2008 Woodie Awards
Nomadic Theatre bashes critics
Katie Andriulli and Brendan Faughnan
Issue date: 1/29/03 Section: Arts and Entertainment
The first act of bash set the pace for the evening, while the second act elevated the already sinister appeal of the play to new heights. At the end of John and Sue's story, the stage rotated, revealing a lone girl behind a table smoking a cigarette underneath what appeared to be an interrogation light. The woman (Jenny Zerke, COL '05) fired off a convincingly neurotic monologue resembling that of a frustrated psychiatric patient who has to explain her actions to the "crazy" outside world. At first it is unclear why she is so disturbed, but it soon becomes obvious as she describes the more than inappropriate encounters she had with a teacher when she was only thirteen. After many years, the woman, her former teacher and the resultant bastard son have a reunion of sorts which gives the woman an opportunity to get back at her teacher in a way that only the Ancient Greeks or Aaron Spelling could fully appreciate. Zerke is delightfully and almost innocently dark in her portrayal of this character.
The third act begins with the Steve Buscemi-esqe nervous chattering of a middle-aged man relating to an unseen female stranger his own dark story about the tragic death of his infant daughter. It becomes apparent, however, that there is more to the story than meets the eye as the man (Mark Ipri, COL '05) babbles on about the pressures of his home life and high-stress job. All of his psychosis comes to a head in an Alfred Hitchcock-like twist. Ipri is astonishingly creepy as he evokes in the audience a strange sense of sympathy for his character before and even after revealing his dark secret.
In the end, bash proves that "good avant-garde theater" is not an oxymoron. The play leaves the audience with an uneasy feeling, yet also challenges them to think about the larger implications of the actions of the characters therein. Even though we were a bit wary of the fact that Neil LaBute (in a pretentious ee cummings style) chose not to capitalize the title of the play, we were greatly impressed by the content, acting, and above all else, the lighting.
Andriulli is an assistant editor and an English sophomore. Faughnan is an associate editor and an English sophomore.
The third act begins with the Steve Buscemi-esqe nervous chattering of a middle-aged man relating to an unseen female stranger his own dark story about the tragic death of his infant daughter. It becomes apparent, however, that there is more to the story than meets the eye as the man (Mark Ipri, COL '05) babbles on about the pressures of his home life and high-stress job. All of his psychosis comes to a head in an Alfred Hitchcock-like twist. Ipri is astonishingly creepy as he evokes in the audience a strange sense of sympathy for his character before and even after revealing his dark secret.
In the end, bash proves that "good avant-garde theater" is not an oxymoron. The play leaves the audience with an uneasy feeling, yet also challenges them to think about the larger implications of the actions of the characters therein. Even though we were a bit wary of the fact that Neil LaBute (in a pretentious ee cummings style) chose not to capitalize the title of the play, we were greatly impressed by the content, acting, and above all else, the lighting.
Andriulli is an assistant editor and an English sophomore. Faughnan is an associate editor and an English sophomore.