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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2001)
Delicious Pub Fare Great Specials • Handcrafted Ales and Wines Patio Seating Open East 19th Street Cafe 1485 E. 19th (541 ) 342-4025 North Bank 22 Club Road (541 ) 343-5622 High Street Brewery & Cafe 1243 High Street (541 ) 345-4905 A Place for Families &c Friends All food, ales and wines available to go WWW.MCMENAMINS.COM y/e*/ yey/e* y/e#/ y/e*/ expesipict. Don't miss out. Work for your college paper. l or more information on how to freelance for the Oregon Daily Emerald call 146-5511. Pocket Playhouse juxtaposes romantic struggles, comedy ■Two student-written plays explore relationship issues "^■^■PLAY REVIEW ‘The Chair,’‘Bedroom’ Pocket Playhouse ★★'w’lV’S? By Mason West Oregon Daily Emerald For the second time this year, direc tors Eric Lewis and Elizabeth Helman are teaming up in Villard Hall. Their last project, “Speaking Through the Flow ers,” was a collaboration between the two graduate students. But this time, they decided to do their own things. Or rather, each other’s own things. Each one is directing a one-act play that the other wrote. “The Chair,” written by Lewis and directed by Helman, is about a couple’s diminishing relation ship that is somehow represented in their different feelings toward an old chair. Jon, the overachieving architect, wants to move onward and upward— meaning he wants to dump the chair. His girlfriend Jenna is more nostalgic. The second one-act, “Bedroom,” takes place with another couple strug gling in their relationship. But just when you start thinking that the idea is getting played out, the characters stop acting and instead describe their actions from an emotionally removed state. “Bedroom” goes even farther away from original expectations when it starts cranking up the camp factor. A Ricki Lake-esque talk show host, Gin ger, enters the mix followed by Wink, a game show host who is even worse —but in a good way. Mason West Emerald Cassie Schwanke, left, and Mike Miranda express the problems in their relationships and personalities in ‘The Chair,’ the first of two one-act Playhouse performances. “Bedroom” saves this Pocket presen tation from being too dull and depress ing. It is extreme in its humor and its se riousness. “TheChair” has the potential to make a statement, but it comes up short in the end. What hurts the mes sages of the shows is that the best acting is done by the comedic characters. Actually, “The Chair” has no comedic roles, just a few funny lines that are easily overlooked. So the bur den is on Moriah Shanahan (Ginger), lyier Holden (Wink) and Paul Jashe way as the announcer. I predict that Jasheway will be gunning for Rod Rod dy’s job on “The Price is Right.” It is interesting to see how much the sex of the author is noticeable in the re lationship dynamics. In “The Chair,” written by Lewis, the female is not the flawed personality and as such ends up being the weaker character. Conversely, but not quite as noticeably, in Helman’s “Bedroom,” the male character is more stereotypical and less intriguing. These points just further show that both pieces need more work to reach the full potential that is hid ing in the text and the ideas. The two plays run today, Friday and Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Pocket Playhouse in Villard Hall. A $1 do nation is suggested. ^"j^UO Cultural Y Forum presents in collaboration with KEZI/KZWB as part of the Eugene weekly Concert Series Friday, April 27th 8 pm • Mac Court Norm Mac Donald I Tickets on sale Friday, April 6th. Student: $12.50, CP: $17.50 (plus service charges). Available at the UO ticket Office, all Fastixx locations, or charge by phone 3464363, or (800) 992-TIXX
