Top Girls/36 Views: Fridays and Directors
I've dived into the dating pool again and I am very distracted by this one very smart and sexy but complicated guy. Why can’t people come with instructions - or even drawings?
I recently bought a GPS for my car. I only learned to drive a couple of years ago so I never developed that muscle that helps you get around. People always took me places; I never had to know how to get anywhere. Well I don’t know where I am going with this man but I don’t think there’s an electronic device that says "grope right thigh – 200 meters - bear left and you have reached your destination.”
I took him out to the swanky opening of *Tops Girls* at the "Vancouver Playhouse":http://www.vancouverplayhouse.com/. Written by Caryl Churchill back in the 80’s the play (like most of her work) has fantastical elements and a feminist agenda; in this case our protagonist Marlene, an upwardly mobile woman, has a dinner with historical figures such as Pope Joan, Lady Nijo and Isabella Bird before starting her new job and dealing with her abandoned child.
The show was money: slick, polished and with an impressive cast. But I got a sense of indifference from it. The actresses were all over the map performance wise – three were really forced – two were intense if uncomplicated (maybe the fault of the rather didactic script) and two gave richly layered performances that pulled you in. The staging had our main actress often upstaging herself as she talked to people standing behind her. The set also seemed to be in another play. During the fantasy dinner, doors opened mysteriously under their own power as the period guests arrived. But when we are in reality, either at the Employment Agency where Marlene works or at her daughter’s home in Suffolk, England – the doors continue to ‘magic’ themselves open.
I don’t know. I am just a MAF* but I think this speaks to indifferent or sloppy directing. But maybe I was driven to distraction because the man I was with was pressing his leg into mine.
The next night - Friday – I invited him to come see *36 Views* by "Tempus Theatre":http://tempustheatre.com/ but he wanted to do something else. Okay – whatever - that’s cool – we have just gone out a couple of times – doesn’t mean anything – but …… Damn.
Funny thing about Friday night audiences - something I discovered when acting in long runs of comedies, first Star Trick the Next Improvisation (100 performances) and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (300 performances): Friday night audiences suck. They are quiet and bitter. Usually because one half of the couple - after a hard workweek - forgot they were going out that night and a mini-argument preceded their arrival at the theatre. So the couple sits there upset and resentful while the little actors try to entertain them. If you are lucky you get them back just before intermission.
So there I was distracted and tired watching Naomi Iizuka’s hot hot script 36 Views. It's about the perception of beauty, intrigue and complicated lovers, unintended deception and calculated lies all in the world of ancient oriental art dealers as our 6 main characters (they are all leads really) try to get what they want at the expense of others.
The show has so many secrets and small twists that to say anymore about the plot would spoil the fun. The cast is uniformly great – with Lissa Neptuno twice moving me to tears in her simple and layered portrayal of an ancient art dealer. Her character lives outside the text – bringing so much depth and humanness to her without being showy. She is infinitely watchable.
The pacing at the beginning, like the art , is a little zen like but that also could be me being Friday grumpy, but this company puts so much passion into what they are creating – Tempus is a small company and all the actors are working a half their normal wage, many set and digital projection elements I assume were begged, borrowed or haggled for. They have a cardboard box in the lobby with an awkwardly cut out hole at the top soliciting for donations to help cover costs.
I also have a confession to make and I am going to say it publicly. I am in lust with actor Michael Kopsa, ever since seeing him in Hospitality Suite years ago. He is strong, sensitive, charming manly man with a sly smile and probing eyes. Grounded and rough, I don’t claim to have a ‘type’ but if I did it would be him. To make matters worse (or better) he has a shirtless scene in the show! I think I literally hugged my head with joy when the lights came up.
But he’s married (to a woman no less) so I drove home alone – no Michael and no date wit only Jim my GPS voice telling me that I am approaching my final distention.
So go see 36 Views – it a great production of a hot new script. Go see Tops Girls if you want to see a script that was hot in the 80’s and some respectful but fun fashions from the time.
*Middle Aged Fag
_Top Girls By Caryl Churchill; Directed by Glynis Leyshon; Featuring Ruth Brown, Jennifer Clement, Jillian Fargey, Linda Quibell, Manami Hara, Megan Leitch and Meg Roe; Set Design: Pam Johnson; Costume Design: Sheila White; Lighting Design: Gerald King. For more information dine_ "here":http://www.vancouverplayhouse.com/current-season/2009/top-girls.php
_36 Views by Naomi Iizuka; Directed by Anthony F. Ingram, featuring Keith Martin Gordey, Annabel Kershaw, Michael Kopsa, Lissa Neptuno, Bert Steinmanis, Valerie Sing Turner; a Tempus Theatre production at the Jericho Arts Centre until May 23rd. For information go_ "here":http://www.tempustheatre.com/mainframe.html