plays bring the audience out of themselves and have them wondering whether fighting with people they care about is even worth it when we are here for so short a time.
Actress Kyliah Thompson does an amazing job at immersing herself into each role she plays. The audience finds her so authentic and natural that they seem drawn to her and follow her genuine personality and emotions. She had the audience laughing in the “John” play, understanding her pain in “Elephant in the Car”, and feeling her kindness in “Waltzing with Eli”.
Actor Ryan Cooper, who plays alongside Kyliah Thompson in “Waltzing with Eli”, portrays his characters nicely as well. In “Waltzing with Eli” he clearly gets across to the audience that he is not in a stable mental state and delivers this message through rocking movements, strange speech, and subtle twitches. He is also in “All Fun and Games”, alongside Ryan Richardson, where he acts the part of an unlucky and outcast person who is not as cool as his friend. Ryan Cooper is perfect for both of the characters as he has the look and malleable personality of someone who can portray an outcast, a funnier person, or even a one who is not necessarily always in the right mind.
The collaboration of these plays presented by Stage 2 Theatre were all wonderfully completed with the writers, cast, and crew of actual students attending the University of Minnesota Duluth. These students are talented and the Fractured Love series of plays written by UMD students were definitely a fun compilation for the audience to watch and well worth the time.
Stage 2 Theatre Company’s production of Fractured Love: A Series of 10 Minute Plays by UMD Students opened on November 20th. In all, it intrigued the audience and encompassed a unique flair with the series of love stories and monologues. The play had an overall theme of “the journey one makes through life on the path of love” as put by director Joe Cramer. The multiple productions gave the audience various perspectives on “fractured love” situations and they were upbeat and intriguing.
ReplyDeleteThe scenery throughout all of the short plays, designed by Lizzie Streif, was laid out well and realistic. The consistent green background was a nice contrast to the other sets that were laid out farther downstage. The downstage scene was constantly switching to accommodate each of the short plays to help them come to life. This was done particularly well in “John” by Bailey Boots because the toilet added to the realistic bathroom feel. Overall, the scenery was realistic and added to the plays.
The costumes, designed by Leah Forrest, also added to the realistic feel of each of the performances. The clothing of the characters was typical for each of the various settings and exemplified casual clothing of today’s society. The costuming in “All Fun and Games” by Wesley Erickson helped establish characters. This was because one of the characters was confident and seemingly “lucky” and he wore nice jeans and a plaid shirt, whereas the other character was less pulled together and felt more down, and his clothes had a more run down look. The costumes, therefore, added to the characters and were realistic.
The actors did an excellent job of embodying their whole character and making them believable. This is especially true since many of them acted out more than one part and were required to transition from one character to the next and take on the full role of that specific character. One actress that stood out in particular was Kyliah Thompson. She had to take on the role of three various characters and she acted each out with passion and vibrancy. She was able to pull off crazy situations and also serious times, such as in “Waltzing with Eli” by Carla Weideman. Thompson and the other actors made their characters come to life and drew the audience in.
The various concepts of love throughout the series was unique and added flair to the performance. From lesbian lovers to family love, the series encompassed a variety of journeys that love is able to take and these paths made the audience think about the situations and relate to what they would do in the characters’ shoes.
Stage 2 is a very strong theatre group and this play series was successful and relatable for the audience members. This type of theatre production with the use of more than one single story line was effective because it gave multiple perspectives to the same concept and allowed the audience to think outside of the box about multiple story lines, versus just one. Fractured Love: A Series of 10 Minute Plays by UMD Students included a well-planned series of plays and was a type of production that would be nice to incorporate in future Stage 2 productions.
Fractured Love
ReplyDeleteCharles Kovacovich
Fractured Love, directed by Joe Cramer, is a series of 10 minute plays, written by University of Minnesota – Duluth students. This production opened November 20, in the Dudley Experimental Theatre on the UMD campus. Stage 2 Theatre Company is known for edgy, off-the wall, and unique work, and Fractured Love was all of that and more. The lightning was average, the acting was excellent, but the overall themes were spectacular.
The production opened in a very unusual way, with a small TV playing what appeared to be an old 1950’s educational video about sex. It was funny, but hard to see what was going on in the picture. It seemed to have no bearing on the rest of the production, but succeeded in demolishing any expectations that the audience may have had about what they thought they were going to see.
Throughout the 13 pieces, colored lighting was rarely utilized, if at all. For a majority of the plays, the lighting did not change even slightly during the whole piece. Some of the skits could have used a lighting change here or there to add to the mood. The sound was exceptionally well done, as it always lined up near perfectly with the actors on stage. From the noises heard in another room, to an invisible car door being opened and shut, sound designer Nick Mrozek did a wonderful job.
The costumes throughout the plays were never less than adequate. They fit well with every piece, and none stood out as bad costume choices. Costume designer Leah Forrest did a good job on the costumes for “John,” where the actors wore colorful dresses that caught the eye. The scenic designer, Lizzie Streif, also did a nice job considering she designed over 10 pieces. There was never much scenery in any one piece, but there was always enough to get the general idea.
The acting across the board was above average, but one actor stood out as phenomenal. Kyliah Thompson acted in three of the pieces, and she was spectacular. Extremely believable, extremely relatable, and extremely funny. Her facial expressions coupled with her almost flawless execution of the dialogue made the audience believe she was actually involved in the various scenarios portrayed onstage. Several of the other actors also did well, such as Ryan Cooper. He did a marvelous job in the final piece, “Waltzing with Eli,” where his character was mentally unstable. This is not a role seen in many plays, but Cooper nailed it.
There were many ideas and messages presented throughout the play, all with the overall theme of love. Each piece described a unique, yet all too common story that resonates with anyone ever caught in love’s tight grasp. This amazingly well-crafted production put on by Stage 2 is a must see. All of the skits are relatable and realistic, not one of them far-fetched or atypical, and there is a good chance that at least one will resonate with you personally. Hopefully Stage 2 Theatre Company continues to produce plays that can evoke the humor, sadness, delight, and heartbreak that Fractured Love brings to its audience.
November 22nd was the last viewing of Fractured Love: A Series of 10 Minute Plays by UMD Students, acted upon by the Stage 2 Theatre Company. It is no doubt that the experimental theatre continues to seek out new ways to explore profound topics. After experiencing multiple plays put on by this department, this series of short but engaging plays made for an enjoyable evening.
ReplyDeleteThe content of the play was very wholesome in that the characters explored a realm of relationship scenarios from romantic partners, to family, to companions. In life, everyone goes through some form of a complicated situation, often afraid to admit they have these struggles, causing them to bury it beneath the surface. It was awesome to see the messages of each play dig into messy and emotional situations that go unaddressed in public. The opening play featuring freshman actress Kyliah Thompson where she comes to discover she is a lesbian for actress Olivia Blake minutes after being proposed to by her boyfriend. Being the first play, it was quite a powerful and over-dramatic way to open the series, although, as the plays progressed they became more applicable and realistic. On another recommendation, the monologues would have had more impact if they were longer, to help the audience adapt to the story and take away a stronger understanding.
