Something wicked in the little red barn
Published on June 14, 2012 in News
by Pim Senanarong '13 (Editor in Chief)
On the last night of One Acts, the NEO was packed with bargaining students, hassled parents, and disgruntled faculty members all trying to salvage a seat in the audience. Waves of students in sports shorts with sweat-slicked hair left the little red barn, disappointment plastered on their faces as their place in the waiting list was allocated to parents of performers. Amidst the bustling crowd, the normally cozy, semi-deserted little red barn throbbed with lights and sounds. Luckily, I secured a seat literally at the last minute as the lights begin to dim and murmurs of “hush” and “shut up” filled the audience. After watching my co-Chief Editor get escorted out because he didn’t show up with a camera, I felt eternally grateful for my last-minute seating. The shows that proceeded would only add to my sense of gratitude as I am reminded once again of the amazingly creative, unique, complicated and slightly twisted minds of the Loomis Chaffee students community.
The Noble Bird
An attempt at a futuristic blend between Kent-Loomis rivalry and the Star Wars series, The Noble Bird perches precariously between eccentricity and humor. While Alyssa Reamy’s ’13 rendition of a seductive female Darth Vader character entranced the audience to a degree, and Rekha Kennedy’s ’13 epic faint engendered a hearty laugh, the play’s dialogue itself was riddled with corny one-liners and awkward jokes. Overall, the play errs a little more on the eccentric side. Detailing an intense rivalry between followers of the Noble bird and the Kount School, the story’s simple plot is based solely on the story of Kent and Loomis’s long standing power struggle, portraying Kount (Kent) in a drastically “evil” light. The play’s budding humor seems compromised by its motives to stick to the history of our battle with Kent. While it has potential to be funny, its purpose seems more to be self-promotional for Loomis rather than to entertain the audience.
Frosty the Psycho
Jamol Lettman’s ‘12 performance as the sadistic psychotic snowman will probably be talked about at Loomis for years to come. Sitting in the audience, my ears were suddenly assaulted by a chorus of roaring laughter as he burst out singing, “they see me rollin’, they hatin’.” Starting out slightly confusing and somewhat dubious, the play quickly took a turn for the better as the flashback begins and the plot starts to clarify itself as the play unfurls. The play’s link to the famous Christmas song gave the ending a memorable twist. Meanwhile, the commendable performance of the little caroling kids and Mark Crawford’s ’13 as the mean old grandpa added humor to the rather frightening tale of a demented snowman.
Last Supper
Daunting and rife with sickly humorous characters, a dash of dark humor, and a profound but slightly unclear ending constitute Last Supper an interesting play about a witty murderer’s impending death penalty. Jamil Hashmi’s ’12 weirdly realistic performance of the killer resembles the notorious Hannibal from the movie Silence of the Lambs. Striking a fine balance between quick-witted humor and general intellect, the sadistic killer ends up skillfully transformed into an endearing protagonist that the audience could easily empathize with. Overall, the new outlook on the precedent of a death penalty was captivating to watch.
Doll House
It’s amazing to see how the tech crew is able to transform the stage into a setting fit for the play, Doll House, in such little time. Present in the play is a darkly twisted plot and humor, which I now find typical of Kenny Garniswana’s ‘12 work after seeing her play, Last Supper. Upon stumbling into a fancy house “on top of the hill,” Jake Bosee ’12 encounters Barbie portrayed by the talented and extremely doll-like Isabel Guigui ’15 and her friend portrayed by the NEO’s renowned veteran, Sarah Horowitz ’13. Filled with murderous rage and superficial plastic smiles, the actresses brought the eerie play to life with their robotic movements and sugary high-pitched voices.
Clinical Trials
Weaving seriousness and hilarity together into one intense play about the interrogation of a highly disturbed mental patient, Clinical Trials keeps the audience on its tippy-toes. Laughing at Allison Pagani’s ’13 phenomenal performance is rendered a difficult task because in order to follow the rapid, connotation-loaded dialogue one needs all one’s wits with them. The intricate, circling script gradually reveals bits and pieces of the convoluted mind of the interrogated. Through usage of run-on trains of thoughts, explosive outbursts and childish sniggers, the play manages to further the plot in an interesting and fairly believable way.
