"Fifth of July" - Full Review

MU Theatre’s “Fifth of July” is a family gathering worth attending

“Fifth of July” by Lanford Wilson is a drama that takes place in Lebanon, Missouri in 1978 and centers around a dramatic family get-together during the Forth of July. Kenneth Talley (Joshua Johnson) is afraid of failure after the Vietnam war left him disabled and he wants to sell his house and get away, his lover Jed Jenkins (Jarrod Beck) doesn’t know but doesn’t want to leave, June Talley (Rachel Schmidt) has a strained relationship with her dramatic daughter Shirley (Blair Ussary), Gwen Landis (Meg Davis) just landed a record deal and wants to buy Ken’s house to turn it into a recording studio, and Sally Friedman (Rachel Bauer) struggles to spread her dead husbands ashes. MU Theatre department’s performance of the play at Rhynsburger Theatre certainly felt like my family gatherings. It was dramatic, very long and dragged on at some points, but the jokes tossed around and memories brought back made the good outweigh the bad.

The play begins with Ken transcribing some nonsense, which isn’t explained until the very end of the play, in a very detailed and cozy 1970s living room. Scenic designer Brad M. Carlson had wicker furniture and lightly patterned wallpaper decorating the half built house structure on the stage. The house had no roof or high back walls, opening up cyclorama in the back to act like the sky, usually lit light blue or dark blue depending on the time of day. On one side was the porch filled with a plethora of pants, where in walks Jed shirtless after working in the garden. He greets Ken with a kiss in a surprisingly non-dramatic and anticlimactic moment (although it drew a loud gasp from someone in the audience).

After a quiet moment with the two main characters, in comes the rest of the family and the drama ensues. The best performance came from Shirley, the aspiring artists, though in what she had no idea yet. She was very loud and dramatic, talking back to her mother throughout the play and collapsing on the floor when talking about her dreams. The most disappointing performance was from Shirley’s mother, June. There were many times when Shirley would bring up the fact that June often slept around with many men and June would try to be angry at her, but her voice remained very monotone and she seemed unbothered by it. Her character seemed to be missing something or not responding right to the other characters, which was a huge contrast to the other emotion-filled characters, switching from laughing to crying in just seconds.

The play consisted of a lot of sitting and talking, but the director, David Crespy, did a god job creating movement by having the characters move around the living room, up the stairs in the back of the house and in and out through the porch. The play moved along very slowly, lasting 2 hours and 30 minutes, but we didn’t reach the climax until Act II. Perhaps more of an issue with the writer rather than the director, but there was way too much build up in Act I and not enough build down in Act II. Despite the length, the play tells a great story. It masks some very deep and profound topics with hilarious characters and comedy. It will have you laughing one minute and then on the verge of tears the next minute.

"Memphis" - Mini Review

NETworks’ performance of “Memphis,” by Joe DiPietro and David Bryan, took the audience straight into 1950’s Memphis where racism and segregation ran high. Bright, colorful lights, and loud, catchy rhythm and blues music recreated the look and feel of a club on Beale Street where we were introduced to naïve and maybe a little crazy Huey Calhoun (Joey Elrose). Right away Huey, a White guy, met his love interest, Felicia (Jasmin Richardson), a Black girl, and the musical takes off as Huey struggles to overcome society’s rejection of African-Americans and African-American culture.

David Gallo’s set design of Memphis was very detailed and aesthetically pleasing. I found it extremely appropriate for the band to be on stage, rather than in the pit, since a main focus of the musical was on actual music. A recurring location in the musical was Delray’s underground nightclub. Gallo created the underground part by adding in a second level to the stage, above where the band was playing. The door was at the top with a staircase leading down into the club. There was a big open space for a dance floor, a table on stage left where people could sit and enjoy the music, and the bar on stage right. The band was on stage in the back, adding to the nightclub feel since many clubs do have live bands performing. Another location in the musical was at the department store where Huey worked. The store had the 1950s feel with department signs lit up and hanging vertically with black dots lining the border and a loud, bold font. The most 50s sign of all, was the one that labeled the ‘records’ department. In present day this would be the music department and you can’t even find that in a typical department store. This records department was central to the scene so it was the only one that had actual items in it. In true department store style, it featured a wrap-around counter with a glass case to display the items for sale inside. This department was where the music was played for the whole store to hear, and ultimately where Huey wanted to work before he was fired and found a job at the radio station.

