Yes, as the cliche title would suggest I saw a play. Well actually, two one acts at the Lewis & Clark One Act Festival (does two a festival make?). My coworker Brian was directing one of the one plays, “The Author’s Voice,” and got me a ticket.
I’ve never been a huge fan of the theater, too few explosions for me. And the thought of student productions made me wish the cast of MST3K was accompanying me. However, I was surprised.
The first play “The Farmer and the Flagon: a Romance” by Warren Kluber (a recent Lewis & Clark grad) was a little heavy handed. It was a comedy set in medieval France in which two peasants discuss the joys and pitfalls of reading. The play saves itself from being overly didactic with a cruel ending and lots of humor. It was well acted and the young thespians had great comedic timing. I should know, I have horrible comedic timing.
The second play was pretty wild. “The Author’s Voice” by Richard Greenberg is about a writer on the brink of fame, his works are written by a deformed man that lives in his closet. There’s an overly sexed editor thrown in the mix, too. This play, also, has a cruel but deserved twist at the end. I dug the way it was staged, it was episodic and had a noir feel to it. Again, well acted.
The audience was another matter, the young man next to me kept asking the girl next to him if he could drink her alcohol. I thought that was a euphemism, but no he just wanted to get drunk. To be 18 again. But it’s good to see young people enjoying the theater.