What happens when memories of your past begin to sabotage your present? Doorway Arts Theatre Company tackles this question head on in Out of Sync, a new play by Katie Woods.
In the first scene Nathan and Petra are on a first date. It’s awkward and Nathan is nervous, but Petra thinks he’s cute and is not too shy to tell him. Quirky and blunt, Petra quickly wins over Nathan. Over time their relationship begins to grow, but just as Nathan begins to relax into the relationship his ex-girlfriend Amy shows up. This is where the show becomes more abstract: Amy is a figment of Nathan’s memory. Abstract movement and a change of lights is used to separate the world of memory from reality. Nathan’s forays into his past begin to happen more often and Petra begins to ask questions. As Petra persists in her inquiries the play shifts between reality and memories, exposing more information from Nathan’s past.
Shravan Amin is likable as awkward and conflicted Nathan and Megan Malone Behm’s bold Petra works well as a counter balance to Nathan’s shyness. They have a sweet chemistry and play well off of each other. Alison Talvacchio plays Amy, who we learn struggles with depression. Talvacchio plays depressed well. That being said, I would have liked to see her play more with different levels of depression and give the audience a hint of the Amy that Nathan fell in love with.
Talvacchio also choreographs, using movement and dance to create a distinction between the memory world and reality. This is a nice touch as it adds dimension to the memory sequences. There is room for these sequences to become even more realized.
Mary Cat Gill takes her first spin as a director with Out of Sync, and does well handling the different realities within the play. The Lighting Design by Gordon Nimmo-Smith takes on a lot of the responsibility of guiding the audience through these switches, adjusting the intensity of the light to go with each world. The stage is bare except for a table and chairs down stage left and a couple of benches stage right. As a collaboration with local visual artists Maggie Michael, Mike Anderson, and Amy Bergman, three metal sculptures adorn the set, a nice addition that accentuates the abstract structure of the show.
The first scenes of Out of Sync are fun and full of heart. The pacing at the beginning of the show works well, dipping in and out of Nathan and Petra’s quickly developing relationship to visit the slower paced world of memories. As the play goes on Nathan and Petra’s plot line looses steam and the narrative shifts to focusing on Amy’s depression and Nathan’s difficulty in dealing with it. At this point the plot begins to feel stagnant. The script becomes overwritten and the actors struggle not to be bogged down by the text. But this is the first staged production of Out of Sync. Based on the solid structure and snappy dialogue in the first half, Woods has the capability to make revisions that will allow the show to finish off strong.
Out of Sync takes a creative approach to examining both the people suffering from depression and the people that are trying desperately to help them. Ultimately it asks at what point it is okay to let go and move on.
Running Time: 70 minutes.
Out of Syncplays through July 25, 2015 at Galludet University’s Eastman Studio Theatre –Florida Avenue NE & 8th St NE, in Washington DC. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to theirCapital Fringe page.
Love and Depression powerfully collide in ‘Out of Sync’
“Sometimes love isn’t enough…and somehow you still have to keep going.”
In a production seamlessly fusing text and movement, Doorway Arts Ensemble premieres Out of Sync by Katie Woods, a new play exploring the fragile intersection between love and mental illness. The play follows a young couple, Nathan and Petra, just beginning their relationship. But when the memories of his ex-girlfriend Amy start to bleed into the present, Nathan struggles to move forward. Amy’s crippling depression – and the devastation it eventually caused in their relationship – begins to splinter the fragile new bonds forming between he and Petra.
Directed by Doorway’s Associate Artistic Director Mary Cat Gill, the production aims to motivate a larger conversation about mental illness, as well as to promote Doorway Art’s mission of supporting work by local playwrights like Woods.
“Last summer I had been tackling some of the questions around society and mental illness,” said Gill. “Why do we embrace it as a media sensation, share in the tragedy of celebrity suicide or violent incident, then sweep it under rug when the mourning period has passed? Why do we keep skirting an issue that affects not just celebrities, but 1 in 5 Americans? It was around this time that I discovered Katie Woods’ play, Out of Sync, and was offered the challenge of a script that tackles the issues of depression and anxiety in a new way. Out of Sync highlights the quiet struggles of one average person and how they create a ripple effect that shapes us all.”