The lights during most of the musical were bright, fun and prominent yet fitting, thanks to the work of lighting designer Howell Binkley. During the opening number at Delray’s, Felicia and Delray (RaMond Thomas) were singing “Underground” in the nightclub. The lights were all different colors, lighting up the stage in blue, green, red and yellow. Lights were flashing on the backdrop behind the band and also lighting up the stage floor. The nightclub floor was usually lit up in a blue or purple fun pattern, like circles. The backdrop frequently featured two different colors, at one point lighting up red and yellow alternating vertical stripes during a musical number. The colorful lights and fun patterns helped bring the audience into a fun and exciting nightclub on Beale Street. During other scenes, like at the department store, Huey’s mom’s house and at the radio station, the lights are far less exciting. This makes the Black nightclub really stand out as a fun and exciting place when compared to the White department store or White the radio station. Another example of this was when Huey started playing the records of Black music at the department store. The music started playing, people started dancing, and the lights lit up the stage as if it were a nightclub. The lights abruptly went back to standard, white room lighting when Huey’s boss came back into the store and turned off the music, providing a sharp contrast to the fun and exciting Black world.

The acting in “Memphis” also contributed greatly to the world of the play. Huey Calhoun has an accent that sounds sort of southern and is usually associated with a poor, uneducated person. We later learn this is exactly case, as Huey cannot read, still lives with his poor mother and is struggling for employment. Joey Elrose does a great job giving off Huey’s crazy vibes as well. We first meet Huey as he walks into a Black nightclub and starts talking to everyone. All the people (all black) in the club are taken aback and nervous at Huey’s presence. They stare astonishingly at Huey and step away from him, as if they can’t get too close. A few people inquire about why he is there, but Huey is just totally naïve to why it’s weird he would be in there, noting there are no differences between himself and the owner of the nightclub, Delray. Huey also takes some great risks at work. When he finally gets hired at the radio station, his boss tells him he needs to read an advertisement on air. Huey can’t read, so he asks the janitor to read it to him. Huey then precedes to go on air, read most of the ad, and then change up the ad in a way that made the audience cringe and fear for his job. Huey yells into the mic about how the beer in the ad is his favorite and you can put it in your car for gas, and other things that are obviously not true at all and not what’s on the paper at all. The whole advertisement sounds very natural, as if Elrose was really on the radio making it up as he went along. Another great performance comes from Huey’s mother (Pat Sibley). She plays an old lady in the musical and performances with an old lady crackley voice. She even sings with the same accent. She also moved a lot slower than the other characters and had stiffer movements, like most older people do. She gave the appearance of being a lot quieter without actually lowering her voice, which probably isn’t too much of a challenge next to loud Huey. While Huey always seemed to be yelling, talking a lot and having big and fast movements, Huey’s mom was frequently sitting down, moving slowly and using small movements, and being the voice of reason to Huey.

"Summer in Gossensass" - Directing

Barbara Salvadori-Heritage directed the MU Theatre Department’s production of “Summer in Gossensass” in the Corner Playhouse. As an audience member, I found myself having trouble entering the world of the play and often found my gaze drifting beyond the stage at the audience sitting on the other side, whose expressions were often much more exciting than what was happening on the stage. The play was set mostly in 1890’s London, in one of the character’s apartment. Occasionally we were brought out of the play to where the playwright, Maria Irene Fornes, played by Kelly Jonske, was typing away on her typewriter, presumably writing the play we were watching. The play was highly representational and had a high level of verisimilitude, with a lack of any sort of special effects, colored lights or sound effects.

“Summer in Gossensass” was performed with only seven characters, and most of the play revolved around Elizabeth Robins, played by Hannah Atencio, and Marion Lea, played by Kelsey Clark. During the play, they are discussing another play, “Hedda Gabler.” The agreement between characters seemed to be that Elizabeth should play the main role of Hedda. Elizabeth, Marion and Lady Bell, played by Leslie Howard, discussed this in-play casting at great length. They never went into depth about who Hedda Gabler really was (or maybe they did and I had stopped paying attention), but I couldn’t see anything remarkable about why Elizabeth just had to play Hedda. They said many times that Elizabeth had Hedda’s eyes, but I couldn’t really see her eyes and I felt that part of the play was pretty arbitrary.

At one point in the play, David, played by Thiago Palma, and Lady Bell were dancing and they said something about their height. The two were the same height, like they were supposed to be, so they fit perfectly into the world of the play. David was wearing shoes with a slight heel on them, so I wonder if the reason behind wearing those was so he could be the same height as Lady Bell.

