Anything can happen and will in the brilliantly constructed social comedy Intimate Exchanges at the ACT Theatre.
Two actors, Seattle favorites Marianne Owen and R. Hamilton Wright, play six characters whose crucial decisions determine the course of the story on any given night.
Intimate Exchanges is comprised of eight plays generated from a single opening scene. At the end of each scene, a choice is made and the play divides into its various permutations from this, leading to a basic structure of one prologue; two first scenes; four second scenes; eight third scenes and sixteen fourth scenes. Although there are 16 different permutations, the play is split into eight distinct plays, each of which has an alternate ending.
Two actors play a total of ten different roles and must memorize 16 to 17 hours worth of dialogue.
Intimate Exchanges is rarely performed featuring all 16 storylines due to the inherent challenges of navigating the quick-changes necessary to keep the momentum of the play, not to mention the need for two actors capable of convincingly playing multiple characters—all with different dialects, looks, ages and emotional states, and often occupying disparate physical spaces.
ACT will stage two possible story lines, each with two possible endings for a total of four different plays. Four set scenarios are being designed, along with 24 costumes showcased in more than 30 changes averaging 30-seconds each! All carried out by a master team of dressers.
Audiences have an opportunity to see all four versions based on a pre-determined schedule which is available online.
Intimate Exchanges is at the ACT Theatre from August 15 to September 14, 2008. Tickets are $10 to $55.
Visit ACTTheatre.org for more info.