Woods started working on the play after her own experiences with depression, but after sharing her work, she found that “people kept coming up to me and telling me how much the script had resonated with their experiences. Friends I had known for years were suddenly opening up to me about their own struggles with depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders… I’ve gotten pretty passionate about the importance of telling thoughtful and diverse stories about mental illness. I hope that Out of Sync and stories like it can create a safe space for these people to open up about their experiences and begin to create communities where their struggles aren’t as stigmatized.”
Alison Talvacchio, Shravan H. Amin, and Megan Behm in ‘Out of Sync.’ Photograph by Cortney Jackson
Out of Sync will premiere as part of Doorway’s 8th season and the 10th Annual Capital Fringe Festival from July 11 – 25, 2015 at Eastman Studio Theatre at Gallaudet University. All performances will be captioned or interpreted into American Sign Language. Gill will lead a cast which includes notable local actors Alison Talvacchio, (Company Member, ReVision Dance; Gallantry, Gilgamesh, Capital Fringe Festival), Shravan H. Amin (Very Still & Hard to See, Rorschach Theatre; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Castaways Repertory Theatre), and Megan Behm(in the forest she grew fangs, Washington Rouges; Living Out, GALA Hispanic Theatre). Local artists Maggie Michael, Mike Anderson, and Amy and Michael Bergman will also contribute sculptures to the set design, and prominent photographer Cortney Jackson will act as graphic designer.
PERFORMANCES AT:
Eastman Studio Theatre at Gallaudet University 800 Florida Ave NE , in Washington, DC, 20002
There’s been a fine kettle of fish brewing in Del Ray. Raw fish, that is. Jilted by the adults-only restrictions at a new sushi bar, horrified moms lit up Twitter and the Del Ray Patch’s Facebook page with blistering comments, accusing the restaurant of discriminating against their little paragons of politeness. Others claimed they were just fishing for publicity. One writer challenged the unique name of someone’s child on the comment board. While another retorted, “One day some family is going to pull a Rosa Parks on this place!” Good heavens! What was going on in hipster Del Ray, the sweet little burb where Gen-Y parents queue up with their little angels at The Dairy Godmother for soft-serve on steamy summer nights?
Here’s the skinny, if you haven’t already heard. Six weeks ago restaurateur Mike Anderson of Mango Mike’s and Pork Barrel BBQ, opened a sushi and sake bar for adults. That’s all. If you saw the miniscule size of the place you’d realize that even one stroller could get in the way of service. There are sixteen seats at the sake bar, six stools at the sushi counter and a few banquettes along the back wall, accommodating a grand total of 45 guests who will enjoy its pleasures on weekends between 5 pm and 1:30 am and during the week from 5 till midnight. Get the picture?
From left: tuna tartare, yellowtail & jalapeño, salmon carpaccio and sea scallops with mango salsa and tobiko — Three Kings – toro, salmon roe and uni — Tuna, yellow tail and salmon with a quail egg shooter in iced shot glass..
The Sushi Bar’s jewel box size is its charm. It’s an intimate and relaxing spot with exceptional sushi and a well-chosen sake menu. Momokawa, from Denver, Colorado, is one such sake in the nigori style. It’s the first sake ever to be produced in the US. I enjoyed its Moonstone Asian Pear, a delicate fruit-infused sake with the unmistakable floral sweetness of the fruit that dovetailed nicely with the raw fish and smoky seaweed flavors. My partner opted for the Momokawa Pearl, an unfiltered sake that was both sharp and sweet. Other sakes are in the ginjo & daijinjo, junmai, and nama styles.
Moonstone Asian Pear Sake.
We sat at the sushi counter with sushi master, Peter Kannasute, an abundantly cheerful fellow who delights in describing his craft. Omakase,meaning “chef’s choice”, is an option that allows the chef to dazzle the diner with a seven-course dinner that showcases his creativity. For Kannasute, that’s the highest compliment.
Fourteen years ago Kannasute came to the US from Thailand, where his family owned a restaurant in Bangkok. While attending college on Florida’s East Coast he made the decision that becoming a sushi chef was his true calling. “I asked myself what I really wanted to do,” he remembers. “I knew of one master sushi chef with his own Japanese restaurant. He hired me on and began to teach me the art of sushi. Ten years later I was the head chef.”