The play was performed on a thrust stage, with the audience sitting on all sides of the stage but one. The actors did a good job constantly moving around the stage and using the space, and there was almost always at least one actor facing each side. But still, there were some points when some expressions and actions were lost because the audience couldn’t see. During one scene, David was obsessing over Lady Bell and constantly staring at her when she wasn’t looking. Both actors were sitting on a bench that was angled towards one side of the stage. David had to lean forward and look over to stare at her face, and his expression was hilarious. However, a large portion of the audience was sitting behind them, unable to see David’s face. That was one of the only parts of the play that had me laughing and I can only imagine that side of the audience thinking, what’s so funny?

The audience could also tell the relationship between characters based on their interactions with each other. Elizabeth and Marion often stood very close together, like good friends usually do. When they got excited they would move around more, talk much faster and usually get closer together, in an almost huddle. When David first met Marion, he was very star struck and often tried to stand very close to her. This seemed to make Marion uncomfortable because she tried to move away from him.

The main play happened in the center of the stage, surrounded by a set that resembled a living room. We were occasionally taken out of this play to the back where Maria Irene Fornes and Henrik Ibsen, played by Randy Hussey, were towards the back. The lights would fade on the main play and open up on Maria and Henrik. Maria was sitting at her typewriter, writing the play we were watching. Henrik was standing off to the side with a violin, doing nothing until the very end, except occasionally he would do strange things, like hold a meditating pose. I probably missed many such poses, since he usually did these when the focus was supposed to be on the main performance. I’m not sure if he did it because he was supposed to or he was just bored out of his mind from standing in the same place and doing nothing.

I often felt like the actors were too excited and enthusiastic for the dull play. Elizabeth and Marion were very excited about “Hedda Gabler” when they got their hands on the script, but I just couldn’t share their excitement. I felt as if they were those two annoying screaming girls at a party and I wanted them to dial it back to match the setting they were in. They just went on and on and on about Hedda Gabler and I kept waiting for something exciting to happen, except nothing else happened.

None of the actors had any particular accent. The play was supposed to take place in London in 1891, but I didn’t hear any British accents or one of those ‘old-timey’ accents that would distinguish the characters from the present day. The only indicator during the play that it was supposed to be in London was when Marion and Vernon, played by Dylan Bainter, offered tea to the guests.

The actors really didn’t do anything other than talk, which they did well. Their dialogue seemed natural and relaxed when they were talking to each other. The only action was when Elizabeth, Marion and Vernon started jump roping and the dances between Lady Bell and David and Henrik and Maria, all of which seemed really random and strange, like the actions didn’t belong in the play.


PART 2:
Barbara Salvadori-Heritage, the director of MU theatre’s performance of Summer in Gossensass, tried to tell us the story of Elizabeth Robins (played by Hannah Atencio) and Marion Lea’s (played by Kelsey Clark) fascination with the play “Hedda Gabler,” as the playwright, Maria Irene Fornes (played by Kelly Jonske), is writing their performance. The play was very heavy on dialogue between characters and very low on action. The audience is occasionally taken out of the play as the lights fade on the main action and into a new world when the lights come on at the back of the stage, where Maria Irene Fornes sits at her typewriter writing the play. The lack of action in the play, the lack of change in the set and lights, and the dull plot line kept me from being entertained or engaged with any aspect of the performance.

"The Baltimore Waltz" - Acting

Talking Horse Productions put on the play “The Baltimore Waltz” last weekend at the Talking Horse Theatre. Sister and brother Anna, played by Elizabeth Braaten Palmieri, and Carl, played by Adam McCall, took the audience on a wild trip through Europe as an act of desperation to find a cure for Acquired Toilet Disease (ATD) and spend more time together as siblings. Although the play consisted of many different characters, only three people were cast. The three actors successfully brought us from Baltimore to all over Europe and back again, but took us out of the world of the play several times by breaking the fourth wall and addressing the audience.

