10 Years / 7 Stories
Reviewed
by Emily Pike
Entire
contents copyright © 2012, Emily Pike. All rights reserved.
One
curiously powerful attribute of live theatre in respect to any of the other
performance-based media is its astounding capacity for the creation of entire
extemporaneous worlds in real space and time using nothing but the human
imagination. On an empty stage, an actor can make three motions with a raised
fist paired with three simultaneous stomps, and in a fraction of a second a
full door exists where before there was only air. Everyone knows that the door
is not physically extant, yet it does not need to be; it has instantly become a
real, permanent and immovable object in a world whose dimensions and rules are
an ongoing collaboration between actor and audience.
10
Years / 7 Stories is a ten-year anniversary revue of Louisville-based company Looking for
Lilith’s original work exploring the historical lives and challenges of women,
and it does its medium justice by harnessing this uniquely theatrical strength
in the presentation of segments from seven different plays. Using several basic
furniture items and some simple but effective props and costume choices, the
actors are able to clearly evoke everything from an early-1900s Kentucky log
cabin to a 1960s women’s college dormitory to a contemporary Guatemalan home.
And while the specificity of the actors alone is enough to distinguish between
each separate world, their work is creatively supplemented by a series of
background slide projections that present historical information, offer context
on the plays from which scenes were excerpted, and sometimes even participate
in the action of the scene.
However,
while the slides are a useful transition tool and serve the production well
overall, it must be noted that a few are difficult to read and distract from
the actors’ work. This is not a major concern, but nonetheless, slight tweaking
to several moments in the staging and increased text contrast on a handful of
the slides could easily make each projection visible and allow them to serve as
a more seamless contribution to the storytelling.
Other
distractions are equally minor but still merit mention. They include a number
of stumbled-over lines (hopefully a one-time product of opening-night jitters),
several instances of awkward staging, and acting that did not always reflect
the physical realities of the characters, even while the cast’s storytelling capability
and emotional connection to the material remained strong. For example, one
character from the early 1900s should have had noticeably different posture
and mannerisms than a contemporary American character in another scene; but the
actress who played both showed little physical change between the two, even
while her more internal distinctions were quite clear. I do not mean to single
out this actress in particular; however, this is only one example of a
technical issue that occasionally affected each of the performers – save one.
Although
10 Years / 7 Stories is an ensemble show, company founder Shannon
Woolley Allison’s work is worthy of individual praise. Not only does she
display consistent specificity and emotional connectedness throughout her performance,
but her acting was refreshingly grounded. There is little in
theatre that irks me more than watching a good actor who knows how good
he or she is; Woolley is talented enough to fall into this trap, but instead
exemplifies the delicate combination of leadership and humility needed to truly
carry a show. She is the highlight of each of her scenes, yet in a way that
serves the story – always contributing to her cast mates, never stealing the
spotlight.
This
same collaborative spirit can be felt in the excellent quality of Looking for Lilith’s
writing; the company’s entirely original plays are not written by a single
playwright, but devised through group playwriting exercises. I was particularly
impressed by how often the material manages to create moments that are poignant
without being precious, organically evoking certain feelings without hitting
anything too squarely on the head. One such moment takes place in the
getting-to-know-each-other exchange between two new roommates in a 1960s
college dorm, where one freshman shares with the other that her brother is
serving in Vietnam, then follows the information with a nervous addendum: “My
parents are really proud.” This one simple sentence in its hesitant, quiet
delivery spoke volumes about that time period and the country’s deep social
division over the Vietnam War.
Looking
for Lilith’s ongoing commitment to collaboration can also be found in their
community outreach play Choices, in which teens and middle-schoolers
have the opportunity to directly participate in the play as it is performed,
creating a unique storyline at each performance that allows young audience
members to fully explore various choices and consequences in regards to cyber
bullying.
On
the whole, 10 Years / 7 Stories is a highly enjoyable work of which the
company should be proud. Its simple production value allows it to stay true to
the main imaginative strength of theatre. Its ensemble cast displays a
spirit of collaboration that is refreshing, and every actress does admirable
work portraying a smattering of characters (and mastering their dialects). The
performance manages to find some truly memorable moments in a broad span of
material that never once drags. I definitely recommend it to anyone in the
market for an affordable ticket that will make you laugh, cry, and think.
10 Years / 7 Stories
May
31, June 2, 7, 9 at 7:30 p.m. and June 10 at 2:00 p.m.
Ticket prices $15, $10 students/seniors.
Ticket prices $15, $10 students/seniors.
In
Repertory with Becoming Mothers
Looking
for Lilith
At
The Bard’s Town
1801
Bardstown Road
Louisville,
KY 40205
(502) 749-5275
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