Master Sushi Chef Peter Kannasute with some of his creations.
At age twenty-three Kannasute entered an Iron Chef-style competition at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, where he went head-to-head with local leading chefs, including Jeb Bush’s private chef. “I was the only entrant who hadn’t gone to culinary school!” he recalls. “Ginger was the main ingredient. I prepared lobster rolls and won!”
Later on in his career Kannasute opened the Atlanta branch of Sushi Ra, a well-known chain of sushi restaurants, where he established himself as head sushi chef. At The Sushi Bar the young master has achieved his dream of teaching others about sushi. He expresses his philosophy in the restaurant’s logo – the Japanese symbol for ‘dream.’ “I want our all our guests’ dreams to come true too.”
Red bean and green tea mochi with strawberries and yellow raspberries.
Gin Takes Center Stage in Summer Cocktails
Central’s Gin Program.
Summer says G&T to a lot of us, but who knew we could keep it local? In DC a copper pot still, launching Green Hat gin – the city’s first gin since Prohibition. The distillers even craft seasonal gins like their Spring/Summer offering with floral notes of cherry blossoms. We’ll want to serve this during next year’s Cherry Blossom Festival.
At Central Michel Richard they’ve jumped on the gin bandwagon with both feet offering US made gins and those from as far away as France, England, and Scotland and using over twenty varieties in surprising concoctions to highlight its glories.
Cucumber Mint Gimlet at Central Michel Richard.
There’s California’s Distillery No. 209 Napa Valley Gin, a citrusy gin made from an original recipe from the 1860’s and distilled five times. Or try Greenhook Ginsmiths gin out of Brooklyn, NY whose product is made from organic wheat using Tuscan juniper, elderflowers and chamomile in the blend. Berkshire Mountain Distillers, the first distillery in the Berkshires since 1911, is in the town of Great Barrington where my family had a country retreat nearby. This summer Central presents a cocktail made from the company’s “Greylock” gin. It’s called ‘Gin Blush’ and uses Campari, Chinotto, orange, and lemon to enhance its charms.
The bar at Central has a rotating menu of four cocktails that are indelibly creative. Try a ‘Lavender Gin Rickey’ made with FEW American Gin and lavender turmeric syrup, or this one that sounds particularly appealing, ‘Summertinez,’ made with the UK-based Hayman’s Old Tom Gin, VyaSweet Vermouth, Triple Sec, and house-made strawberry rhubarb bitters. General Manager David Hale partners with the staff to come up with new concoctions every week. Cheers to that!
Clyde’s Turns 50
Clyde’s CEO and partner, John Laytham, is reveling in half a century of success. “I don’t know of too many restaurants that have been around for fifty years or too many restaurant companies who haven’t closed a restaurant,” he remarks in his book How We Do Business, Clyde’s Primer For Beating The Odds In The Restaurant Business (Brick Tower Press).
Scheduled for August release, the book chronicles the history of the company’s fourteen restaurants and is broken down into vignette conversations with the company’s founding partners who reflect on the restaurants’ proud history and their modus operandi. The lateStuart C. Davidson quoting the 4th Earl of Chesterfield, espoused the business’s core philosophy by once remarking, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” The company has proven that adage beyond a shadow of a doubt with an enterprise that has continued to grow and prosper.
Pages are filled with photographs of Clyde’s formative years in Georgetown. I checked to see if I was in one of them, but didn’t see myself, though I lived around the corner on Cecil Place and misspent a good bit of my reckless youth downing Bloody Marys and ripping into steak tartare amidst its red-and-white checkered tablecloths. Oh, the memories…
Clyde’s in Georgetown; Stuart Davidson hanging from fire escape; John Laytham in the bib overalls holding straw boater.
There are beautiful images of Old Ebbitt’s Grill and the group’s newest outpost, The Hamiltonin downtown DC, a spectacular 37,000 square foot entertainment venue, restaurant, and bar that had its first incarnation as Garfinkel’s luxury department store. And even Clyde’s famous chili recipe has here been revealed. Unfortunately no photos of The Tombs tare provided, though my initials might still be carved in one of the tables.
Local writer, Food Network Producer and Documentarian, J. Garrett Glover, does a fine job of capturing the owners’ personalities with an ear for humor and a keen perspective on the history of Clyde’s and its many outposts.
