REVIEW: On the Nature of Dust by Stephanie Timm. Produced by New Century Theatre Company. Directed by Kathleen Collins. With Amy Thone, Michael Patten, Betsy Schwartz, Brenda Joyner, Ben Harris
First of all, I adore New Century Theatre Company. Artistic pound for pound, it might have the strongest and most talented acting company in Seattle, including Hans Altwies, MJ Sieber, Paul Morgan Stetler, and featured in this production, Betsy Schwartz, Michael Patten and Amy Thone. Their premiere production of Elmer Rice’s expressionistic classic, The Adding Machine was a theatrical triumph in 2008 and one of the strongest productions I’ve seen on any stage in Seattle or nationally. The powerhouse performances of Paul Morgan Stetler and Amy Thone in that play, haunt me to this day and it’s an instance where you wish it was captured on film to enjoy over and over and to marvel at the acting, direction, design and artistic integrity of that production. It’s a treasured theater going memory for me.
I would like to say the same for New Century’s current production, On the Nature of Dust, a new play by company member and playwright Stephanie Timm. While their production of The Adding Machine soared into Seattle theatrical history, this production of “Dust” only manages to stumble into bland ignominy and eventual obscurity; no one will be talking about this production in ten years, or even two years from now, or even two weeks after the show closes. A strange hybrid of Neil Simon’s Marsha Mason vehicles, with a touch of Absolutely Fabulous that has been bastardized by a hint of Roseanne Barr/Arnold and forcibly mated with a mishmash of Kafka and Ionesco, On the Nature of Dust is a play in search of a fixed identity and a sense of artistic wholeness. The play does have some charming moments, a couple of genuine laughs and a very talented cast that gives fine performances, but I was seldom engaged or challenged or entertained by the content of the show. In fact, I found myself either irritated by what was happening on stage, or bored to the point I was looking around at the reactions of other audience members. On the Nature of Dust is only 90 minutes long, but it was the longest hour and a half of time I’ve spent in a theater since I started reviewing for SGS in February. For the majority of the play, I was wishing I was at hope watching my not yet watched DVD of Mad Men season three…or reruns of Hogan’s Heroes…a ShamWow commercial…or, best yet, re-running The Adding Machine in my head.
Shirley Bliss is a well-meaning, lower class, single mom trying her best to raise her 16 yr old daughter, Clara. Shirley is also an irresponsible, self-centered, possessive, paranoid, pot-smoking tramp who tends to spend money meant for the electric bill on a new pair of shoes. Clara, however, is a studious, church going, responsible teen who is growing apart from her mother and anxious to move on with her life. She has two adult mentors in her life, a friendly science teacher, Vivian Thurston-Baer who is encouraging Clara’s science studies, and the youth pastor at her local church, Ken Sample, who is guiding her spiritual life. Meanwhile, Shirley, unhappy with their growing estrangement, and desperate to hold on to her daughter, attempts to sabotage Clara’s relationships with both the science teacher and the youth pastor, as well as Clara’s burgeoning romance with her new boyfriend, sweet skateboarder Bernie Wells. The mother/daughter tensions reach a boiling point and Clara responds by…turning into a chimpanzee.
Cue the crickets, or hackneyed sound bite of a record being scratched.
Yeah, the audience reacted the same way. It was a plot device, NO ONE could have, (or maybe, SHOULD HAVE) seen coming. And, to be honest, I know many of us in the audience thought Clara was having a nervous breakdown and was only ACTING like a chimp in some sort of psychotic episode, but as the play progresses, we learn she ACTUALLY IS NOW A CHIMP! And, after starting out as a domestic comedy about mothers and daughters, On the Nature of Dust now becomes a polemic melodrama about Evolutionism versus Creationism! (Yay! It’s Inherit the Wind Meets Gilmore Girls!) And, as Shirley looks to the science teacher (Woman of Science) and the pastor (Man of Faith) for answers as to WHY this is happening, Clara continues to DEVOLVE down the evolutionary scale, turning from chimp to bird to newt to…well, you get the picture. Meanwhile, the teacher and the pastor argue their respective points and Shirley slowly begins to accept the fact her daughter is growing away from her and it’s time to let her go. By the end of the play, all five of the characters have evolved away from their original personalities, in one degree or another.
Obviously, from my flippant tone, I’m not a fan of this plot. The major problem with Dust is that it never commits to what it wants to be and playwright Stephanie Timm isn’t a strong enough writer to meld two different and contrasting genres of writing. Of the two strands running through the show, the dominant mother/daughter plot line is the stronger and more interesting and better developed. While the conceit of opposite personality child-parent relationship disorder is a bit of a cliche now, there are moments in the show, between mother and daughter, that ring true and are emotionally and dramatically interesting and engaging. As the play progresses, (and Clara degresses) we see three flashbacks to earlier moments in the lives of Shirley and Clara when the relationship between mother and daughter was close and affectionate. The writing in these segments is strong; sweet and emotional and honest and the excellent acting by the two actresses only enhances these moments. They are the best scenes in the play.
For me, the weakest element in the show is the Evolution vs Creation plot line. It’s didactic, dull, and clumsy. The two characters representing each side are cardboard cut-outs espousing their single minded rhetoric without a hint of reality or ambiguity. The two actors are both fine in their roles; they each have some genuinely funny moments and they bring life to the dullness of their characters, but they’re still characters with the emotional depth of a roadside billboard.
I do have nice things to say about the actors…they all did a great job. Amy Thone is incapable of not being great, and she is having a fine time playing the trashier sides of Shirley as well as nailing the emotional scenes at the end of the play. Veteran New Century actors Betsy Schwartz and Michael Patten as teacher and preacher respectively, don’t have much to play with, but manage to bring a little color and texture to their stereotypical characters and prove to be master jugglers of comedy in a scene requiring their characters to see the errors of their respective ways. Benjamin Harris’s performance as laid back boyfriend, Bernie is charming and simple and sweet. His character has the smallest path to follow in the play, as his character is well-grounded to start with, but Mr Harris plays him with quiet charm and warmth. And, finally, Brenda Joyner as Clara, has the most difficult role of all in the show. She has to play not only disenfranchised teen angst but has to release her inner chimp/boobie/newt as she devolves through out the play. Ms Joyner manages to play each role with wit and integrity and manages to avoid looking foolish in the process. But, her acting skills are best displayed in the flashback scenes as plays progressively younger versions of her character. The subtle differences between the 13 year old Clara and the 10 year and 7 year versions are small but effective and beautiful. Brenda Joyner is a young actress to watch for.
And, it behooves me to report the reaction of others in the audience. They seemed to enjoy the play over all, but were a bit shocked/chagrined/confused by the introduction of the “Chimp Transformation”…it got very quiet in the audience immediately after that scene. (Also, should note that it was opening night and the audience was full of family members and friends of the company.) My theater companion had many of the same issues as I had, but overall enjoyed it more than I did and the same goes for two other friends who saw it. Their overall consensus was that it was sweet and charming but not very consequential. I give the actors high marks, but the play itself low marks. It’s short and it is funny in places and sweetly moving in others and it’s a show best suited for people looking for light entertainment. But, I can’t give it a “Check it out”. Sorry, New Century; I do REALLY, REALLY like you! (also: I insist you do Brecht at one point because you’re a ballsy theater company and I would give a kidney to see you guys do Mother Courage or The Good Person of Setzuan or The Caucausian Chalk Circle, or….
On the Nature of Dust is being stage now through May 30th in the Falls Theatre at A.C.T. Go here for tickets and more info. Photo Credits: Chris Bennion/New Century Theatre Company
-Michael Strangeways
About the Author: Michael Strangeways
