Like Wiessmen? You will love the Freshman One-Acts

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by Noelle Berryman

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The Wiess Freshman One-Acts -- an annual event which has evolved into a Wiess tradition -- are here once again. Freshmen come together, as actors and actresses, with upperclassmen in directorial and production positions to create a few evenings of lackadaisical fun for the whole college.

Co-producer Marco Rimassa (Wiess '97), said that the one-acts were more a medium for intra-college camaraderie than for true dramatic interpretations. "The entire college comes together to help put this thing together," Rimassa said. "It's sort of an introduction to Wiess and really is a lot of fun." Co-producer Andy Clark (Wiess '98), said, "The One-Acts are a great thing to bring your parents to during Families Weekend."

I found the eclectic choice of one-act plays interesting. Not all four were comedies, although, at times, when the cast broke down into uncontrollable laughter, one might have thought they all were.

This years' choices for the plays are, in order of appearance, "1-900-DESPERATE" by Christopher Duran, "Approaching Lavender" by Julie Beckett Crutcher, "The Glimpse of Reality" by George Bernard Shaw and "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" by Jon Tuttle.

"1-900-DESPERATE" is a great stylistic play that gives a sad social commentary on what emotional depths desperation can drive people to. It is also a frightening and funny exposition of the many types of weirdos in the world.

I thought the players did a great job in portraying the desperate characters. Eric Lindemann convincingly and energetically plays Billy, a 5-year-old who calls a 1-900 number without his parents' consent. I believed that Micah Russo actually was Scuzzy, a way-slimy, overly-horny, under-sexed, Playboy- gawking, 19-year-old chauvinist (the shirt open to his navel and the cheesy Mr. T gold chains draped about his neck helped convince me). Zelda's costuming was great as was her delivery of feminist voracity.

"Approaching Lavender" has some really great scenes. Aside from some minor diversions into uncontrollable, out-of-character giggling among the three-woman cast, Angeli Gohel effectively portrays the emotionally-removed Jennifer. She attempts to stabilize her often-hysterical sister, Abigail, played by Meena Murti, while they undergo the annulment of their parents' marriage and the re-marriage of their father.

This is the only play of the four that attempts, or has any reason, to delve into character development. Abigail's indecision and irrationality was at times believable and at other times monotonous. Deborah Yang as Wren realistically depicted a flashy debutante partygoer. Overall, I was pleased with the dramatic interpretation of the one-act. Suspended disbelief was a reality for me at times during this play.

"The Glimpse of Reality" was a bit off, but I saw definite signs of life. While volume was a problem with some actors in the show, clarity of diction was demonstrated as the rule rather than the exception.

I found the whimsical twirling of the rosary at the beginning of the show distracting, and its detraction from the show continued as it became the "floating rosary," first on the table, then on the floor, then dangled in the air and in someone's lap.

The increasing rapidity of the delivery of lines seemed to speed to the conclusion which, as a result, left me confused as to what actually happened in the scene and how the conflict was resolved.

"I Wanna Be a Cowboy" takes place on a bus in Texas. This piece is based on a bit of a surprise, so I will not give it away by saying much about the plot other than this piece is a redneck social commentary about life, football, growing up, parents and cowboys.

The characterization was superb. Unlike the others, this play had no major botching of lines. A.J. Moore did a great job of bringing a believable speech impediment to Nella (which is not an easy task). She also made Nella very likeable.

Robert Lundin played the self-defined "stupid" Walton well. Lundin accurately portrayed the most ignorant stereotypes of redneck Texan society and yet managed to characterize hope in the face of a hopeless cause.

The evening opens and closes strongly, so go to enjoy seeing your friends have fun in these one-acts, but don't expect dramatic masterpieces.

This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the October 4, 1996 issue.

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