Among the characters, they were a talented group collectively. Casting a diverse group of actors and actresses for this production was a wonderful way to promote realism. A range of age, ethnicities, sizes, and levels of experience worked in favor of the overall theme. With that, follows the observation that some characters were more compelling than others. To be specific, actress Kaliyah Thompson was over-dramatic in facial expressions in some of her parts. Having animated expression in the theatre is vital, however, too much distracts the viewer from the content and dialogue. On another note, Cassie Libercowski was an example of being extra captivating in her roles because she had the ability to encompass deep emotion starting from her as an actress, moving outward into her character as well. Above all else, the characters were extremely skilled in being able to switch personas so instantly from play to play. In a matter of minutes the audience would be bursting of laughter from a practical joke and then silent due to high-emotion moments.
Every one of the designing logistics was a key component; it is hard to single any one of them out. Costume designer Leah Forrest did a quality job of matching the outfits of each character to the particular scene. The characters were seen as being dressed formally, casually, and even revealingly. Each outfit complemented the other character in the play, making for an appropriate combination of the two. Lizzie Streif, the scene designer did a proper job of keeping the set simple, appearing uncomplicated to switch between scenes. The stage captured a freshly new mood by the time the lights turned back on for the next play kudos to Sophie Geerdes for the selectively chosen props. Solveig Bloomquist designed the lighting suitably by highlighting and focusing on the character and setting at hand. Nick Mrozek did a fantastic job of incorporating sounds within each play. When the door would open, background music of people talking would sound to communicate the feeling that there were more than just a few characters involved in the scenario.
All in all, life is complicated and twisted. The Stage 2 cast for this play did a great job of accepting and embracing that.
“Fractured Love: A Series of 10 minute plays” opened on November 20th, 2014, in the Dudley Experimental Theatre. This collection of plays and monologues were written by past and current students, and produced by Stage 2 theatre, a student collaboration touted as ‘edgy’ and “not your grandmother’s theatre company.” The actors of “Fractured Love” were of varying ages and majors, each bringing a different perspective to the show.
ReplyDeleteThe very first play was by alumni Bailey Boots, entitled “John.” While a good idea and an interesting storyline, perhaps this play did not reach full fruition. Short plays are difficult to write, as they require much development in a short amount of time, and “John” seemed a little harried and flat. The series of events leading up to the climax were almost sporadic, with scattered snippets of dialogue and fidgety characters. The “coming out” seemed a little too staged, as though she had planned to corner her best friend in the bathroom and declare herself a lesbian, which was most likely not the intent of the author when writing that pivotal moment. The open ending allowed the audience to speculate as to what the future held for those two characters, and did help tie the rest of the show together. Overall, an interesting play, but it may have not been quite ready for the stage.
The final monologue in Act 1 was called “Baby Murderer,” a young girl discussing her unplanned pregnancy and her wish to end it. A very delicate and heavy topic, this monologue could have msot definitely approached the subject more tactfully. To begin with, saying seemingly mockingly ‘I know, you think I’m a “baby murderer!”’ was perhaps a little abrupt, with an uncormfortable physical shift in parts of the audience. While theatre should always work to move people and make them think, it should never seem like a personal attack, especially with such touchy subject matter. While this is a topic that pertains to love, heartbreak, and tough decisions, it requires delicate handling and more tact than it was given.
Act II presented an interesting assortment of plays, with less focus on partner relationships, and more subject matter dealing with family dynamics. One scene clearly outlined two distraught parents at their child’s funeral, and as the details unraveled, the audience became aware of his role in a school shooting. One of the better written and performed plays of the night, this scene approached a very disheartening subject, but left room for hope, as the mother encouraged her husband to forgive their son and forgive himself, as it was all beyond their control.
“Fractured Love” was an interesting show, incorporating student works allowed for a different style of production, with a connective theme weaving different stories and lives together; an interesting and rather accurate depiction of the human condition. While fantastic in theory, these productions are difficult to pull off. Jumping between characters is not an easy task in a single show, which can allow for the actor to simply read lines, and not fully develop their character in the little time they have onstage. With more time, the plays of “Fractured Love” could be better; delving deeper into the stories of the characters, and creating smoother plot lines.
The University of Minnesota Duluth’s Stage 2 opened "Fractured Love: A Series of Ten Minute Plays" on November 20th in the Dudley Experimental Theatre. All of the plays and monologues presented were written by current students and alumni. This collection of plays did a wonderful job showing the real life struggles of relationships, something not commonly seen in the media today.
ReplyDeleteThe performance consisted of a group of actors that played various characters throughout the show. Kyliah Thompson played roles in "John", "Elephant in the Car" and "Waltzing with Eli". Thompson was able to play each role very well. Her facial expressions in "John" and "Elephant in the Car" had the audience laughing throughout the scene. While her expressions were extreme, they did not detract the audience from the performance, rather enhanced the comedy of the scene. Thompson was able to play every character well and was a great addition to the cast.
Each playwright did a good job showing the various aspects of relationships, but Russell Habermann’s play, "Burning Eden", was the most impactful. This play focused on two siblings arguing about whether or not they should put their mother into a nursing home. While some of the plays seemed unrealistic, this one felt like the audience could connect very easily to it. Habermann did an excellent showing the denial in Cassie Lieberkowski’s character, and the difficult the decision Jacob Fazzio’s character was trying to make. Both actors successfully conveyed the struggles their characters were going through, which helped add to the impact this scene had.
There were two plays that did not seem to fit well with the rest of the performance. These were "The Third Date" by Jared Walz and "All Fun and Games" by Wesley Erickson. In "The Third Date", Fazzio’s character wakes up tied to a chair by Anna Gwaltney’s character. The plot of this play was so absurd and unrealistic that it did not fit well with the rest of the plays. Since the audience could not relate to this story, like they could to most of the others, it seemed like an unfitting addition to the show.
In "All Fun and Games", two friends hanging out during a break home from college end up confronting each other on various long term issues they are struggling with. While this play was relatable, there simply wasn’t enough time to effectively write this scene. If Walz would have had been able to write a longer scene, or perhaps on a whole play on this idea, it may have been easier for the audience to connect to the characters. In this short scene, there was simply too much backstory for the audience to relate to the characters on stage. A lengthened version of this play would likely be much more enjoyable.
