The Writer (Rod Gnapp) has a philosophical discussion with the spirit of the severed head (Carl Lumbly).
Word for Word presents : “36 Stories by Sam Shepard” arranged for the Stage and Directed by Amy Kossow at Z Below, Z Space’s new second venue, at 470 Florida St. San Francisco. Tickets: 866.811.4111 or at www.zspace.org. May 21-June 22, 2014.
36 STORIES BY SAM SHEPARD brilliantly acted by Word for Word. [rating:4](4 of 5 stars)
Word for Word have deviated from their usual format of bringing short stories to the stage “verbatim, assigning the narrative—he saids, she saids and descriptive text—to various characters, animals or even inanimate objects, all in the most revelatory and imaginative ways.” Under a commission from the Magic Theatre and as part of the “Sheparding America” festival celebrating the work of Sam Shepard, Amy Kossow selected snippets of prose from Shepard’s five books patching them together creating a fascinating mélange for the stage entitled 36 Stories by Sam Shepard.
The production is being staged in the intimate 88 seat Z Space Below venue and boasts a five member stellar cast of Rod Gnapp, Carl Lumbly, Delia MacDougall, JoAnne Winter, and Patrick Alparone. They are the Who’s Who of the local theatre scene and their performances could be taught as an example of what ensemble acting is all about. Four of the actors flawlessy morph into multiple characters with distinctive and memorable characteristics. The fifth character is The Writer played to perfection by Rod Gnapp who bookends the play writing on a portable typewriter and as he finishes each page tacks it to wall of the set.
That lone Writer is fashioned after Sam Shepard who traveled highways of the Great Southwest. Shepard was known to frequent Denny’s Restaurants and out of the way motels thus the scenes shift between Denny’s, the open road and motels. There are minimal changes of props allowing the story to move without interruption.
Early in the play an incongruous sign hung in one of the restaurants reads “Life is what happens when you’re making plans for doing something else.” This intrigues The Writer and he attempts without success to discover who the writer of the sign is. He continues his journey, writing as he goes along.
On that journey he comes across a severed head (Carl Lumbly) in a basket in a ditch by the side of the road. The Head wishes to be moved to a quieter place where he could rest for eternity. Along comes The Walking Man ( Patrick Alparone) who agrees to move The Head as requested but that trip is fraught with hardships and is almost abandoned.
Somewhere along his trip The Writer meets The Mercenary (Delia MacDougall) who is a bundle of sex leading to a seamy motel room scene that is intricately orchestrated but still is steamy.
With the exception of the tale of The Head and its travels with The Walking Man there is no continuity of storyline but there are vignettes that will keep you guessing what is coming next. The Waitress (JoAnne Winter) becomes
The Driver (JoAnne Winter) discovers an injured hawk (Carl Lumbly) on the highway
The Driver taking her mother’s ashes from the columbarium in a green bucket who encounters the remnants of a truck tire that becomes The Hawk (Lumbly) injured and stranded by the roadside. Patrick Alparone doubles as The Musician playing a guitar linking a number of the scenes.
The Writer (Rod Gnapp) is serenaded on his journey by The Musician (Patrick Alperone).
In the final scene Mac Dougal becomes The Writer’s mother and asks if all this travel is because he has writer’s block. If so:
“Now let me get this straight
You say
You’re tortured because you can’t write
Or
You can’t write because you’re tortured
Now lemme say one thing
Your despair is more boring
Than the Merv Griffin Show
Get off your tail and cook
Do time
Anything
But don’t burn mine
The ensemble actors take on the roles of inanimate objects who often speak with philosophical insight. There is a bit of Steven King in the writing but all in all the cast has complete control of the text receiving a standing ovation on opening night.
Running Time 90 minutes with no intermission.
CAST: Rod Gnapp The Writer; Delia MacDougall, The Mercenary / Dead Mother / Sally / Ensemble; JoAnne Winter, The Waitress / Driver / Writer’s Mother / Ensemble; Patrick. ALparone; The Musician / The Walking Man / Dicky / Ensemble; Carl Lumbly, The Head / The Hawk / Ensemble.
PRODUCTION: Assistant Director Wendy Radford, Stage Manager Justin D. Schlegel, Assistant Stage Manager Allie Khori, Scenic Design Giulio Perrone, Lighting Design Jim Cave, Costume Design Christine Crook, Sound Design Drew Yerys, Properties Design Jacquelyn Scott, Movement Design Tracy Hazas, Mask Design John Daniel, Music Composition Patrick ALparone, Additional Music Paul Fiocchiaro, Peter O’Donoghue, and Spencer Evans and Technical Director Dave Gardner. Photography Mark Leialoha.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com
