By Marilyn Jozwik
I’m heartened by the fact that community theater groups are finding creative ways to present powerful dramas and clever comedies.
Village Playhouse streamed a live presentation of two, one-act plays Tuesday evening: “Old Friends” by Jon Kolb and “The Interview” by Carol Ratliff Drury. The plays were part of VP’s 35th Annual One-Act Play festival.
Stacy Madson directed both shows. Both are available to watch on the Village Playhouse Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VillagePlayhouse
Donations are welcome.
“Old Friends,” a 20-minute drama, features Paul Weir as Ed and Dale Jackson as Jack, old friends who meet up at a coffee shop. Both are dealing with their own mortality after the death of one of their spouses.
Weir and Jackson are comfortable in their roles as old friends and bring the audience into their private conversation. Katie Kadaver plays the waitress in the show.
The conversation is believable as the pair start discussing their health, a major topic among older folks. “Our bodies betray us,” says Jack. “Digest the food, damn it,” says Ed of his own ailments.
Jack asks, “How long have we been doing this?” Ed replies, “Back when we felt good.”
They talk about “that form” doctors ask you to fill out. “Pull the plug, don’t pull,” says Ed about all the questions asked.
The conversation is amiable until it turns to a difficult topic for Ed. “You picked a scab, now I’m bleeding,” Ed rails.
The sore subject gets out in the open and both men are obviously shaken. Weir’s Ed goes on the offensive as his anger – and voice -- rise over the perceived slight and his fragile state. The scene turns tense and passionate, with both performers handling the changing moods well.
Playwright Kolb does a nice job bringing the conversation to a satisfying conclusion, while Weir and Jackson pack a lot of emotional substance into the brief meeting.
Amy Wickland plays a woman participating in a virtual job interview in “The Interview,” part of Village Playhouse’s Original One Act Festival.
In “The Interview,” Amy Wickland plays Amy, who is applying for a job through a virtual interview. The 13-minute comedy travels through the session, from the rough start due to technical difficulties, to an array of questions, to Amy’s decision at the end.
Elizabeth M. Havican, a last-minute replacement for Antoinette Stikl who was unable to do the show, plays a frazzled employee trying to solve computer problems that prohibit Amy from seeing her three interviewers, voiced by Scott Sorensen, Sandra Baker-Renick and Jon Goltz. Stikl is the proverbial chicken-with-its-head-cut-off as she scurries about the room in her futile attempts to restore video, laying the foundation for the comedy.
Madson, it appears, directs performers to play the comedy big. Wickland is wide-eyed and demonstrative as the interviewee who is put through the wringer. A lot of the humor resonates from interview situations such as we’ve all had, as the interviewee wonders how the questions relate to the job … although, in this case, Amy doesn’t quite know what the job entails.
After being asked about her pets, she pantomimes brushing her cat and chasing her dog. In another charming bit, she gets totally wrapped up in describing her perfect date. Wickland is just a delight to watch.
The aggressive and overly professional interviewers fall over each other as they lead poor Amy along until the questions start to worry her about just what she would be asked to do on the job.
Though a bit unpolished, “The Interview” is fun 13-minute romp.