Nick Mrozek was the sound designer for the production, and the sound effects included throughout the show helped make each play feel more realistic. In "John", when a character would open the bathroom door, the sounds of the party guests chatting outside slowly faded into the room. In "Elephant in the Car", the sound of the wind howling in the snowstorm outside of the car could be heard when Thomas Matthes’ character opened the door and attempted to get out of the car. In the same scene, car door noises were used when Matthes opened and closed the imaginary door. Because these sound effects were perfectly timed with when the actor was doing the action on stage, they enhanced the scenes performed instead of distracting the audience.
"Fractured Love" successfully showed the talent present at the University of Minnesota Duluth. This show excelled in multiple aspects, especially in its choice of actors and the works performed. This show showcased unique, yet relatable situations within relationships that were on the verge of breaking, and is a must see for anyone in the Duluth area.
Fractured Love opened at UMD’s Dudley Experimental theatre on November 20, 2014. This show was not a traditional full length play, but instead a collection of ten-minute plays that were written by UMD students all containing the reoccurring theme of different types of love and yearning for significant others, or even just a loving relationship between a brother and sister or father and daughter. The set was very simple with five flats and then movable set pieces for the individual plays, one including a toilet that was included in the first scene of the show “John” written by Bailey Boots. The structure of the show began with a majority of comedic and light-hearted plays and then after intermission transitioning to the more dramatic and hard hitting scenes. No matter how comedic or dramatic, the plays were relatable and easy to empathize with the characters in each of the plays.
ReplyDeleteWith the direction and suggestions of Joe Cramer, sound designer Nick Mrozek did a great job making the show a cohesive unit with the musical transitions and musical cues Additionally, the choice by director Joe Cramer, to add monologues in between plays as transitions was also a clever idea. The monologues also had the idea of love being the underlying theme, however, in the monologues there was always something quirky about the character giving the monologue or the person who was receiving the monologue. For instance, both Cassie Lieberkowski and Olivia Blake, who was also a part of the cast of Fractured Love, wrote the monologues “Wrists are Sexy” and “He’ll Get it Eventually” respectively. Cassie’s monologue talked about the “sexiness of wrists,” while Olivia’s monologue was about a guy that went a little too far with a date. Also, another monologue that showed the silliness of a character was “Taped Glasses” performed by Ryan Richardson. Richardson’s character was invested in videogames he directed his love for the woman he was talking to in terms of videogames. The audience could not mistake his character’s passion for videogames and through this passion the audience, likewise understood his love for the girl. Richardson was also in the play “All Fun and Games” with Ryan Cooper, who made a wonderful growth as a character throughout his scene with Richardson.
Since the set design was very simple both the acting and lightning really helped to establish the mood of each of the plays. Light designer, Solveig Bloomquist really helped the plays come to life through lighting. One scene specifically really stood out lighting wise, which was “The Third Date” which was about a so-called psychopath (Jacob Fazzio) and a love yearning woman (Anna Gwaltney) on their untraditional third date, where the woman actually ties up the man to get him to help her to understand what is wrong with her. At the end we realize that Gwaltney’s character actually put something in Fazzio’s drink and he ends up falling flat on the floor at the end of the scene engulfed in a red circle of light; the perfect touch to the scene. Another powerful scene that was also enhanced with the lighting design was “Fish Bowl” where Thomas Matthes and Cassie Lieberkowski played a divorced couple who were attending their son’s funeral, who killed himself after killing several others. The two of them explore how you are supposed to love someone even when they are deemed horrific by others. The spotlight on Matthes at the end contemplating how to forgive both his son and himself for giving his son the gun was a powerful moment.
The show had a wonderful balance of both humor and drama, but more importantly what helped invest that audience’s attention to the play was the realism in the scenarios. All of these plays showed normal situations that everyone has been through. The plays and the characters helped the audience to realize that there can be different ways to love and there are different outcomes to every situation.
Fractured Love
ReplyDeleteJared Steel
Fractured Love, and interesting display of love and relationships that in some way shape or form we all have had or currently have. Whether it be one with a lover or a friend everybody in the audience has been in at least one of these situations. The entire show seems to take place in a relatively modern environment and the scenery and clothing illustrate this to the audience. The light and sound designers should also be proud of themselves.
The costume crew did a really great job at creating modern clothing for the actors. Most of these clothes seemed to be everyday clothing and nothing out of the ordinary. Most people in todays day and age wear similar clothing. The style was easy to relate to and I gave the feeling of actually being in the same environment as the actors where in. The scenery was also well done.
The set and scenery was very well done and put together. It was not extravagant by any means but it was however, simple and very effective as a background piece. The darker color green and the purple hues on the set was easy on the eyes yet gave of the perception that most of the show would be on more of a darker tone and it surely was. The set really added an extra element of “negativity” for lack of a better word. The use of the dark colors just really worked at giving a vibe of sadness and complication. The design crew should be very satisfied with themselves their goal was surely met in what would seem to be a dark tone.
The lights and sounds of Fractured Love where good but there was one annoying issue the entire duration of the show. There was two light that would not stop flickering surely this was not part of the show. Other than this the effects used where flawless. The Bright intense light for the sun and the dim dark lights in the bar scene where outstandingly done bravo. As for the sounds used, they utilized bird sounds and sounds of traffic to add affect to each scene making it more believable. The sounds where hear and easy to figure out what they were supposed to be. The sounds of birds and wind really just brought the scene to life. If the show did not have these add on effects the messages may have not been as well understood. The acting was outstanding as well.
The actors and actresses should be very happy with themselves they performed so well for the first show. There was no stumbling of words and they did their respective rolls very well. The actor’s use of props was fantastic, whether it was beer bottles, chains, chips, or the toilet. The props added life to the performance and made the situations way more believable. All of the situations the characters were in can all be related to in some way shape or form. As audience members we have all had a little bit of fractured love in our lives. This show just put them into a new way of looking at the said situations.
Fractured love, a series of ten minute plays written and performed by UMD students, opened on November 20th in the Dudley Experimental Theatre. The purpose of the show was to represent love in all forms; whether that love was a new, growing one, an old, rekindling one, an old, dying one, or love between family and friends.
ReplyDeleteThis series of plays started off with a short, humorous video that seemed to be an interesting way of telling the audience to turn off their phones, not to take videos or use flash photography, and to remind them that there would be sex talk and that the audience should be mature about it. As funny as the short video was, however, it might have been more useful had the screen been larger and the volume higher. Many of the audience had trouble seeing and understanding parts of it.
When they started the actual plays shortly after, the audience was already hyped up and ready to go. The actors and the scripts did not disappoint.
Some of the situations described here were so absurd that not many people could possibly connect with them very well. One such play included “The Third Date” which revolved around a clingy young woman with abandonment issues and the man she had dated only two times before who had come that night to murder her. The whole thing was ridiculous in an amusing, backwards sort of way and it had the audience sitting on the edge of their seat as they waited to see how it would end.
