Wiess One-Acts a grab-bag of talent, entertainment

By Kensey King     9/23/10 7:00pm

Wiess College freshmen are making their college theater acting debuts tonight and tomorrow in the Wiess Freshmen One-Acts, part of this year's Families Weekend festivities. Each individual one-act lasts for roughly 10 minutes and stars anywhere from two to 13 freshmen under the direction of a pair of upperclassmen. The majority of the freshmen performances in the one-acts come off as average; however, a few manage to stand out with their humorous subjects and plots. " E n g l i s h Made Simple" is one of the more enjoyable plays, featuring a narrator (played by Wiess freshman Brian Wilson) and the characters of Jack and Jill (Wiess freshmen Thomas Ladd and Meredith Jackson, respectively). Directors Dan Nelson and Molly Bryan, both Wiess seniors, did a fantastic job of casting the actors - Wilson delivers his punchy lines with good comedic timing and still manages to keep his composure throughout.

However, the award for the best one-act definitely goes to the cast of "The Women," directed by Wiess sophomores Gabi Chennisi and Jeff

Lash. As you might assume, the cast of this one-act is composed entirely of women, save for one suspiciously masculine woman with broad shoulders and rather short bobbed hair. The three women appear to be neighbors of each other, much like the ones of "Desperate Housewives," as they carry a stuffy air and gossip about their friends' and children's lives. Wiess freshmen Sophie Xu and Leslie Nguyen do a great job with their delivery and convey their awkward displeasure with their other neighbor, Marjorie (played by Wiess freshman Ian Kretz), with ease. A cross between Robin Williams' Mrs. Doubtfire and Tina Turnblad from Hairspray, Kretz's portrayal of Marjorie has the best voice and flair of the three women. This play is sure to make you laugh out loud.

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The play entitled "Crash Positions" requires only two actors, not counting a distant voice, and while the premise of the plot appears simple, the execution from Wiess freshmen Lilly Yu and Luis De Las Cuevas makes the play memorable and humorous. As the title implies, "Crash Positions" features two tourists heading back to JFK Airport who run into some unwanted airplane problems, causing Meredith, played by Yu, to freak out and overexaggerate her fears. Cuevas also performs well as a lovable creeper.

With a comedic twist on language barriers, the play "Arabian Nights" also wins many laughs. Humor evolves simply from a conversation between a beautiful market lady and a traveler. Stealing the best lines is the interpreter, played by Wiess freshman Ian Bott, who translates short and stale replies into exotic poetry.

The two remaining plays, while slightly entertaining, pull down the quality of the overall production. "The Chocolate Affair," for example, lacks a great deal of polish and flow. Confusion occurs many times throughout the play as the audience wonders if the awkward laughs and pauses throughout the skit are deliberate or a sign of amateur acting. With 13 cast members, "The Three Wise Men's Dumber Younger Brothers" has a great deal of potential that is just not reached. The only cast member that stands out is Sally, played by Wiess freshman Jacinta Leyden, who deals with a great amount of devastation throughout her time on stage with her animated expressions and voice that resembles that of Fran Drescher.

While the opening one-acts may be hard to sit through at times due to the youth of the cast members, the final performances make the wait bearable. The Wiess Freshmen One-Acts are tonight at 8 p.m. and tomorrow at 9 p.m. in the Wiess Commons

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