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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2017)
8 // COASTWEEKEND.COM PHOTO BY DANNY MILLER Literate chim- panzees Justin Germond, left, Edward James and Amber Ble- cha react to a shock in the Da- vid Ives play “All In The Timing,” which opens at the Clatsop Com- munity College Performing Arts Center this week- end. The three characters are imprisoned in a room and must stay there until they have typed “Hamlet,” a task fueled by banan- as and cigarettes. Edward James is also the show’s director. It’s ‘All in the Timing’ Have a rollicking good time this January with this play at Clatsop Community College’s Performing Arts Center By MARILYN GILBAUGH Dim the lights and curtain up as the Partners for the PAC present playwright David Ives’ theatrical winner “All in the Timing.” Opening at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13 at Clatsop Community College’s Performing Arts Center in Astoria, performances follow at 7 p.m. Jan. 14, 20 and 21 and with two matinees at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15 and 22. “All in the Timing” is a play in several parts with some- thing for everybody — that includes the audience and an energized and captivating cast. On stage at various times, fi nd an absent-minded and/or way-focused guy with an ice pick in his head; three chimpanzees and a typewriter; and a newly acquainted couple who can’t tell the truth. That’s just for starters. Six separate scenes, or more aptly put, six fast-paced playlets set the tone as eight actors and director Edward James (who also appears on stage in one of the scenes), weave their way through clever, quick staging and smart dialogue. There’s comedy (lots of it laugh-out-loud), pathos, bumps in the road, romance, miscommunication, and at times all-out wacky antics. Each of the six pieces stands alone; though, in each, the common denominator is timing and language. Amber Blecha, Gigi Chadwick, Jim Dott, Justin Ger- mond, Jordan Griffi n, Barry Sears, Patricia Shannon, Patrick Webb and director James make up the North Coast cast. At a recent rehearsal, the group had a good time with the script, creating and carving out roles. In “Sure Thing,” a man and a woman meet in a café. Nei- ther can immediately tell the truth but are magically given repeated chances to try again — and then again — and then again. Who among us wouldn’t love the same opportunity? “Words, Words, Words” lets the audience meet three classic authors — except, in this case, they are three chim- panzees. Jonathan Swift, Milton and Kafka are imprisoned with the seemingly impossible task of retyping Shake- speare’s “Hamlet.” “The Universal Language” introduces a shy woman try- ing to overcome loneliness via a con artist with a language all his own. “The Philadelphia” presents two men in a café experienc- ing different realities. They’re served by a waitress who’s determined to mess up their orders and them as well. “Mere Mortals” focuses on three construction workers perched high on a half-built skyscraper who reveal their true identities. Are they European royalty? Or...? And “Variations on the Death of Trotsky” offers more than a half-dozen amusing alternate depictions of the fi nal moments of the Soviet communist icon. To say that you can’t miss him is an understatement. He’s the guy about to meet his end, going about his business, oblivious to the fact he has a mountain-climber’s ax in his head. Playwright David Ives is one of those talents who seems able to multitask if the stage is your biz, and he has more than proved that it’s his. The New York Times called him the maestro of short-form theater.