There’s an idea floating around, perhaps for the last five or six years since the economy hit the pits, that the concept of writing and producing new plays is a challenging, often an “asking for it” endeavor, especially in smaller cities like Seattle, or Portland, or even San Francisco. And while the theory may contain some fact, there’s no need to actively practice it, as the Emerald City Scene theatre group, led by Artistic Director Nathanial Porter, has proven by their regular season line-up of continual original works. Their latest offering is titled No Snowflake in an Avalanche, which opened last weekend at Theatre Puget Sound’s Theatre 4, atop the Center House in Seattle Center. The black-box environment which has often proved detrimental to some theatrical experiences I’ve embarked on, happens to only help service the piece at hand here.
The plot is bleak, to say the least, with character key points smartly woven in and revealed casually through out the piece, often as bombs, and other times as simple passing points of interest. As penned by Mr. Porter himself, and directed, this play’s debut on stage offers an audience a glimpse of a playwright and director who is ambitious, has something to say, but could also benefit from a supremely more mature approach to the final product. What I took from the piece is something much more positive than negative, and as a local independent writer, one who has had her own theatrical plays put on display for others to experience in their first glimpse of light, I applaud Mr. Porter and the Emerald City Scene for their courage in inviting an audience in and allowing them to form their own opinions. Naturally, right? That’s what theatre does, constantly, but in this case, we have a relatively new, and very much young playwright and director at the helm, and a fairly new, but actively creative team at hand. It’s truly different when you see such raw talent going into a company and work that is truly a part of the fringe cause, especially when so many will claim the art form is dying and far from a wise investment of time, money, and patience.
Going back to that small bit of criticism I already instated about maturing the approach: if I may explain myself before diving into an otherwise positive review, I must start by saying that when I personally write dialogue in a play, I do believe in honesty of verbal exchanges, but am also fascinated by the extent of theatrics I can pump into a character’s string of word play. I look at contemporary playwrights such as Jane Wagner, Tony Kushner, and Tracy Letts as genius examples of individuals who can take a scenario and juice it up with a profound, unique, and stirring vocabulary. A thesaurus is my best friend in writing. (I’m revealing secrets about my writing now…let me get back to the point.) Again. If I were to offer any suggestions toward a revisit of the play, it would be to spruce up the text, and give it some more flavor. It’s one thing to write simply, and to allow the actors on stage to properly convey this emotion, but it’s another if you can challenge your performers with brilliant, meaty words and situations and allow them to live up to such a high expectation.
In No Snowflake in an Avalanche, we follow a family through their often flighty personal relationships with one another, as they all deal with “the odd one out” individually and often incorrectly. Once wealthy, but with a sense of guilt in a post-9/11 America, the family’s anchors (Russ Kay as Carl and Pearl Klein as Sherry) are in an often-found situation families across the world are faced with — a child who suffers from mental illness. Along for the ride is their other son, played by Alec Wilson, and his much older girlfriend, a terrific Molly Thompson. The concept of journeying down another road in theatre following the dysfunctional family types leads to a lot of potential, in writing, and performing, and the intimate cast of five at hand are aptly ready to take that challenge, and breathe an appropriate dosage of honesty and compassion into it, without ever going into stock-mode, or melodramatics. Fox Matthews embodies Michael, the son with said problems, in a remarkably clever way, spouting what comes off as verbal nonsense with meaning, and importance, all at once making it obvious he is coming from somewhere cracked, but keeping him 100% human. He is obnoxious and silly one second, and suddenly heart breaking and profoundly moving the next. His introduction comes as a massive cluster of chaos, and the family’s reactions are pitch perfect; a sense of familiarity, and exhaust. Mr. Kay and Ms Klein support the cast with touching, fine, and subtle portrayals of Mum and Dad throughout the first act, but truly ignite the stage during the second, Ms Klein using a harrowing stillness and silence that abruptly turns much to her credit, and Mr. Kay giving us something similar, if not appropriately pathetic, but beautiful all same. Mr. Wilson’s best moments come when he and Ms Thompson are left alone, the two of them playing off one another affectionately, but not without necessary anxieties. Ms Thompson, as I stated, is terrific, a truly unique addition to the lot – the character an artist struggling as many do in Seattle, older but still determined… she truly is a pleasure to watch.
I admit this review is a bit mixed, but I cannot stress enough the vitality of local, new works in this city. If theatre is to survive, and be in our lives as the years tick on, we need theatre companies like Emerald City Scene around to lead the way, and artists such as Nathanial Porter to keep firm grip of the steering wheel. I commend, and will continue to support the effort of local independent artists, and am so fortunate to be witnessing the future in progress with plays like No Snowflake in an Avalanche, and highly suggest you give this a peek over the next two weekends. Tickets range from $10 to $20 and are available in advance through Brown Paper Tickets, or at the door (cash or check only), and runs ’til January 29th … do check out the Emerald City Scene’s website for more information on the show and the company in general at www.emeraldcityscene.org
Keep up the fantastic, important work!
