BWW Reviews: Turbulent Waters at the Second Wave of Artists' Exchange's ONE ACT PLAY FESTIVAL

A one-act play can be a tough nut to crack, as they say. Ranging anywhere from ten minutes to an hour long, they present a very particular challenge to a playwright, not to mention the rest of the creative team. While full-length plays have much more time at their disposal, one-acts must get a full story, beginning, middle, and end, into a condensed period of time. They must be concise and succinct. And most importantly, they must succeed in telling a story that is compelling, interesting, entertaining, or all three.

Artists' Exchange in Cranston has been presenting a festival of one-acts every summer for some time. In fact, this year's festival, presented in two "waves," is their eighth annual production of this type. Each wave provides audiences with a different set of short plays, two very different theatrical experiences. While I did not get to see the first wave, the second is a mixed bag which, by the standards mentioned above, cannot be considered either a complete failure or a complete success.

One of the problems for this selection of one-acts is every one falls squarely into two categories: depressing or weird. The first two, both written by playwright Ben Jolivet, are an example of each category. First is The Resurrectionists, which tells the tale of two long-time friends who are dealing with the choices they've made and how their lives have turned out nothing like they hoped. Though Nick Viau and Alex Rotella offer a few nice moments, the scene goes on way too long, becoming extremely repetitive.

The second, much shorter, piece, Hair of a Dying Winter, revolves around a woman who has invited Winter over to her house for a Christmas party. Fetchingly played by Hannah Lum, Winter has no idea that the woman is actually out for revenge because the season's snow has prevented holiday plans from happening. Basically a one-joke pony, the scene really doesn't use that joke to its full potential.

Up next is the unquestionable highlight of the evening, September in Biddeford. A touching moment between a mother and daughter is suddenly interrupted by armed National Guard forces who arrive on the each, proclaiming they are fighting an attack from giant, mutant lobsters. It's basically Steel Magnolias combined with every B-grade horror movie you've ever seen. It easily has the biggest laughs of the night and is the finest example of a ensemble working together at a high level.

Workin' on the Railroad, the last section of Act One, falls back into the "weird" and "one-joke pony" categories. The entire premise of the scene is old-fashioned songs, like "Old Macdonald" and "Working on the Railroad" and "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain," and turning those songs into lines of dialogue. At least the actors are having fun with the concept and there are some great laughs, especially from Bob Macaux, who was also great in the September in Biddeford scene.

After intermission, things take a decidedly less fun turn with Civilization. Basically a post-apocalyptic story about three survivors wandering the wasteland, it's hard to imagine why Artists' Exchange would even select this piece. It's overly long, extremely boring and repetitive, not fun or entertaining and doesn't really fit in with the tone of the rest of the evening. Maybe that was the point, but it really stopped the momentum and energy provided by the last two pieces in Act One.

The next piece, Mercy Me, is another short scene and gets back to being depressing, and actually a little weird, too. While David Kane gives a nice performance, it's basically ten minutes of him talking about not killing a dog and then not killing his father. It's certainly an emotionally wrenching moment but has no reason for being other than to wrench the audience's emotions. Again, hard to guess why it was even included.

One more highlight for the evening, second only to Biddeford, is Colors, a fun riff on art, crime, society and what might happen if art was, in fact, a crime. Jim Shelton is especially fun to watch as Ralph, the cop who is fighting the good fight, taking down all the worst scum in the city, you know, the artists.

Finally, there's Shrewman VS Shrew Man, which ends the evening firmly back in the "weird" category. Like a number of the pieces, it's another one that probably started with a good idea, "obsessed comic book fan has turned into his favorite superhero and is trying to find the final, elusive piece of his collection." While Alex Rotella is game and having a great time, playing the obsessed fan who has turned himself into a superhero, the entire thing goes nowhere fast.

Artists' Exchange is presenting the One Act Play Fesstival in their newer, bigger space, Theatre 82. Inexplicably, they seem to believe that having a larger space means that they hve to fill it with every prop and set piece they can possibly find and fit in there. Changes between one-acts were way too long and involved and most of the scenery was cluttered and unnecessary. In something like a series of one-acts, less is definitely more.

It's also hard to understand why Artists' Exchange has chosen such weak material for this wave of one-acts. There are countless quality scripts out there for wonderful pieces of theater and there are many local playwrights who can craft equally quality work. Yet, for some reason, the company continues to choose very weak material. It would be nice to see them give their talented group of actors some material that is worth their talent, time and dedication.

Wave II of the Festival opens at Theatre 82 on July 26. Advance tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at www.artists-exchange.org or by phone at (401) 490-9475; tickets are available at the door for $20. Theatre 82 is located at 82 Rolfe Square, Cranston, RI.

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