Are you ready to see something brand new? Are you game for something “artsy”? Are you looking to get out of the heat? Variations on Courage by Rapid Lemon Productions plays now inside MICA’s Gateway Building, in a well-equipped black box theater called BBox, and the air conditioning works GREAT.
This is the 20th year of the Variations on… project, billed as Baltimore’s Ten-Minute Play Festival. Twenty years of anything is noteworthy, but particularly so in theater. This longevity is largely due to the persistence of Max Garner, who has been the festival’s most steadfast advocate since its inception. Here’s the concept: Playwrights create and workshop short pieces around a unifying theme. A team of ensemble actors assembles to perform these short plays, under guidance of a single director, presented to the public for entertainment and edification. Which brings us to this year’s Variations.
The theme is Courage, and participating playwrights will see their works, which they submitted back in March, in front of a live audience for the first time. Several playwrights are extremely effective at communicating what they wish with efficiency and wit. Some pieces could use a bit of additional editing. As a whole, though, the show does what it sets out to do, which is explore a theme from multiple viewpoints via fresh new works.
Director Jalice Ortiz-Corral arranges the delightfully versatile ensemble cast in roles for which they are suited, and, occasionally, roles that seem rather a stretch.The pace is brisk, and adjustments of the sparse set happen quickly. When the show’s impetus slows, it is not due to lagging transitions.
Six of the 13 pieces deal with contemporary social issues, three feel performance art-y, four are complete stories. Five are comic, four are tragic and three are both. All of them have something important to add to societal conversation. You’ll meet old people, angry people, energetic people, military people, fringe people and a number of creatures.
In Act I, “I Wanna Ride a Pony,” playwright Jessica Rota handles a heartbreaking subject with hilarity. Taariq Saadiq creates truly believable characters in “The Killer Instinct.” “So Brave,” by Colin Riley, who is also one of the ensemble players, plays with a premise to uproarious effect. Malik Barry’s “More Than Food” is touching, though it strikes a sour note with a few people in the audience. “From the French, Meaning Heart,” by DonnaAnn Ward, is cute, funny, and very active. “W.O.O.F.,” by Tess Huth, does several things at once, all of them beautifully. “Shades of Honor,” by Petula Caesar is brilliantly uncomfortable.
Act II delivers a surprising twist in “Heavens Above” by Hillary Glass, then an unlikely relationship in “Deer Season,” written by Leslie Fields. “Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?” by Archie D. Williams Jr. features a street-corner standoff. In Damian Hawkins’ “Fires and Forms,” we are fly-on-the-wall for a very intimate and all-too-common conversation that no one ever feels they handle well. “Her Watery Tomb,” by Ayibatari Owei, is lyrical, mystical, and mysterious. “Eyeballs,” by Tia Thomas is weirdly funny.
The 2024 Variations Ensemble includes K.S. Garner, whose distinctive look is no obstacle for playing wildly different characters. Niki Jay has admirably clear physical communication.
Jae Jones believably portrays a man hobbled by experience in “The Killer Instinct” to one youthfully exuberant in “From the French, Meaning Heart” to middle-aged and awkwardly concerned in “Deer Season.” Valerie Lewis hits exactly the right note in each of her roles, and is especially fun in “Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?”
Broadus Nesbitt III demonstrates quicksilver salesmanship in “Heavens Above,” which belies his fury in “The Killer Instinct.” Colin Riley surprises me in every new performance, playing somehow against type in each one. Aparna Sri has a very expressive face, and her portrayal of a heartbeat in “From the French, Meaning Heart” rather stole mine. Sarah Lynn Taylor, whose subtle adaptiveness makes her a granddaughter in one piece and a middle-aged wife in another, is an excellent brunching lady in “So Brave.”
Kitt Crescenzo’s understated costumes fit both character and performer. They add a great deal to the audience’s understanding of what, exactly, is going on, without drawing attention to themselves. This is a very fine line, and Crescenzo glides along it gracefully. It takes a lot of work to look effortless.
Lighting Designer Martin Smith’s work is evocative, filling in sparse sets, creating environment and motion, particularly in “Deer Season,” and realistically renders a specific setting in “More Than Food.” Sound design, by Max Garner, is often subtle, occasionally crucial, and always an enhancement rather than a distraction. For “So Brave” and “More Than Food,” the soundscape gives context. In “Her Watery Tomb,” the sound suggests additional characters, and is responsible for creating the set for “Deer Season” and “Eyeballs.”
I love that the Variations project exists. Is there potential for a clumsy piece that doesn’t resonate? Sure, but given the diligence of cast and crew, along with high standards for conception and craft, it’s unlikely. Is it a terrific opportunity for playwrights to get their figurative writing feet wet? You betcha. Does it give theatergoers a chance to see brand-new stuff, some of which might be by the next up-and-coming local playwright? Absolutely. Will you enjoy the spectacle created by a confident director, emotive actors, a well-equipped, new-ish theater, and its climate control system? Again, resoundingly, yes.
This is not just LIVE theater, it’s FRESH theater. In a world of rehashes, sequels, and spin-offs, it’s refreshing and reassuring to see something truly new in the world of entertainment. Applause, applause for these brave souls reaching for and connecting to audiences, and bringing us Variations on Courage.
Running Time: Two hours and 10 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.
Variations on Courage plays through July 21, 2024 (8:00 pm on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays; 2:00 pm on Sundays) presented by Rapid Lemon Productions performing at The BBOX in the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Gateway building, 1601 W. Mount Royal Avenue, Baltimore, MD. Tickets ($20, general admission) are available here or through Rapid Lemon’s website. Discounted Industry Night tickets are just $10 for the performance on Thursday, July 11.
There is free parking outside the Gateway building. Bring some cash to vote for next year’s theme by dropping donations in one of the jars labeled “One Million,” “Pride,” and “Night.”
Final Factoid: 20 years of Variations includes the infamous year 2020, when performances were accessed via Zoom.
Variations on Courage
ACT 1
“I Wanna Ride a Pony” by Jessica Rota
“The Killer Instinct” by Taariq Saadiq
“So Brave ” by Colin Riley
“More than Food ” by Malik Berry
“From the French, Meaning Heart” by DonnaAnn Ward
“W.O.O.F.” by Tess Huth
“Shades of Honor” by Petula Caesar
ACT 2
“Heavens Above” by Hillary Glass
“Deer Season” by Leslie Fields
“Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?” by Archie D. Williams
“Fires and Forms” by Damian Hawkins
“Her Watery Tomb” by Ayibatari Owei
“Eyeballs” by Tia Thomas
CAST
K.S. Garner
Niki Jay
Jae Jones
Valerie Lewis
Broadus Nesbitt III
Colin Riley
Aparna Sri
Sarah Lynn Taylor
Directed by Jalice Ortiz-Corral. Stage Management by Janis Beltran, with combat and intimacy direction by Mel Gabel; production designs by Martin Smith, Kitt Crescenzo, and Max Garner.
