Review: CRUSHING at A.C.T. Strand

Stories of romantic love are delivered by a variety of interdisciplinary artists in the second Bay Area incarnation of Crushing, and it’s a winner for the art of spoken word. The featured writers span genders, ages and viewpoints and you never know what’s coming next.

Dannielle Stagger opened the show with a piece likening her casual relationships as pitching a tent in a forest as opposed to building a log cabin. It’s a smart metaphor and cradles the lines between experiment and long-lasting commitment. Isabella Howell Tagliati fondling remembers her late mother as she maneuvers through her coming out as a lesbian. Drag artist Jake Montano (Aka Imelda Glucose) reminisces on a five-year love affair that enhanced his career and opened his heart.

Thomas Moniz is an anti-marriage romantic who can’t help but marry twice. Nora Stein, a straight woman in a relationship discovers her eating disorder may be the cause of her fear of coming out as a lesbian. A convicted murderer’s life is changed with through the six-hour prison visits by his new love.

Karan Menon and Daisy Tichenor comically exchange thoughts on deciding to move in together, and Paul Loper, a gay dancer with HIV/AIDS during the mid-1980’s celebrates the joy of turning 68 years old.

With each story running for a few minutes, the pacing is exactly right, and the anticipation of what perspective is coming next adds to the fun. There’s authenticity and raw emotions in each piece endearing the performers to the audience. The show is similar in design to the extremely popular Moth Radio Hour and proves the spoken word and storytelling is alive and well.

Crushing continues through September 12th. Tickets and information available at www.act-sf.org/crushing.