BWW Previews: Desert Theatreworks' Director Lance Phillips-Martinez Goes For Big Laughs as His Company Rehearses PSYCHO BEACH PARTY.

The desert area boasts numerous acclaimed directors, working in both professional and community theaters. On behalf of Broadway World, I was recently privileged to observe one of them, Lance Phillips-Martinez, of Desert Theatreworks (DTW), as he led a rehearsal of the company's upcoming play, PSYCHO BEACH PARTY.

DTW, a 501(c)(3) community theater company operated by Lance and his husband, Ron Phillips-Martinez (artistic and executive directors, respectively), has produced an ambitious seven plays and musicals during the 2014-15 season, its second year. PSYCHO BEACH PARTY, by playwright Charles Busch, is the last show of the season.

PSYCHO BEACH PARTY is part comedy, part parody, part horror, part whodunit, part melodrama, and all camp. The plot centers around Chicklet, a teenager in Malibu in 1962, who dreams of becoming a surfer. Her only problem is that her multiple personalities - especially the Stormtrooper-like Ann Bowman - keep getting in the way of her ambitions and her relationships. Meanwhile, people get knocked out and awaken to find that their bodies have been shaved. Is the culprit Chicklet, or perhaps one of her personalities? Is Chicklet the only psycho on the beach?

Lance Phillips-Martinez, who says he enjoys presenting physical comedy, has planned a plethora of complex stage business, some of which might be difficult even for a professional troupe, let alone a community theater that must fit rehearsals around the company member's day jobs. Lance is a bundle of enthusiastic energy as he demonstrates how to move for the greatest comic effect. I watched him choreograph a scene where two female characters engage in a slapping session, in which the slaps have to be timed perfectly. In another scene, he coaxed an underwater swim parody out of two young actors; the scene as he molded it reminded me of an old Olympic synchronized swim routine gone hilariously awry. He literally showed himself to be a hands-on director in a spot where one character smacks another on the tush. Lance was concerned that the slapper was holding back to avoid hurting the slappee, and the humor would be lost. He explained where to hit the "victim" to get the best sound without undue discomfort, and demonstrated how he wanted the slap to work, successfully generating a loud "thwack" without any yelps of pain from the recipient.

Greg Aratin, who last appeared at Desert Theatreworks as a newly widowed father in LOST IN YONKERS, plays a very different character in PSYCHO BEACH PARTY: the Great Kanaka, an aging, none-too-bright surfer who spends most of his time stoned, but who nonetheless finds that Chicklet's Stormtrooper personality arouses him from his stupor (pun intended). Mr. Aratin, who worked as a comedian in his early twenties, but gave it up for a regular paycheck selling radio time, said that he must relearn how to perform after a long hiatus from the stage. He credits his director with "pulling things out of me that I didn't know I had" anymore. Mr. Aratin says that Lance trains each actor to avoid worrying about what to do next, and instead, teaches them how to react to the other performers, as they would in real life. Yet, at the same time, the actors must give exaggerated performances that would appear over-the-top in anything other than a melodrama. Mr. Aratin says wryly, "You cannot do camp seriously."

Cast member Patricia Cromwell, who has been acting on stage and screen since she was two years old, believes that live theater is more difficult to pull off successfully than film. Even though the show's opening night was still a week away, Ms. Cromwell had the rehearsal observers (myself included) in stitches with her portrayal of the snooty Marvel Anne (Amy Adams' role in the 2000 movie), which she developed with the director's input. She told me about Lance's vision of her specialty wig for late in the show. (No, I am not going to describe it and ruin the surprise).

No detail seems too small for Lance to consider. The night I attended the rehearsal, he asked a cast member from New Jersey to serve as a dialect coach for a New Jersey native character. When the Yiddish word "meshuggeh" proved daunting to another actor during the rehearsal, he turned to me and asked me to pronounce it a few times - it's "muh-SHOOK-uh."

Lance's husband, Ron Phillips-Martinez, the theatre's executive director, attends rehearsals for each production the week before tech rehearsals begin. Lance says that he relies on Ron to provide an extra set of eyes to advise him what succeeds and what does not. Lance says that he feels privileged to be able to work with his husband, although he admits that, like any couple, they sometimes disagree strongly about matters involving the company. To avoid allowing professional disagreements to affect their marriage, the Phillips-Martinezes instituted a rule that they will not discuss business matters at home; Lance says their house is their "sanctuary."

At work, they strive to "present imaginative, innovative, and entertaining" productions, in the words of DTW's Web site. PSYCHO BEACH PARTY promises to fulfill that mission.

PSYCHO BEACH PARTY will be presented April 10th through April 19th on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 pm and on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm, at the Arthur Newman Theatre, in the Joslyn Senior Center, at 73-750 Catalina Way, in Palm Desert. Tickets are available at www.dtworks.org and https://dtworks.thundertix.com/ or by calling 760-980-1455. Tickets are also available in person in the Joslyn Center lobby, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. From Route 111, take Fred Waring across Monterey to San Pablo Ave. Turn Right on San Pablo and right on Catalina. DTW recommends that no one under age 13 attend, due to mature content.

DTW's 2015-2016 season will consist of THE MIRACLE WORKER, FUNNY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE, DEAD MAN'S CELL PHONE, STEEL MAGNOLIAS, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, LAUGHTER ON THE 23RD FLOOR, CLUE, and OTHER DESERT CITIES.