Some plays hit home more so than others. One such play was “Burning Eden.” More than a few people can associate with love and loss such as this. To be with someone for so long and begin building a family with them only to find out that they did not love you enough and had even gone so far as cheating on you. Whether such relationships ended in the couple splitting apart or not, this is something a great number of people can understand, and it resonated deeply with any who had lost a loved one in such a way before this.
These two plays were not the only ones that drew the audience in, of course. In all of these plays there were so many possibilities. They left the audience wondering what had happened, both before and after the scene, and why such things had happened.
The monologues, for the most part, were interesting and pulled people in as well. A few of them contained delicate topics, such as “Baby Killer” which references getting an abortion and a few that seemed like they would have been wonderful as a full length play, such as “Wrists are Sexy”.
All of these plays and monologues were put on by a cast of eight different actors and actresses. This cast did a fantastic job of switching between both different characters and different scenarios with different moods and backgrounds.
The use of the scenery and sound effects were also wonderful. Everything was planned out in such a way that they could easily and seamlessly switch between one play to the next. The sound effects were used to add a little bit of dimension to the play by making it sound like more was going on in the background; such as a crowd of people just out of sight of the audience.
Love isn’t always so cut and dry and more often than not one wouldn’t know how such things were to end; because everyone has their own story to tell and their own lives to live. All in all, this play showed that very well and would be more than worth the time to go and see.
The Stage 2 Theatre Company recently put on Fractured Love: A Series of 10 Minute Plays at the Dudley Experimental Theatre at the University of Minnesota Duluth. With the plays being written by past and current UMD students and the director being Joe Cramer, Fractured Love had received several positive reviews.
ReplyDeleteThe plays that were being done were broken up by having monologues thrown into the mix, which really helped with the flow of the overall performance. The set was relatively simple but was used very effectively. A simple backdrop was used of dark colors and it was broken up in such a way to allow the ease of moving props in and out of the main stage area. The lighting that was used was satisfactory. There was a nice shift in lights between the plays, which had the lights change from play to play, and the monologues, which used a spotlight which really helped with the atmosphere that comes from monologues. Overall the crew did an excellent job with the performance.
The cast consisted of eight current students at UMD. With the plays only having two actors and the monologues only having one, a small cast was utilized in an excellent manner. A few breakout performances were in Burning Eden and Waltzing with Eli. Burning Eden was about siblings decided whether or not it was time to put their elderly mother into a retirement home. This hits home with a lot of people which made what was happening seem so real. Waltzing with Eli had Klyliah Thompson’s character searching for her father Eli, played by Ryan Cooper, after the death of her mother. Thompson and Cooper were able to bring forth a lot of emotion with dealing with such a subject. The monologues ranged in length and subject matter. There were funny ones such as Wrists are Sexy which talked about how the speaker fell in love with someone just by looking at their wrists, to more serious topics as in Baby Killer, which was about a girl who is thinking of abortion. The cast did an amazing job at embodying their respective characters and all brought forth a great level of ability.
When the performance first started, a short video was shown. This video was a nice introduction to the performance as it briefly used humor to talk about love. The only issue with it was that it was rather quiet and placed in such a manner that it could have been difficult for certain members in the audience to see what was happening on the TV screen. The first act consisted of plays and monologues that focused more on the more romantic and passionate aspect of love. The second act had the plays and monologues more focused on the family and social aspect of love.
UMD’s Stage 2 Theatre Company put on a wonderful show that really pulled at the heart strings. With an overlying theme of love, the performance showed a range of different types of love. Stage 2 does a great job at what they do and if one of their performances is available to watch, it should be priority to see what these students can do.
Fractured Love: a series of 10 minute plays was an original piece put on by the University of Minnesota Duluth’s stage 2 theater. The company consisted of 6 highly talented actors, and a talented production crew. The show only was performed from November 20th to November 22nd. Even though it would have been a hit to play longer.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most wonderful things about this show was the fact that there was a fantastic mix of sad, happy and ridiculous. Another thing that stood out quite a bit is how the scenes were laid out in a way that the audience would not get to happy, sad, or humored. Which than kept the audience always guessing on what would come next. It also kept the audience from feeling like a bomb was dropped in the room for too long.
The acting throughout the whole cast was absolutely fantastic. Every word that was said could be understood, and gave of a clear intention and meaning. The acting was played pretty realistically, which did make sense for the themes of the 10 minute plays. Although at some times the scene would seem to dull down, and lose some of its energy. The chemistry between the actors was really showed. The audience could tell how much fun the cast was having up there. Which in turn made a more positive performance.
While there were 10 different shows that were performed, 3 stuck out the most. One of those being the where the couple is stuck in the middle of a snow storm. The actors made it absolutely obvious how great they were for each other. The audience never thought the scene would go in the way it did. The audience could feel the amount of hurt emanating from the stage. The other story that stuck out the most was the very first one. The utter ridiculousness of the scene made it so enjoyable. It sort of made the audience think about what they would do in their situation. Of the monologues, I felt that the most funny and intriguing was the wrists are sexy. It absolutely made the audience want to know the before and after of this monologue. The audience had a huge curiosity in how in the world she got in the position of having to explain that to someone.
The costumes were great for the play. They were modern, which made the characters really believable. The set was pretty abstract but that just added to the variability of it. Which was very helpful because of how many different settings they had to incorporate into one space.
Another element of this show is how these love stories relate to the audience. Almost every single one of us has been through at least some of these situations. It was nice to see these different scenes and relate them to our own experiences.
Over-all I would recommend this show for everyone one to see, if it was still being shown. Between the acting, lights, costumes and the running crew a brilliant show was born.
