The 12:30 student repertory productions which took place in Center Theatre on Thursday, Friday and Saturday provided an opportunity for students of Paul Gaffney's directing class to apply their skills and experience in an actual performance situation.
This was the first time that the "reps" were produced by a class, and it was a great opportunity to test out ideas and practices learned in the classroom. Because the plays are so short, about fifteen minutes each, all of them were performed at each showing.
The opening play, "Am I Blue?" by Beth Henly, is a sentimental story about an average, run of the mill student (Chance Whitmire '94) who recognizes and finally renounces the mundanity of his life when he meets a lonely and insecure girl Emily Michaels whose divergent perspective allows them both to find a middle ground. As an extremely sentimental story, it is difficult to find a way to direct the play without cloying but most of the time.
But director Doug Rainey '94 adeptly avoided these pitfalls. The play moved logically, and always with a clear idea of interpretation. His casting choices were solid as both performers filled out their roles thoroughly. Chance Whitmire's performance had a convincing banality to it and Michael's had an insecure quirkiness, ideal mainly for Beth Henly heroines.
David Ives' "Sure Thing" is a difficult play to direct because its stands or falls on its central gimmick, the ringing of a bell. Betty and Bill (played by Aliza Waksal '96 and David Harbour '97 respectively) meet in a trendy cafe, and Bill tries to pick up Betty. However Bill frequently gaffes, (once referring to his old girlfriend as a "castrating bitch") and when the bell is rung, the moment is forgotten and Bill can begin anew, advancing little by litte before blundering again.
The exact handling of the bell is not specified, and Andrew Slesinger '95 used it with extraordinary imagination. The bell doubles as a an attention bell to get the waiter and in the beginning seems an innocuous prop. As the play continues both characters hit the bell to retry their lines, always with different motivations and gestures, giving an increasing urgency and vitality to the play.
Although the play consists of only the one scene, a table, two chairs and the omnipresent bell, the blocking paid careful attention to the smallest details. Slesinger's excellent casting guarenteed his play's success. Harbour was at times anxious and earnest, other times invoking euro-trash pretention and pseudo-suavity. Waksal deftly portrayed typical feminine ennui while slowly becoming more raputurous as Bill successfully learned how to please her by the condition-reponse stimuli. Structurally, Mr. Slesinger was able to involve the audience with the show's pacing, from its slow, almost akward beginning to its increasing crescendo and final release.
