DeBaun Center hosts winter one-act festival
Andrew Scagnelli
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Campus Life
This past weekend, January 29 and 30, the DeBaun Center for the Performing Arts put on its winter one-act play festival. This festival took a light tone, often veering into the humorous and absurd through its four presentations.
The first performance of the night was "Sure Thing," starring Declan Candela and Katie Ricculli, a brief musing on the randomness of the start of a new relationship. Ricculli read at a table as Candela tried to talk to her, with his attempts at striking up conversation graded by an omnipresent stoplight. As each attempt failed, with laughable result, the stoplight turned red and a bell rang, signaling another attempt to replay the last few seconds.
The second show of the night was by Professor Anthony Pennino, "Howard Hopped the A-Train," and starred Tom Oliphant as Howard and Edward Delaney as Jesus Christ. Howard, a recently laid-off foreman, is unsure of his future when Jesus Christ suddenly appears. The two joke around, and ultimately Howard is left feeling better about himself.
"Variations on the Death of Trotsky" was the highlight of the night, as William Estes played up his many deaths as the impaled Trotsky, who is notified of his impending mortality via a "rock climbing axe smashed into his skull" by Mrs. Trotsky, Hilary Schrauth. Dylan Lupo, who played Ramon, Trotsky's gardener and murderer, helped with many of the deaths, whether it be via romancing Mrs. Trotsky or a rousing song-and-dance number.
The night ended with "The Actor's Nightmare," in which Frank Riccobono played the confused George Spelvin, an accountant who is thrust into the middle of several plays. Around him, hurried stage manager Meg, actresses Sarah and Ellen, and actor Henry, played by Caroline Amaba, Molly Molino, Stephanie Moret, and Tom Oliphant, added to the insanity. George eventually realizes that he gave up on his dream of entering the seminary and, in doing so, reconnects with God.
Although lighthearted, all four plays made some deeper realization of the human condition, whether it be via a connection with God or a connection with another. Even better, the comedy was spot on, with each actor's timing set to pitch-perfect. In particular, Estes' convulsing deaths as Trotsky were riotous.
The first performance of the night was "Sure Thing," starring Declan Candela and Katie Ricculli, a brief musing on the randomness of the start of a new relationship. Ricculli read at a table as Candela tried to talk to her, with his attempts at striking up conversation graded by an omnipresent stoplight. As each attempt failed, with laughable result, the stoplight turned red and a bell rang, signaling another attempt to replay the last few seconds.
The second show of the night was by Professor Anthony Pennino, "Howard Hopped the A-Train," and starred Tom Oliphant as Howard and Edward Delaney as Jesus Christ. Howard, a recently laid-off foreman, is unsure of his future when Jesus Christ suddenly appears. The two joke around, and ultimately Howard is left feeling better about himself.
"Variations on the Death of Trotsky" was the highlight of the night, as William Estes played up his many deaths as the impaled Trotsky, who is notified of his impending mortality via a "rock climbing axe smashed into his skull" by Mrs. Trotsky, Hilary Schrauth. Dylan Lupo, who played Ramon, Trotsky's gardener and murderer, helped with many of the deaths, whether it be via romancing Mrs. Trotsky or a rousing song-and-dance number.
The night ended with "The Actor's Nightmare," in which Frank Riccobono played the confused George Spelvin, an accountant who is thrust into the middle of several plays. Around him, hurried stage manager Meg, actresses Sarah and Ellen, and actor Henry, played by Caroline Amaba, Molly Molino, Stephanie Moret, and Tom Oliphant, added to the insanity. George eventually realizes that he gave up on his dream of entering the seminary and, in doing so, reconnects with God.
Although lighthearted, all four plays made some deeper realization of the human condition, whether it be via a connection with God or a connection with another. Even better, the comedy was spot on, with each actor's timing set to pitch-perfect. In particular, Estes' convulsing deaths as Trotsky were riotous.
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