Fractured Love: a series of 10 minute plays, dealt with life’s journey of love, struggle and the decisions associated with the right and wrong way to approach situations. Joe Cramer did a nice job with the arrangement of acts and made the audience question what they would do in each situation. The performance opened with John, by Bailey Boots, a UMD alum. This was a hysterical performance showcasing Kyliah Thompson (as Kelly) and Olivia Blake as best friends who lock themselves in a bathroom to contemplate Kelly’s feelings for her engagement. The situation is heightened when Kelly realizes she is wearing an engagement ring and her best friend admits she is lesbian. The facial expressions and reactions by Thompson were priceless and connected well to the audience, as this is a situation anyone could be in. The second act was a short monologue by Cassie Libercowski titled, Wrists are Sexy. This was a short bit of comic relief that was animated and comical about a girl questioning why she is infatuated with the wrists of her crush. It left the audience thinking, could that be me? Very well done, and a nice transition to the third act. The Third Date by Jared Walz was a short play displaying serious trust and connection issues. Jacob Fazzio (James) starts the act tied to a chair drugged by a women named Anna (played by Anna Gwaltney). He confesses that he was going to kill Anna but sweet talks his way out through compliments. After she walks out her own evil scheme is illuminated when James keels over and dies from poison. A short backstabbing act of love made the audience question how well they know their significant others. The rest of the performance followed this flip-flop pattern of short performances and monologues. Mine by Alex Goebel was up next and was a short performance featuring Olivia Blake and Anna Gwaltney as a lesbian couple who lost their way. Olivia was an irritated and mouthy waitress at a grungy bar and had been pestered towards the end of the night when Anna wouldn’t leave her alone. They ended up getting over hurt feelings and rekindled a lost romance. This was a classic short act that many could relate to as it offered forgiveness and a second chance with a missed opportunity. The next act, Elephant in the Car, was a short act dealing with hidden secrets from both parties in a tell-all scene. Kyliah Thompson was again featured with Thomas Matthes as a couple who both had secrets to tell. The couple had broken down in their car alongside a road when feelings and reality kicked in. Matthes expressed his feelings towards ending their relationship and spilled his love for Thompsons best friend. She retaliated by letting him know she was pregnant, so if he was going to give up on their relationship, he would be giving up on more than just her. This performance left the audience wondering what it would be like to go through a situation like that as a younger couple, and was a very serious and eye opening discussion. The next three monologues: Baby Killer by Cassie Lieberkowski, Tapped Glasses by Harold Remarc and Until Tomorrow were all more serious than those in the first half of the show. They dealt with more personal situations with family and close friends and seemed used as transitions to really get the audience thinking, what would I do in this situation? Fish Bowl, All Fun and Games, Burning Eden and Waltzing with Eli put an interesting twist on situations that seem to be coming more and more common in today’s society. From tragedy to arguments with friends to forgiveness of family, the second half of the performance hit home in some way to every member in the audience. Most of the low moments were answered with comic relief and made situations of doubt or seriousness more bearable. Scenery by Lizzie Streif, costumes by Leah Forrest and lighting by Solveig Bloomquist were icing on the cake in each of the acts. All of these aspects helped bring out the true life of each character and was highlighted through emotional lighting to brighten or stiffen the mood of each act.
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ReplyDeleteFractured Love: A Series of 10 Minute Plays by UMD Students, which opened in UMD’s Dudley Experimental Theatre under the direction of Joe Cramer, brought Stage 2 Theater Company to a whole new level. Each skit consisted of a different type of love shared between two people and demonstrated what made or break each of them.
ReplyDeleteThe show began with the funniest piece, and ended with the most serious one. Kyliah Thompson supplied a vast majority of the comic relief for the first piece titled John. It was nice to see an unfamiliar face up on stage and experience the acting of students outside of the theater department. As the show progressed, the material began to get dry. The various monologues scattered throughout the series of plays helped to recover my attention that was beginning to get lost.
The set was made to appear as realistic as possible to each scene. During the last piece, Waltzing with Eli by Carla Weideman, leaves were sprinkled on the ground to represent a cold fall day. Each piece was made up of only a few props and many of them were repeated in several other plays. For example, in Elephant in the Car, actress Kyliah Thompson was sitting on the toilet as used in the opening act. It was covered with a blanket to make it appear as if she was sitting on a car seat.
The lighting of each play was mediocre. It seemed to remain constant throughout the entirety of the performance. Some scenes were brighter than others but very little color lighting was used. On the contrary, the use of sound effects was introduced in a playful and professional manner. The busy noisy of a restaurant was used whenever the characters opened the door of the bathroom during the first act and classic rock music played in the background as two friends battled each other in the game of Candyland during All Fun and Games.
The costumes added to the naturalistic feel of the show. Each costume looked as if it came out of the closet of the actors themselves. There was a nice mix between casual and formal. For instance, Fish Bowl was based on a couple attending their son’s funeral that committed suicide so the actors wore a suit and a dress to match the formal attire. Similar to the props, some of the costume elements were worn in more than one piece as well.
Overall, each element came together to create a very emotional and thought provoking performance. Each piece was created using very close attention to detail. They are relatable on many levels whether you’ve experienced it already or are going to experience it in the future. Despite the lack of variations in lighting and engaging material, the writing of each play was very well done. A different life lesson is introduced and learned by a character in each play and is a must see for anyone willing to take on a new experience of theatrical performance.
On November 21st I got to watch one of the interesting plays in the Dudley Experimental Theater “Fractured love” , Those short monologues and play were written by students in the past and in the present at UMD, this play was intriguing because it was consists of monologues a series of 10 minute plays. The actors did a fantastic job, but the lighting wasn't so great it was average and the costumes were well done they had a feel to the show they were normal clothes like what people wear in the real world. The play started in a none expected way, how the mini TV playing something from the 1940's about sex, it was funny even though this part didn't have to do with the play at all, so it gave the audience different thoughts about what is about go on during the play.
ReplyDeleteThe actors/acctresses did a great job performing real life stories that goes on with people through the world in the one scene where Russel Habermann's play “Burning Eden”. This play had a impact on the audience's life because it sounds like a story people hear all the time, two siblings compromising if they should keep their sick mother into a nursing home or not, so this one was more realistic than the rest of them. The playwright did a nice job with showing the relationships between the characters. Although there were a quiet few unrealistic plays within the play for instance like “ The Third Date” that was made by Jared Walz, when Fazzio's character wakes up and find himself tied up into that chair by Anna Gwaltney's character this part was more even though it was a lot dramatic, but the actors/actresses did a good job playing the scene they don't have to do with it being realistic or not it is more towards the director's job who is Joe Cramer. Sound designer Nick Mrozek did a great job with the sound effects throughout the play he tried to make the scenes seem as realistic as it could be, there was a big theme about car noises in “ Elephant in the car” Act, Nick did good on making the sound of wind at the part where there was a snowstorm and Thomas Matthes's character was pretending to get out of the car you can hear the a sound of a door getting shut, overall the soundings were great and timed at the perfect time. On the other hand the lighting designer did good focusing the light on stage, even though the lights were boring at some times there wasn't that much colorful lights and the lights were hardly switching in to changing the mood at different scenes . Also one thing that the actors did that impressed the audience was making their characters look and sound as believable as they can be, overall the actors/actresses did great a job performing and also the transition from one character onto another was hard to do, that was impressing. Joe cramer did well with divding up different plays and the monologues and organizing them as well. Overall “Fractured Love” had an impact of the audience's life the actors showed a well performance showing what the real world look like when it comes to relationships you and others, the show was unique because it had its own setup the way it was performed was different than any other plays produced by the University of Minnesota Duluth theater department. I recommend everybody who is into learning about love and the difference ways towards it to go and watch this play.