Elizabeth Braaten Palmieri played the role of Anna, the protagonist and Carl’s sister. During one scene, Anna is displaying all seven stages of terminal illness. Palmieri has to change emotions quickly to display each stage one right after the other. The first stage was depression. Palmieri lay in bed very still for most of this part, her face expressionless, and her voice much softer than usual. She switches to portraying anger and starts moving around move, raising her voice and using sharp gestures with her hands. She ends the scene with acceptance, where her voice is back to the normal volume and she is moving naturally (not too much and not too little). Anna also had many sexual escapades throughout the performance. Palmieri portrayed Anna’s horniness by biting her lip, deepening her voice when talking, and moving her body very close to the man she was trying to seduce. By the end of the play, after Anna’s comical recount of her adventure in Europe (or what could have been), we switch back to a serious mood in Baltimore as the doctor delivers the bad news of her brother’s death. Palmieri portrays Anna’s acceptance by talking softly, sighing and not moving from her seat on the stool. This is in sharp contrast to the beginning of the play where Anna seems to be having trouble accepting the doctor’s verdict, asking him a lot of questions, raising her voice and moving around a lot.

Adam McCall played the role of Carl, who ultimately ends up dying from the fictional ATD. We’re first introduced to Carl as he is working at the library with children. Even though the children weren’t there, McCall stayed focused on the floor in front of him, where the children would have been, and spoke slowly than normal and in a higher pitch, as most people usually talk to children. Accompanied with the soundtrack of children laughing, it seemed as if they were really there. His voice switched to a higher pitch when he turned away from the kids to yell at his boss, who seemed to be treating him unfairly. McCall was also very animated, using hand gestures to help get across his message. When yelling angrily towards his boss, his hand movements were faster and bigger than in the rest of the performance. Carl had planned most of his and Anna’s trip to Europe on the idea that he would meet up with an Italian doctor who had experimental drugs that might help ATD. When in Europe, he and Anna often had close encounters with a sketchy Italian, and that made Carl very nervous since Anna didn’t know about it. McCall portrayed his nervousness by making his movements faster and jerky. He also talked faster and answered Anna’s questions faster than normal. He looked around him more often and tried to push Anna, and himself, away from the situation.

Nick Tittone played the role of the “third man” in the play. His character changed from a doctor, a waiter, a security guard, a mad scientist, and many more. He had some pretty quick character changes, with several of them being right on stage in front of the whole audience. He only had very minimal costume changes, like putting on a hat or a jacket or taking them off, so most of his character change relied heavily on his acting. He was able to change his voice for nearly every character. He began the performance as a doctor, delivering the news to Anna and Carl that Carl was ill and there was nothing he could do. His character then switched to a sketchy Italian, switching to an Italian accent and changing his body movements. As a doctor, he stood up straight and spoke clearly and professionally. As the Italian, he moved around more and acted more casual, with his words slurring together more and seeming more relaxed. He played a French waiter, with a comical French accent, and stood very straight and stiff, making his character much different from all his other characters. When he played the mad scientist doctor he had on a crazy wig to match his movements. He moved very stiffly, forced and jerky, making him seem crazy, and justifies Anna’s hesitation towards him. His voice matched his movements, as he spoke in a higher pitched voice and his rhythm was jerky and unsteady. All of the quick changes in his movement and voice helped us transition from character to character and remain in the world of the play.

"Spring Awakening" - Theatrical Design

From the start, “Spring Awakening” takes us to late 19th century Germany where we go through several intense situations with all the teenage characters. The audience can tell it’s in Germany based on the character’s names, like Wendla, Ilse, Helga, Melchior and Moritz. We know it’s late 19th century based on the clothing and even the language. Wendla’s mother, played by Lynett Vallejo, uses the phrase in bloom‘ to describe puberty, which is definitely not a modern phrase. She even spoke with a German accent. Through the songs and dialogue we quickly learn how naïve and starved for knowledge the adolescents are.

The costume designer, James M. Miller did a great job with all the characters costumes. The girls wore collared white shirts buttoned up to their necks under dresses that went down to their ankles. The boys, who seemed to be in a private, religious school, wore collared shirts with vests on top, pants to their calves, and socks up to where their pants ended. During scenes when they were in class, the boys also had on blazers with ties tucked into their shirts to look like scarves. None of the characters were particularly well dressed, leading me to believe they were all middle-class. The socks the boys wore were all different colored argyle, which lead to a non-uniform look and provided a sharp contrast to their sharp looking ties and blazers, and also led to a less high-class look.

After Moritz, played by Bryson Bruce, committed suicide, all of the characters came to attend his funeral. Although there was no grave or tombstone, it was very apparent it was a funeral because the characters came in wearing black. It was also rainy, as most of them carried black umbrellas. The dark lighting, dark clothing and rainy mood helped contribute to the sadness of the loss of Moritz. Moritz’s friend Melchior, played by Brian Dresner, even had flowers to put on the ground in front of where Moritz’s grave would have been.

