SPF Founder/Curator/Performer Keira McDonald in “Rapid Slippage Along a Fault” aka “AstroNAUGHTY” her brilliant and imaginative retelling of the tale of “Deranged Lady Astronaut in a Diaper” Lisa Nowak.
REVIEW: SPF #4 @ Theatre Off Jackson. A festival of solo performance pieces by over 30 artists, both local and national. Performances reviewed: Best in Shorts! with multiple performers on March 3rd and Pipa by Tamara Ober, Not.Stable.At all by Paul Budraitis, The Price is NOT Right by Carrie McIntyre, and Traveling Panties by Mike Harris on March 6th. Shows performing in repertory now through April 3rd.
Now in its fourth and biggest year, Keira McDonald’s SPF (Solo Performance Festival) has become a Seattle theatrical tradition; an opportunity to sample short, solo pieces by a large cross section of local (and not so local) performance artists encompassing a huge range of talents and genres. Short solo pieces always carry the risk of self-indulgence, or banality, or pretension but the benefits can be generous as well; poignancy, wit, charm and honest self examination and expression. Also, they are short, or at least shortish, and if you don’t like a particular piece, there is always the hope of something better (or, more to your liking) just around the corner…Both shows I attended this week, the opening night of short pieces on Wednesday with a dozen pieces in the 10 minute range and Saturday’s quartet of longer works provided examples of the variety of tastes, treats and terrors available for your consumption this month at Theatre Off Jackson.
The treats on Wednesday night’s offering of short works were primarily provided by the ladies with the highlight undoubtedly being SPF curator Keira McDonald’s “AstroNAUGHTY” piece about the travails of the Diaper Lady Astronaut. Though plagued by a couple of technical snafus/miscues, McDonald very ably demonstrated that she is a seasoned solo performer and artist, and knows not only how to be a strong actress but has the writing/editing/directing chops to create a fully realized piece of theatrical art. Her ability to create a fully fleshed out, coherent, funny yet touching portrait that was original, clever and immensely entertaining and thought provoking needs to serve as a example for other solo performers that CREATING a fully thought out solo piece is just as, if not more important than, PERFORMING the piece. Many of the other pieces I watched could have benefited from such detail for the writing, editing, and directorial shaping and staging of their works.
Other highlights from Wednesday night: the divine Peggy Platt’s “Jam” about a purple haired slacker who shows up at a job seminar thinking it’s a poetry slam. It was a small gem of a piece and ably demonstrated why Ms Platt is a local Queen of Comedy and a Mistress of Comedic Timing, (also her “poetry” was hilarious). 
Another queen in residence was the very funny Rebecca M Davis and her “Above Normal Range” about a voice-over superstar who’s having a difficult time finding dates due to her high pitched voice. It was a funny piece, but it needs further work to fully realize its potential. Not as funny but emotionally rich and poignant (and equally in need of further writing and editing) was Elizabeth Kenney’s “Sick” a piece from the Elizabeth Wurtzel/James Frey school of literary, drug and alcohol addiction and self-examination and absorption. Using the old Forensics trick of timed responses to set topics, she relates her story of her battles with drugs, alcohol, misdiagnosis and mental instability in 30, 45 and 90 second responses. It’s a clever use of an old format but the presence of an onstage timer was distracting and not faithful to the rules of the Solo genre. A little reworking and more experience and Ms Kenney’s piece would go from being good and promising to the truly great.
Other strong and interesting work was provided by Wesley K Andrews’ “The Riverboat Runs Aground” a Sedaris-y tale of his Adventures in his Alaskan high school and Emmett Montgomery’s “Clown Car” a raw, unformed, awkward but emotionally charged and loving piece about his eccentric mother. Less pleasing was Elspeth Walker’s “Daddy is Plastic” a poetry jam-infused whinefest about a poor little rich girl’s relationship with her absent father which stoops to using the cliche of “Webster’s Dictionary” definitions of the word “plastic” to propel her piece to its self-absorbed conclusion. Also in cliche land were one man versions of the musical “Miss Saigon” with a Carrot Top despired (the opposite of inspire; inspiration derived from desperation…) overuse of props and a similarly veined re-enactment of “Top Gun” featuring most of the original soundtrack but lacking the presence of any wit or wisdom. Both seemed to be crowd pleasers but both were utterly lacking in originality and both young performers have enough apparent charm and talent to find more challenging and creatively inspired outlets for their abilities. Hopefully they can return to future SPF’s with better material…
The highlight of Saturday night’s set of four longer pieces was the first, Tamara Ober’s “Pipa” a dance inspired piece that cleverly used lighting, sound and video imagery to tell the tale of an awkward young girl’s passage from childhood to the beginnings of maturity. On paper it sounds cliche but classic themes in art and storytelling can still be compelling if the artist uses originality and talent to relate the tale. Ms Ober is a Minneapolis based dancer and artist and her heartfelt performance (and gushing curtain speech, praising the festival and the people involved) charmed the entire audience, myself included, which in itself is a surprise as I’m not a huge fan of most modern dance, or whimsical charm but the honesty and integrity of Ms Ober’s performance won the heart of this jaded old grump. I hope to see more of her work.
The next piece presented, Mike Harris’s “Traveling Panties” was a bit of a letdown resembling less a fully realized piece of stage art, and more resembling a theatre student’s senior thesis/project designed to show off the abilities of a BA candidate. It reminded me of figure skating at the Olympics; performers doing routine compulsory movements with a veneer of artistry to make it interesting. But Mr Harris’s veneers were too thin and apparent and all his “tricks” were too clearly evident in a “I’m going to wear a dress! And, eat a Twix! And, moonwalk to Michael Jackson songs! And, be crazy and kooky yet poignant!” sort of way. I think he’s a better actor than that and hope to see better from him in future productions.
Also a tad showcasey was Paul Budraitis’s “Not. Stable. At all” which ably demonstrated his considerable talents and huge range as an actor (and an experienced one; Mr Budraitis has been a welcome fixture on local stages as both actor and director for several years) but while it teetered on the self-absorbed a time or two, his show is a significant piece of stagecraft that was finely conceived and executed and a work that was able to balance some very comedic moments with its truly terrifying conclusion. I didn’t always understand his play but I’m still thinking about it and I’m quite convinced that Mr Budraitis needs to continue creating and writing new pieces in addition to acting in and directing them. He wears many hats, very well.
Carrie McIntyre’s “The Price is NOT Right” was the final offering last night and the most mainstream, a vignette of an elderly, game show watching, lower class woman reexamining her life for a student documentary her niece is making for a sociology class. Ms McIntyre has talents both as an actress and a writer for sit-coms but she needs to aim a bit higher than her current subject material. Both her acting and her writing were a bit over the top at times, and she is another performer who would benefit from some tough love from another theatrical director to trim away some of the unneeded excess from the piece. It was also at times very funny and the ending was truly moving (you can never go wrong with Mancini) but I would have to question why she made the character so old (73) when I think it would have worked fine as a piece about a 48 year old which would be more believable for an actress who must be in her late 20’s/early thirties to play. Still, I left the Theatre Off Jackson last night, silently humming “Moon River” (but not too loud to draw attention to myself from the colorful characters inhabiting the streets of the I.D. at 10pm) and pleased about my theatrical evening and the various odd journeys and strange lives encountered at SPF. It’s a theatrical buffet I can recommend but try to avoid the dishes with corn syrup in them…try to “eat” healthy. Check it out now through April 3rd.
About the Author: Michael Strangeways