Fractured Love was a series of tem minute plays written and performed by students at University of Minnesota Duluth opened on November 20th in the Dudely Experimental Theatre. These plays included John by Bailey Boots, Third Date by Jared Edmund Walz, Mine by Alex Goebel, Elephant in the Car by Joshua Stenvick, Fish Bowl by Erik Meixelsperger, All Fun and Games by Wesley Erikson, Burning Eden by Russel Habermann, and Waltzing with Eli by Carla Weideman. Each short play portrayed love and relationships in a different and somewhat twisted way. There were eight short plays in total separated by scene changes and monologues by cast members about love and relationships.
ReplyDeleteThe show opened with a showing of a sex education video made by students in UMD’s theatre program. This was a nice touch to open the show with as well as to announce when intermission would be and where the emergency exits are in the building. The humor of the video was a great way to engage the audience and set the mood before the performance, and a creative way to put a purpose to the usually drab announcements before a show.
Director Joe Cramer made a smart decision when deciding the specific order of the plays. Each play showed love in an abnormal situation, but the portrayals of that ranged from humorous, to heartfelt, and even saddening. The order Cramer decided switched the tones rather than gradually moving from joyful to upsetting. By switching back and forth between serious and light heated, this kept the audience engaged and not feeling dragged down by listening to multiple sad shows in a row.
Each actor in the show played multiple characters in different scenes, and each showed talent in his or her ability to do so. It is not easy to engage and tell an audience a full plot within a ten minute time frame, but each actor and pair did so without taking a long time to build each character. The monologues were heartfelt and delivered in a relatable way as if the audience was looking at one half of a conversation, while also creating a nice mental break for each audience member between each story. They were also a good way to cover scene changes.
The set was simple and flexible for multiple changes in between scenes, which was perfect for a show like this with multiple scene changes every ten minutes or so. The toilet in the first play, John, was a realistic touch to help the audience imagine the bathroom the characters were talking in. Green was a good color choice for the flats to represent outside, but inside was still represented because of the door and the window on two flats. Scene changes were done quickly and efficiently by the cast and crew to keep the show going without long pauses for no reason. The lighting and music choices helped to further set the mood of each individual play since the tone did switch so fast in between each ten minute performance. Each song played during the performance was about love, except for Flash by Queen at the curtain call, which seemed out of place but perhaps just shows the sense of humor of the cast and crew of this show.
The Stage 2 Theatre Company put on a production of Fractured Love, which consisted of a series of ten minute plays and brief monologues. They have done another exceptional work again by bringing forth both light hearted and deep emotions that can come up in life. The playwrights and actors outdid themselves with the wonderful scripts and expressive acting.
ReplyDeleteAll of the plays and monologues were very well written and thought out, and brought emotion and ideas to the audience. John, written by Bailey Boots, was wonderfully light hearted, comical, and brought the issue of marriage and homosexuality to light. All of the lines transitioned smoothly and the meaningful message was clear by the end. Waltzing with Eli, written by Carla Weiderman, was exceptionally moving in its own way. Weiderman brought the relationship strain of family members suffering from what appeared to be a mental disorder. It was awe-inspiring and had the audience leaving with a sweet feeling of reconciliation. There wasn’t a line wasted in this play and was a good highlight to end the production with. Russell Habermann, who wrote Burning Eden, had a great idea bringing up a different kind of relationship between the elderly parents and the kids, but some of the lines could have been improved to have a more meaningful impact. It could have been shorter and left the same meaning. Overall, they were all outstanding with a message or meaning to each, and the actors were great at bringing the scripts to life.
The cast were fantastic at delivering their lines with a fitting emotion and especially were great at expressing certain emotions on their faces. Kyliah Thompson, being in three of the plays exaggerated her expressions slightly so the whole audience could get a full picture of how her characters were feeling, and was a terrific success for her as she had the audience rolling with laughter or on the edge in an emotional scene. In the monologue Taped Glasses, Ryan Richardson was remarkable at playing his character. His wonderful expressions and body language brought out the script to its fullest making it really enjoyable with a good laugh or two included. Wrists are Sexy was a different kind of turn for love and relationships, but was enjoyed by the majority of the audience, and Cassie Libercowski, who acted and wrote the monologue, delivered the lines with a believable tone as if she was talking to a friend, but could have improved by speaking more clearly. All in all, the actors had a fantastic performance that was warmly received by the audience.
In conclusion, all the stories brought something that was meaningful starting from the most light hearted and ending with a deep emotional play. The premise of love and relationships was refreshing, especially coming from current students and alumni. Stage 2 has had a good season so far and many are bound to be looking forward to more of their work. They definitely make almost any production they put on worth seeing, and this one was another to add to the list.
On Thursday November 20th Stage 2 Theatre Company presented the opening performance of Fractured Love. This show, well these 13 shows written by 12 different playwrights were all beautifully directed by Joe Cramer. Fractured Love as its name suggests, is a series of short “fractured” love themed plays lasting no longer than 10 minutes in length.
ReplyDeleteYou must be thinking, 13 shows the cast must be huge! That is where you are wrong. All 13 shows were performed by a cast of 8 UMD students, that’s right 8! The students ranging from new freshman to seasoned seniors, really made this show their own. Each cast member brought different light to the love riddled plays that made up Fractured Love.
The costume designer Leah Forrest had her hands full with this unique show. The shows were all set in what seemed to be the present, judging by the appearance of the actors on stage. Leah did a wonderful job picking individual outfits, to fit the “feel” of each and every scene. Overall, the costuming for this show was simple, to the point, and very convincing. Props to Leah on a fabulous job.
The show began with a scene called “John” by Baily Roots. This short scene revolved around a young woman named Kelly played by Kyliah Thompson. The plot consisted of Kelly sitting on “the john” while freaking out about her new fiancé John. Kyliah did a wonderful job in the part with her great expressions, to her voice inflections she was very convincing. This opening scene really started the show off wonderfully.
The second performances was a short monologue entitled “Wrists are Sexy” by Cassie Libercowski. This comical monologue was all about the sexual appeal and attraction of the wrists. Her second piece “Baby Killer” however, was unusual. It talked about the very fragile topic of abortion and the decision of keeping a baby. It didn’t seem to fit in with the overall theme of the show, but for a young playwright they were rather well done.
“The Third Date” by Jared Walz was rather strange. Jacob Fazzio played a psychotic lover James. To our understanding, he was premeditating the murder of the woman he had previously only had two dates with. This weird scene started with James waking up ties to a chair as Anna played by Anna Gwaltney enters the room. The two deeply talk about their feelings and apologize for their actions. Anyways, the scene ends with Anna taking the upper hand and drugging James. What a wonderful ending!
Another crowd favorite was the ending piece “Waltzing with Eli”. A very heart felt scene featured again, Kyliah Thompson and Ryan Cooper. Cooper was very convincing in the part of Eli, a young man battling some sort of mental disease. Reuniting with his sibling and discovering the death of his mother all happened in less than 8 minutes. This work by Carla Weideman left us on a somber note, a great way to end the string of great performances.