The basic set for Spring Awakening remained the same throughout the whole play. There was a backdrop that portrayed an outdoor scene with some trees and hills. This backdrop didn’t go all the way to the top of the stage, though, so we could still see some of the cyclorama behind it. The scenic designer, Jon Drtina, used the cyclorama to portray the color-changing sky. There was also a medium-sized platform that took up most of the center of the stage. Because the set never changed I found it difficult to tell when the characters were supposed to be in a different location and I had trouble figuring out exactly where they were. There were times when Wendla, played by Kristen Thackery, and Melchior were spending time together and I couldn’t tell where they were supposed to be. At first, I thought they were attending some sort of boarding school because they seemed to be inside somewhere after school hours. The same actors played all the adults in the play, so at first I thought Wendla and Melchior had the same mother. It wasn’t until much later I realized the same actors, Lynett Vallejo and Charles Willis, were just playing all the adults, perhaps because all the adults were basically the same people and acted the same way towards the kids. I was only able to differentiate the location of Wendla and Melchior when they specifically said they were looking at the sky or they were out by the river.

Some scenes were easy to differentiate from other scenes. When the boys were in class, they had chairs arranged in a square, resembling a classroom. It was very easy to tell they were in a classroom by their less relaxed dress (they took their blazers off after class), the arrangement of the chairs and the fact that they often were reading books and or writing something down. Other than that, I think the performance could have benefitted from a few extra props to help move the audience from place to place.

Although it was sometimes difficult to tell the location of some scenes, it was always easy to tell the time of day or mood because of the work of the lighting designer, R. Dean Packard. When it was late at night, the cyclorama behind the main backdrop would light up dark blue and spots of white would appear like stars. During the day, the main backdrop was often a much lighter blue with moving white clouds on it.

A particular scene when the lighting stood out to me was during Moritz’s suicide. After he walked off stage with the gun, we heard a gunshot and the whole stage lit up bright red, symbolizing the blood he would have shed. During his funeral in the next scene, the mood was set up by very dark lighting to reflect the depressed mood. The backdrop was also often lit up in different colors. When it was supposed to be autumn, towards the end of the play, it was lit up with reds and oranges. At the end of the play, the backdrop was lit up in brighter greens. This seemed to symbolize the end of winter and the beginning of spring, a new season and a new beginning, tying in the name of the play, Spring Awakening.

"Almost, Maine" - Lighting & Design

Stephens College performed the play “Almost, Maine” by John Cariani last weekend. The performance took the audience to a town in northern Maine called Almost, where love is tangible, hearts can literally break and shoes fall from the sky. The audience is shown nine different but connected stories about love and relationships as told by different characters all living in the town. The lighting designers for the performance, Herbert Moore and Jennifer Kilgore, and the sound designer, Emma Delfosse, did a great job creating a very realistic atmosphere to capture the audience’s attention and bring them into the world of the play.

A recurring theme in the performance is the appearance of the Northern Lights. We are first introduced to the lights during the first scene, called “Her Heart,” when East, played by Kyle Delaney sees a stranger standing in his yard. East confronts the stranger and learns her name is Glory, played by Rebecca Munoz. Glory tells East she is there to see the Northern Lights and pay her respects to her dead husband. When the scene ended, after the two had fallen in love, the cyclorama lit up with different colors of green, pink and blue to represent the Northern Lights. Tinkering music played in the background while East and Glory look wondrously past the audience as if they were really admiring the Northern Lights in the big Maine sky. The lights occur again at the end of all eight scenes and the epilogue. Each time, the tinkering music plays to draw our attention to what’s happening in the background and the characters look into the audience as if the lights are above them, while the audience looks past the characters on stage and into the lights. The recurring lights, along with Ginette, played by Lydia Miller, walking through each scene in the play, helps the audience realize that all of these scenes are happening simultaneously.

