Review: THE LEDGE at The Trick 'R Treaters

The Trick 'R Treaters, one of York's newest theatre troupes is at it again, presenting the one-act play The Ledge. Kamron Klitgaard's The Ledge packs a great deal into just ten minutes. Using a quirky character and easy to laugh at humor, it takes a look at the very serious realities of anxiety and fear. The play features two characters, Mildred, who finds herself on a ledge paralyzed by fear, and an unusual character named Tap, who tries to help Mildred in a variety of ways, including by throwing rocks at her. This is a traveling show for The Trick 'R Treaters, as they work to breakdown the stigma associated with mental health through this play. Their preview performance was held at the Alba Rosa Cat Parlour in York on June 28th.

The preview performance starred Grace Gladfelter as Mildred and Shaina Lucas as Tap. Gladfelter's performance as Mildred is touching and genuine. The audience can feel her fear and anxiety as she stands on the ledge, uncertain how to get down. Her movements and facial expressions evoke not only the feelings of fear and anxiety but also the sense of hopelessness, helplessness, and frustration as she tries to explain her situation and her inability to climb down to Tap. Lucas is hilarious as the ditzy, quirky character Tap. She plays the part just off-kilter enough without being over the top, and this performance showed off her comedic timing. Gladfelter and Lucas balance each other well, using their authentic interactions to bring to light the underlying message of the play in the midst of the humor and absurdity of the storyline.

The Ledge is an interesting piece, and The Trick 'R Treaters have done a great job with staging and interpreting it. Stay tuned at www.facebook.com/TheTrickRTreaters for information on upcoming performances of The Ledge. If you are interested in bringing The Trick 'R Treaters production of The Ledge to your community, contact Jessica Crowe at Alba Rosa Cat Parlour at albarosacats@gmail.com