Overall, Fractured Love was a very well done, unique, and intriguing show. Highlighting the talents of the young UMD student body was a great opportunity. Stage 2 never seems to disappoint, and always have some very great shows. I hope the students who submitted a work to this show keep writing so we can see more of their work in the future.
UMD Stage 2 hosted Fractured Love: A Series of 10 Minute Plays that opened on November 20th comprised of six student actors and actresses. These actors and actresses were sharing original plays written by eight students and alumni. The play was directed by Joe Cramer and was held in the Dudley Experimental Arts Theatre. The play dealt with different dynamics of relationships and love. It was refreshing because almost everything was relatable most of us have been in these situations before. Through a theatrical perspective, the scenic, costume, lighting and sound design added other relatable qualities to the production and ultimately strengthened the play.
ReplyDeleteThe costume design was fabulously done by Leah Forrest and reflected the time period the plays were set in. The costumes were modern and very normal looking nothing really extravagant that would indicate another time period. The costumes made for the play John were full of vibrant colors that added flair and youth. Audience members seemed more engaged, perhaps due to the realistic and relatable costumes the cast was wearing. The costumes also helped build characterization for the audience. In All Fun and Games the costume designer, Wesley Erickson, made the costumes so that the audience could attribute certain personality traits to the characters. For example, the actor wearing the nice plaid shirt and jeans seemingly has is life together while the other has a beat-up look to his clothes symbolizing that he didn’t have his life together.
Lizzie Streif designed the scenery throughout all the short plays. The designs were very simple and straight to the point. There were very simple concepts that needed to be fulfilled for the audience to understand what was going on. Although they were simple, the idea to put the two toilets on stage was brilliant. It should also be acknowledged that the theme of heartache and relationships was reflected to the audience with some awesome dark green and purple colors on set. A melancholy vibe is given with the use of these darker tones.
Nick Mrozek was the sound designer for the plays and helped further drive the element of realism. When Thomas Matthes’ character opens the car door during Elephant in the Car, the audience could hear the turbulent wind whipping in the background. The chirping of birds and noisy traffic also helped add realistic components to the play. The musical transitions between monologues combated the dark mood and overall helped the production with the contrast.
The lighting was done by Solveig Bloomquist. There was not much diversity with the lighting, a lot of the colors stayed consistent but there were some strong points. The bright spotlight that was cast onto Thomas Matthes at the end of the play Fishbowl is effective in bringing out emotions amongst the audience. It is clear the character has an inner self conflict; can he forgive himself for allowing his sun to touch the gun? Another important use of lighting is during the play The Third Date when Jacob Fazzio is immersed in red lighting after collapsing on the floor. Horrific because we realize he was drugged but great because it adds a shock effect.
The actors and actresses transitioned well between different monologues during the end of the play segments. Kyliah Thompson definitely stole the show. Her facial expressions made the audience laugh and the way she played her role was very believable. There was no doubt she had star power and all of the UMD stage 2 students did an outstanding job in this rendition of all types of love. The talent was put on display and the diverse love relationships these students showed was reminiscent of most of the audience. When an audience can relate well to what they are watching it usually makes them a lot more interested and attentive. I can confidently say most audience members were consumed with the different love relationships exhibited.
Fractured Love Showcases Talent of Young UMD Playwrights
ReplyDelete“Fractured Love: A Series of 10 Minute Plays by UMD Students,” an emotional journey of plays written by eight UMD students, opened Thursday November 20th in the Dudley Experimental Theater. The series of plays, which ranged from a video sketch to two-person plays and monologues, had a common theme of love and its triumphs, hardships, and everything in between. These plays were entertaining, portraying somewhat of an indie-film vibe, but at the same time lacked the depth that was needed to fully capture the audience.
Although most of the pieces contained laugh-out-loud comedy, they seemed to be too short to capture the emotions of the whole audience. At times, audience members seemed to be disconnected from the pieces, fidgeting with phones or looking around; overall, however, the pieces proved to be funny more than anything else.
Specifically, the first piece, titled “John” was the funniest skit of the evening. The skit portrays a young woman who just became engaged and her panic that ensues as she rants to her best friend in a bathroom. The actresses made the skit more comical with their hilarious facial expressions, body positions, and believable tone of voice. In the end, the main character “Kelly,” played by Kyliah Thompson, comes to a confusing conflict in which she must choose weather she loves her best friend or her husband-to-be. This piece is a good example of how the playwright tried to incorporate a serious tone, but failed due to the overriding comedy of the piece.
In contrast to “John,” the second act started out with a much less comedic and more serious skit titled “Fish Bowl.” In this piece, the actors play a distraught husband and wife, about to attend their son’s funeral. Thomas Matthes and Cassie Libercowski do an excellent job playing the couple, who is upset over their son’s unknown death and the pain of an unknown tragedy he caused. Matthes and Libercowski’s dedication to the dark tone of the play showed through in their tense interactions in dialogue. Both actors dug deep to produce believable characters that were not overshadowed by the content of the skit.
Along with the short skits, five monologues were scattered through the performance. These monologues proved to be a refreshing break from the plays. At some points, however, the controversial views of the actors came out; for example, in “Baby Killer.” The actors who performed monologues may benefit from some professional experience on how to perform a monologue without giving too much of their personal views away.
These short plays and monologues were directed by Joe Cramer, a senior at UMD. The overall effects of the production were cohesive; the lighting and sound effects as well as the props were clean and well-placed for being on a small budget. The Stage 2 Theater Company did a very good job casting the plays. The plays were written well for being written by amateur student playwrights. If not completely well-rounded, the production proved to be an overall enjoyable and light-hearted evening.
The Dudley Experimental Theatre“opened Fractured Love: A Series of 10 minute plays” on November 20th, 2014. Produced by Stage 2 Theatre, this collection of short plays and monologues were written by past and current students. The actors of “Fractured Love” brought multiple perspectives to the show coming from varying majors and ages.
ReplyDeleteThe night opened with the first short play of the evening entitled “John” written by UMD alumni Bailey Boots. The plot to this play was very interesting and had a vast amount of potential. However, the play fell flat as it seemed like someone had taken only the important snippets of a much longer story and threw them into a brief ten minute version. The “coming out” was anticipated, however it was also very abrupt. Another scene that was very abrupt took place in a car. Though it was very difficult at first to tell what was going on, with no hands on the “steering wheel” or any other indications. Halfway through it became a bit more obvious that the car was stopped and the couple was arguing. The actors should have given a better indication in the beginning to set the scene up for success.