There are also a couple of instances of cars in the play. The first time we hear a car is in “Where it Went,” with Phil and Marci, played by Ty Carter and Mycah Westhoff. The married couple had been ice-skating and was arguing while getting ready to leave. It seems like a very typical argument between a couple, as Marci claims she is definitely not mad and Phil tries to figure out where he went wrong. The couple got some “Ooohs” from the audience when we found out it was their anniversary and Phil had forgotten. The scene ends when Marci walks offstage and we hear the sounds of car driving away, indicating that she has left Phil. Poor Phil is left all alone to walk home (hopefully he didn’t live too far away) at the lake they had been skating at as his wife drives away without him. The Northern Lights cue up and Phil looks off into the audience as if he’s really looking at the sky. In this scene the lights seem to represent Phil’s acceptance that his marriage is no longer working out. The lights fade away and we move on to the next scene. Another car in the play was during the scene “Story of Hope,” staring Kyle Delaney as the man and Carolyn Williams as Hope. Hope had taken a taxi over 100 miles to get to this mans house from the airport. We hear a car drive up, a car door slam, and Hope walks on stage carrying a suitcase. The car sounds are crucial to this scene because without them it would appear Hope has just walked right over to this man’s house, which is not nearly as romantic as her traveling hundreds of miles. The Northern Lights end this scene when Hope finally gives the answer that she promised to a man many, many years ago.

Another important part of the play was the transition between scenes. The play contains eight scenes of different connected stories, plus a prologue, interlogue and epilogue, and the designers were faced with a tough job of ending one scene and smoothly bringing us over into the next. Each scene ended with the Northern Lights, which came to be a symbol of conclusion for each scene. After the Northern Lights lit up the cyclorama, all the lights would fade leaving the stage in complete darkness. Immediately after, music would begin to play for about a minute until the set crew had everything ready to go for the next scene. The music would slowly fade away and the lights would come back on. The consistent scene conclusions and smooth fades of light and music transitioned the audience easily from one scene to the next, without removing us from the world of the play.

The lighting designer, Jennifer Kilgore, did an excellent job at portraying the different between inside and outside scenes and setting the mood. Several of the scenes took place outside and, besides the fact that the characters were bundled up in winter clothing, it was easy to tell because the ‘sky’ was lit up with a nice dark blue. When the scene took place inside the lightning was a warmer glow, much like what you would get from a lamp in the living room. The scene “Getting it Back” opened with Lendall, played by Ty Carter, sleeping in a comfy armchair in his living room. His nap is rudely interrupted by his girlfriend Gayle, played by September Adamson, pounding on his door. The lights are dim when he first wakes up, giving the scene a very sleepy and comfortable mood. After quite a few more knocks and screams by a very upset and demanding Gayle, Lendall gets up from his chair and the lights get brighter, making the room seem more lively. Subtle differences like the lighting of a room really helped pull the audience into the play.

Life and Literature: A Series Worth Seeing

The 11th annual Life and Literature performance series took place Sept. 12-15 at the Corner Playhouse. The series consisted of eight short performances all by University of Missouri students. I went to see the matinee show on the last day of the series.

Overall, the acting in the performances was excellent. There was very little set design and the costumes were likely clothes the actors already own, so the actors had nothing but their own talent to rely on to tell the story. “The Raven,” adapted and performed by Laura Nelson, was extremely captivating. Nelson did a terrific job with a more modern adaption of the Edgar Allen Poe poem, and despite the overall depressing mood of the performance, she had the audience laughing several times. Even though there was no real set, Nelson made it seem as though she was really sitting in a house and I could almost see the raven perched on her door as she angrily yelled at it to get out. Sarah Senff gave a great performance in “Lament,” where she told a story about her dreams and career path (or lack of) in music. The way she was telling the story and going into detail about specific moments was so captivating that it must be her true story. She ended the performance on an inspiring note and had the whole audience singing The Little Mermaid’s “Part of Your World.” My favorite performance was “Back Bird” which was written and performed by Melissa Jackson Burns. Burns told a very relevant story about the size of woman’s body and how people constantly judge it in a hilarious way. She played the Tookie Bird who loved cookies, and everything she ate went to her back, like a bird. She was able to easily switch from playing the Tookie Bird to recounting all the various judgments other people pass on her body.

The director of the series, Joy Powell, did a good job with the performances. I thought the casting was great for each performance, although I failed to see a connection between all the performances or a reason for the order they were in. To me, it seemed like a random collection of entertaining short performances.

The whole series lacked a set, but I don’t think it took anything away from the performances. Several of the plays just used a black box for the actors to sit on when telling their story, but the most advanced set pieces were an ironing board in “My Left Breast” and some cookies in “Back Bird.” Each performance was a solo performance, except “Tug of War” which had two people, and each were no longer than 20 minutes, so a full set was not required to effectively tell the story. I was still captivated and pulled into the world of the play during each performance.