You Know They Do(n’t) Respect You
Although the play was very impressive on the psychological-analytical level, the play itself was a bit too serious and a tad bit dry. Following the story of a father and son on their way to school and the numerous phone calls the dad has with various women from work, the play introduces many intriguing characters with distinct personalities. However, the actual conversations themselves seems more fitted for a screen than on he NEO stage due to the ambiguity and subtleties that rely on a unsubstantial background context. While, the characters themselves were very well thought out and seemingly realistic, the play itself lack a certain aspect of action that is needed to propel a play on stage. On the other hand, You Know They Do(n’t) Respect You is an acute portrayal of the many personalities we are able to find in our daily lives. From the self-contradictory authoritative Smartphone-obsessed father played by Jake Verter ’12, to the sultry margarita-tossing modern woman played by Lauren Chase ’13, the character cast of the play humorously and bitingly mocks aspects of our society-dictated antics.
The Noble Bird
An attempt at a futuristic blend between Kent-Loomis rivalry and the Star Wars series, The Noble Bird perches precariously between eccentricity and humor. While Alyssa Reamy’s ’13 rendition of a seductive female Darth Vader character entranced the audience to a degree, and Rekha Kennedy’s ’13 epic faint engendered a hearty laugh, the play’s dialogue itself was riddled with corny one-liners and awkward jokes. Overall, the play errs a little more on the eccentric side. Detailing an intense rivalry between followers of the Noble bird and the Kount School, the story’s simple plot is based solely on the story of Kent and Loomis’s long standing power struggle, portraying Kount (Kent) in a drastically “evil” light. The play’s budding humor seems compromised by its motives to stick to the history of our battle with Kent. While it has potential to be funny, its purpose seems more to be self-promotional for Loomis rather than to entertain the audience.
Frosty the Psycho
Jamol Lettman’s ‘12 performance as the sadistic psychotic snowman will probably be talked about at Loomis for years to come. Sitting in the audience, my ears were suddenly assaulted by a chorus of roaring laughter as he burst out singing, “they see me rollin’, they hatin’.” Starting out slightly confusing and somewhat dubious, the play quickly took a turn for the better as the flashback begins and the plot starts to clarify itself as the play unfurls. The play’s link to the famous Christmas song gave the ending a memorable twist. Meanwhile, the commendable performance of the little caroling kids and Mark Crawford’s ’13 as the mean old grandpa added humor to the rather frightening tale of a demented snowman.
Last Supper
Daunting and rife with sickly humorous characters, a dash of dark humor, and a profound but slightly unclear ending constitute Last Supper an interesting play about a witty murderer’s impending death penalty. Jamil Hashmi’s ’12 weirdly realistic performance of the killer resembles the notorious Hannibal from the movie Silence of the Lambs. Striking a fine balance between quick-witted humor and general intellect, the sadistic killer ends up skillfully transformed into an endearing protagonist that the audience could easily empathize with. Overall, the new outlook on the precedent of a death penalty was captivating to watch.
Doll House
It’s amazing to see how the tech crew is able to transform the stage into a setting fit for the play, Doll House, in such little time. Present in the play is a darkly twisted plot and humor, which I now find typical of Kenny Garniswana’s ‘12 work after seeing her play, Last Supper. Upon stumbling into a fancy house “on top of the hill,” Jake Bosee ’12 encounters Barbie portrayed by the talented and extremely doll-like Isabel Guigui ’15 and her friend portrayed by the NEO’s renowned veteran, Sarah Horowitz ’13. Filled with murderous rage and superficial plastic smiles, the actresses brought the eerie play to life with their robotic movements and sugary high-pitched voices.
Clinical Trials
Weaving seriousness and hilarity together into one intense play about the interrogation of a highly disturbed mental patient, Clinical Trials keeps the audience on its tippy-toes. Laughing at Allison Pagani’s ’13 phenomenal performance is rendered a difficult task because in order to follow the rapid, connotation-loaded dialogue one needs all one’s wits with them. The intricate, circling script gradually reveals bits and pieces of the convoluted mind of the interrogated. Through usage of run-on trains of thoughts, explosive outbursts and childish sniggers, the play manages to further the plot in an interesting and fairly believable way.
You Know They Do(n’t) Respect You
Although the play was very impressive on the psychological-analytical level, the play itself was a bit too serious and a tad bit dry. Following the story of a father and son on their way to school and the numerous phone calls the dad has with various women from work, the play introduces many intriguing characters with distinct personalities. However, the actual conversations themselves seems more fitted for a screen than on he NEO stage due to the ambiguity and subtleties that rely on a unsubstantial background context. While, the characters themselves were very well thought out and seemingly realistic, the play itself lack a certain aspect of action that is needed to propel a play on stage. On the other hand, You Know They Do(n’t) Respect You is an acute portrayal of the many personalities we are able to find in our daily lives. From the self-contradictory authoritative Smartphone-obsessed father played by Jake Verter ’12, to the sultry margarita-tossing modern woman played by Lauren Chase ’13, the character cast of the play humorously and bitingly mocks aspects of our society-dictated antics.
