Judging by the poster and the marketing, I was expecting a night of arty, existential theater. But Scotto Moore’s new sci-fi play is more like a ScyFy movie: “Buffy 2010: The Cyber Slayer”…and, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
All photos by Ian Johnston/Annex Theatre
REVIEW: When I Come To My Senses, I’m Alive by Scotto Moore at the Annex Theatre. Directed by Kristina Sutherland. With Jennifer Pratt, Curtis Eastwood, Jade Justad, Daniel Christensen. Fri/Sat at 8pm now through May 22.
Sigh…I’m such a lazy ‘ho. I’ve been sitting on this review for DAYS because I am:
- Very Busy
- Very Tired
- Am sorta ambivalent about this show
Don’t get me wrong; it’s not a bad play. I was never bored and I was modestly entertained. It has some sweet moments, some clever lines and a very topical theme. The actors, for the most part, are engaging and seem to be having fun with the show. I’ve already given away my feelings in the headline and sub-headline for this review. It’s a play that really wants to be a pilot for a tv series, or at the very least, a ScyFy movie of the week starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. Watching and enjoying When I Come To My Senses is the equivalent of channel surfing on a rainy Saturday afternoon and there’s not much on the tv and you stop for a moment on an odd little movie about “emoticlips” and out of control cyber beings and find yourself amused enough to sit and watch the entire program and only feel a little guilty afterward for wasting an entire afternoon on a Jennifer Love Hewitt movie… In a nutshell, When I Come To My Senses is a modest pleasure. Don’t expect any more from it, and you will be entertained enough to warrant the price of a ticket.
And, what IS this play about? As I mentioned earlier, I am lazy and tired, so take it away Blockquote-O-Con 3000!
“When I Come To My Senses, I’m Alive!” is a near-future sci-fi story about a technological provocateur named Annique Farrar, who invents a method for capturing emotions as digital information, as part of a project to “chart the emotional genome.” She develops a cult following of fans who download her very addictive “emoticlips” – each delivered with cryptic, poetic file names like “the surprise of an unfamiliar memory” – and play them back in hobby-built receiver helmets. The experience is not full blown virtual reality; instead, emotional responses & sensations are triggered, and each fan experiences something unique. A seedy television executive, Aleister Rowland, tries to coopt her technology to syndicate the emotions of TV stars, hiring an elite P.I. named Veronica Bilious to figure out what her weaknesses are when she refuses to sell out… but in the meantime, publishing digital versions of her emotions to the internet has unexpected consequences amongst the botnets of the world
Or, in laymen’s terms, Buffy and her smart male friend (combo of Xander and Willow) invent machine to record emotions. Big bad evil tv executive tries to grab the rights from her for his own profit and hires Sydney Bristow from Alias to spy on Buffy to help him. Three other Scooby friends help Buffy to fend off evil tv guy but things get complicated when Buffy’s emotions take off as a life of their own and becomes a sentient being in Cyber Space. Will Buffy be able to control her Cyber Child? Will Buffy and the Scoobys defeat the Big Bad TV Dude? Is Sydney Bristow a good guy or a bad guy? Will love win out by the end of the episode play?
What do you think?
This show is enjoyable, largely due to the vibrant, young cast and the topicality of the writing. Jesse Keeter and LaChrista Borgers both have a good time playing multiple roles, but really shine as the nerdy hipster Scooby couple helping the heroine battle the TV executive and take control of the CyberGhosts, Mr Keeter in particular seemed to enjoy his scene where he has to channel the feminine CyberSpook. Cicely Bryce is fine as the naive marketing expert who’s in over her head dealing with tv execs and ninja lady assassins. Daniel Christenen does an excellent job of making melodramatic dialogue sound realistic and natural in his role as the co-inventor and love interest of the leading lady Buffy Annique. His natural charm is a steady anchor amidst the louder, broader drawn characters. The very broadly drawn Evil TV Executive, Aleister Rowland is very broadly and ably played by Curtis Eastwood, a natural at playing the handsome, oily, charming caddishness the role requires. (Someone needs to cast him as a young Richard Nixon, STAT! He’s better looking than Nixon, but he has the sleazy charm, down pat!)
As for Jade Justad who plays the corporate spy Veronica Bilious, she is the highlight of the show. Her ability to not only play the coldness of the business professional and the cautious warmth of a woman who wants to reach out and be a part of a team of friends, combined with the dry deadpan wit and delivery of Barbara Stanwyck is a testament to her talent. The energy sags a bit, when her character isn’t on stage and she’s the only character in the show, worth of her own spin-off…
I wish I could say the say about the primary character of the show, Annique Farrar. I think the part is a bit underwritten (there are several moments in the show when she is onstage with nothing to do or say) and the character isn’t really a fully realized and fleshed out being. (But, that’s often the case with lead characters; the supporting characters get all the interesting personalities and the best lines.) I also think a bit of the problem might be the actress playing the role, Jennifer Pratt. I found the actress appealing and interesting, but she didn’t seem as comfortable with the rhythm and texture of the lines as some of the other actors. It’s not that she fumbled or had any problems with her delivery; she just didn’t stylistically mesh with the performing styles of the actors who seemed to get that a slightly ham fisted, tv melodramatic style of acting was required for the show. Which is really more the fault of the writing I think, than the acting. This show DOES have a bit of a split personality thing going on. The title, the marketing, the lead character and her boyfriend and the elements of the plot dealing with the concepts of charting the human emotional genome in a science setting are all part of one sort of serious play, and the Evil TV Executive, The Ninja Corporate Spy Lady and the Kooky Nerd Sidekicks are all from another silly, spoofy play and the two don’t always interconnect as well as they should. (I also think the show could use a good 20 minutes chopped out of it…it’s a bit longer than it should be.) And, I look forward to seeing Ms Pratt in different productions that might better utilize her many talents.
Quick shout out to David Gignac’s clever, layered set…I wish I had a house like that! Dani Prados did a nice job with the lights; varying the subtle warmth of the Scooby scenes in the basement with the harsh lights of a boardroom meeting to the “Crazy Cyber Stuff is threatening to take over the world!” in the later parts of the show. And, a mild shout down to Annex’s Marketing Department. I think they should have emphasized the kitschy fun of this adventure instead of the serious and arty poster they went for. More people would be likely to show up for a Buffy style adventure over something they perceive to be deep and meaningful…it’s not pretty, but it’s a fact of life…also, Buffy The Vampire Slayer kicked ass! Don’t be ashamed to ride their coattails a little!
-Michael Strangeways
About the Author: Michael Strangeways
