Freshmen One-Acts a crack up

By Matt Banks     10/19/11 7:00pm

What do you get when you combine some new students with three chimpanzees, two atomic bombs and one awkward reference to bestiality? You have the 2011 production of Wiess Tabletop's Freshmen One-Acts! A long lasting Wiess College tradition, the show stars 24 new Wiess students performing in short plays directed by Wiess upperclassmen. As usual, Wiess again delivers an amusing, varied performance guaranteed to make anyone happy.

Several performances particularly stand out. Words, Words, Words, directed by junior Emily Viehman and sophomore Austin Jarvis, tells the story of three chimpanzees attempting to replicate Hamlet on typewriters. The three chimps, played by Wiess freshmen Amber Callan, Matthew Dunn-Rankin and Christian Hauser, contemplate a mutiny against their scientist captor, and amusement results as they consider what Hamlet means. All three performances are wonderful, especially Hauser's physicality as the chimp Milton, guaranteeing laughs from everyone in attendance.

Romeo vs. Juliet, a Michael Steves (Weslayan College '13) work directed by juniors Hilary Purrington, Gabi Chennisi and Jeff Lash, shows what happens to Romeo and Juliet if they hadn't killed themselves. The "happy" couple, played by freshmen Matt Keene and Marie Chatfield, had multiple strong performances, ranging from an argument in iambic pentameter to getting sexy with some chocolate sauce to evaluating the worth of the relationship in light of a wild night on the town. Both performances are extremely believable and possibly represent some of the finest acting to grace the Freshmen

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 One-Acts stage in recent years. Anyone ever bothered by the overdone emotions in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet will be an instant fan of this comedic, yet touching, tale.

Probably the funniest one-act of the night is Battlefield Fondren, written by Patricia Ladd (Wiess '09) and directed by sophomores Thomas Ladd and Meredith Jackson. Set in the stacks of our very own Fondren Library, Battlefield follows Molly and Dan, played by freshmen Andie Eikenberg and Thomas Martinez, as they argue over the last table with a laptop outlet. Hilarity follows as a battle for the table creeps into the wee hours of the morning. All Rice students can relate to the instances in the one act while laughing at the gifted comedic talent of Eikenberg and Martinez.

The other performances, while not as solid, are still enjoyable. The Philadelphia, directed by seniors Margay Dean and Kunle Roberts, tells the story of three people trapped in realities named after and mimicking major cities in the U.S. The three actors, freshmen Christian Yu, Mikail Khan and Rachel Marzen, give enjoyable performances. Although the play seems to stagnate at

 times, the trio decently handles the tremendously difficult work while maintaining the absurdity of the situation.

Great Moments in History, Number 1, directed by senior Liz Castillo and junior David Payne, suffers mainly from a less than spectacular script. The scenes depict the Norman Conquest told through a news cast and a scene involving three men named Norman. The one-act as a whole is extremely disjointed, and the slow scene changes bog down the work. However, this issue will most likely be fixed by opening night, and the audience should expect an unusual twist on historical events.

The most absurd one-act of the night comes in the form of A-Bomb Wedding. Directed by sophomores Jay Becton, Leslie Nguyen and Ian Kretz, the play tells the story of Will and Jennifer, two complete strangers who meet in a supermarket as they independently decide to strap atomic bombs to their bodies. Played by freshmen Max Payton and Kaylee Yocum, the pair bonds over the difficulties in their romantic lives that have led them to this situation. Pacing issues cause a couple of awkward moments, but Yocum and Payton deal well with the most difficult script of the night.

Overall, Wiess Freshmen One-Acts is a great addition to the Rice theater season. The performances are fun, different, serious when they need to be and simply executed. Sure to be enjoyable for anyone, this quirky show shouldn't be missed. Even if none of the performances seem to be your cup of tea, be sure to check out the shows on Saturday night, when the new students are given the opportunity to rewrite their one-act to poke fun at everything from other colleges to their own directors.

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