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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