The monologues in between the scenes felt very out of place. The topics typically made sense however they weren’t very transitional. The final monologue in Act 1, “Baby Murderer”, took uncomfortable to new heights. Yes, theatre is suppose to makes think and sometimes does makes us feel uncomfortable, but this was almost unbearable. Abortion is a very touchy matter, and should have been approached more delicately.
Act II had a turn in the dynamic with the change of the focus being more on family relationships and situations, rather than personal relationships. The play with the most development involved a couple who were troubled outside of a funeral home over the loss of their child. Throughout the scene we receive small hints from the parent’s leading up to the ending result that their son was involved in a school shooting, and the role he played in the tragedy. The play developed throughout and although it was an uneasy subject for the audience, the mother gives words of encouragement to her husband to forgive their son.
“Fractured Love” was an interesting concept and with more time to develop the individual characters in each play and dive into the meaning of each short story line would be a great success. However, when leaving the performance it felt as if the puzzle was still missing a few pieces and the beautiful picture was left unfinished.
On November 20th, 2014, a new show titled Fractured Love opened in the Dudley Experimental Theatre. Performed by the student-run theatre company called Stage 2, director Joe Cramer presented a series of short plays and monologues that tackled the various types of love experienced in everyday life. Each of the featured stories, all crafted by student playwrights, showed maturity when handling the main topics.
ReplyDeleteAcross the thirteen performances within the two-hour timespan, the student playwrights covered ideas ranging from break-ups to reconnections. Some stories did not feature the commonly-discussed romantic love, instead opting for the topics of familial love and friendship. A few of the plays even featured homosexual and bisexual characters, allowing just about anyone to find a connection with the various themes.
The connection between the performers and the audience felt apparent from the absolute start of the show. Once the initial two characters rushed onto the stage, the audience immediately erupted in laughter. Throughout the plays, audience members expressed verbal comments and expressions in reaction to the stories. Other performances caused viewers to gasp or even groan at the subjects. All of the varying emotions expressed by audience members were directly influenced by the tone of the plays. Each short play lasted around ten minutes, causing a frequent shift in tone. Sometimes the tone shift felt abrupt, but more often the audience adapted to the new context. Overall, the content presented in the plays felt relatable to each of the audience members.
Due to the shifting nature of the overall performance, the set design needed a simple and versatile style to compliment these needs. The general scenery featured three black walls with a door on the right side, and the middle section moved back to accommodate large props added to certain scenes. The props and situational scenery included small tables or a mini fridge, even going as far as a toilet and the front seats of a truck. Scenic designer Lizzie Streif likely considered the limited constraints of the show, and effectively created set pieces that fit within these constraints. The audio featured in the show felt fitting too, primarily utilizing sound effects more than background music. Sound designer Nick Mrozek seemed to use inspired choices for his work, opting for realistic sound effects and ambient music, creating a familiar atmosphere for the audience. The sound effects, such as opening a car door, felt perfectly timed to the action, creating a realistic effect.
The cast of Fractured Love featured only eight actors across the entire show, yet the overall output of each performer felt strong. The aforementioned audience reactions during the show seemed to boost the capabilities of each actor, giving them extra energy for their scenes. The dialogue felt fairly natural during the performances; major story reveals were not presented in an overly-dramatic fashion, but rather brought up the information like a realistic conversation or argument. Special mention goes to Kyliah Thompson, who played multiple characters in the show. She is listed as a Freshman Psychology Major, yet she provided surprisingly strong performances on par with the actors majoring in theatre. Thompson has potential as an actress, and should participate in more plays in the future.
Fractured Love featured a collection of stories that spoke to the audience about the many forms of love and heartbreak. The scenery and sound effects effectively set the mood for the current scenes, creating an ambient atmosphere which drew in the viewers. Among the eight-person cast, each performer utilized their onstage energy to create fairly realistic performances and characters. The tremendous audience reactions during the play showed the reach of the writing, designating Fractured Love as a strong recommendation.
Fractured Love, a collection of short plays and monologues by UMD students and alumni, was an excellent portrayal of love in all its stages, from college crushes to parental suffering. The acting was well-done, and the technical elements brought the stories to life.
ReplyDeleteThomas Matthes gave a powerful performance in "Fish Bowl," which was a painful story with an all-too-current topic. His chemistry with Cassie Lieberkowsky made the performance both believable and honest. Lieberkowsky also gave an excellent performance of "Wrists are Sexy," sounding both silly and relatable. She showed her ability to be versatile in "Burning Eden" when she played a daughter and sister who didn't know how to help her mother or identify with her brother. Jacob Fazzio, who played her brother, provided wonderful chemistry. He too was able to switch between very different characters, as evidenced by his performance in "The Third Date." This play was both humorous and thought-provoking, and the twist ending left the audience in a state of disbelief, wondering "did that actually just happen?!" Anna Gwaltney was excellent in "The Third Date" as well, switching between her character's tough and vulnerable sides with ease. She also played drunk well, without over-acting, in "Mine". Her character's history with Olivia Blake's was revealed slowly throughout the performance, which kept the audience's interest throughout the course of the show. Blake also was in "John", and used powerful body language to convey her character's thoughts, since she only speaks what is truly on her mind at the very end of "John". "Waltzing with Eli" was perhaps the most thought-provoking show, forcing the audience to think about the lengths they would go to for the ones they love. Kyliah Thompson gave a great performance, accurately portraying love, caring, anger, sadness, and hope all within ten minutes. Thompson worked well with Ryan Cooper, who played her father. Cooper was extraordinary, portraying a character with a severe mental illness without making it seem overdone or disrespectful. He showed his own ability to play different characters in "All Fun and Games," where he played a down-on-his-luck college student getting outdone by his best friend yet again. This friend was played by Ryan Richardson, who gave off just the right amount of cockiness with some insecurity underneath, and made his performance very believable. Each actor showed incredible diversity and versatility between very different characters which made the show both powerful and interesting to watch.
The technical elements were often subtle, but worked well and created the perfect mood for each different story. The lights at the very beginning and end of "Fish Bowl," which highlighted Matthes' silhouette as he smoked gave the perfect feeling of somberness and loneliness to the show, and also brought the story full circle as it started and ended te same way. The music between the performances was a nice touch, often playing U2 (which was mentioned in "Elephant in the Car." The environmental sounds in "Elephant" were well done, surrounding the audience with the sound of cars on the interstate. However, the sound was not loud enough to be distracting, and instead created a very specific mood for the audience. The spotlight for each monologue was a great way to keep the audience's attention very fixed, and to avoid having whatever new set pieces had been moved onstage from being too distracting. These small details were very important, and lent to the overall feeling of the show.
Fractured Love told stories of love, loss, and finding your place in life. Each actor was versatile, and gave solid performances which were artfully highlighted by the technical designers. Overall, it was a very meaningful show and made the audience ask, as director Joe Cramer asked, "How will you treat your loved ones differently?"