Single Carrot Debuts with Winning Short Play Fest

Single Carrot Theatre Company chose Baltimore as its home base after a nationwide search, hoping to add to our already thriving theatre community.  Their goal of bringing local artists and socially significant productions to the stage has gotten off to a nice start, if their Baltimore debut of A Short Play Festival (which opened last night at the Mobtown Theatre space at Meadow Mill in Hampden) is any indication.  Any effort in that direction, particularly by such an enthusiastic, young group of artists should be encouraged, and fellow Charm City theatergoers, we need to support these folks!

They weren't kidding about the "short" part of the title, either!  All three short plays are done in just over an hour.  But that hour is packed with quality, and, yes, social significance.  The evening is comprised of three seemingly very disparate pieces by local playwrights.  But all three do have a common thread - man's need to trick, cajole and manipulate the system to suit his needs, whether those needs are purely selfish or under the guise of "the greater good."

The opening play, Martha's Choice, by award-winning playwright Rich Espey, concerns the breakout of three monkeys from their cages at a research facility.  The monkeys have had it with the status quo and are out to get revenge on homo sapiens.  The play is really a wry commentary on man's own self-infatuation and self-destruction - the monkeys hurl about such phrases as "survival of the fittest", "kinder, gentler" and (most tellingly) "weapons of mass destruction."  As the ringleader Martha, Alex Hewett is definitely an alpha female primate, who understands the enormity of the testing they've endured, the responsibility of doing something about it, and the need to repopulate the planet with a much less aggressive species.  Hewett is strong in all the right ways and has a razor sharp delivery.  The intellectual, sensitive monkey, Charles (Darwin?) is played with self-effacing dignity by playwright Espey.  He provides both a geekish stereotype and a sensitive man, making a good case for his genes to continue.  Hilariously, he spends the play trying to read what appears to be a puzzle book.  The ironically named Snowball, the alpha male wannabe monkey, is interestingly played with machismo and a disgustingly sincere bigoted sneer by J. Buck Jabaily.  The slurs that come out of his mouth and overt sexual harassment of Martha should cause every man in the room to cringe because we have all either been there, done that or, more sadly behaved similarly.  This is a smart, funny and thought-provoking play, briskly directed by  the always reliable Jayme Kilburn.

Ira Gamerman, another local award-winning playwright, provides the second play, An Interview with Martin Van Buren, one of his first works.  And while it certainly isn't as in depth or meaningful as his recent play, Split, this short does offer a glimpse at his innate understanding of the trivial and the laughable way we, as a society, pump ourselves up with self-importance.  This two-hander has the titular President return to Earth for an interview.  It quickly becomes apparent that his interviewer, Kiki, is hardly the braintrust she thinks she is.  She hasn't even researched for the interview, complaining that she hasn't received a press kit.  (She sounds an awful lot like some of my colleagues who struggle to understand a work without being told what it means in OUR press kits!)  Kiki is played to hilarious effect by Haily Wineland, with an interesting mix of bravado and obliviousness.  As Martin Van Buren, Grail Schroeder works wonders with his mostly one word answers, and delightful facial expressions, as he quickly turns the tables on Kiki.  Seems one doesn't need to understand cable television to outwit the press. Directed by Mary O'Connor with a brisk pace and a deft understanding of Gamerman's point, the play fits the evening perfectly.

The final play, True Blue, by Mary Steelsmith, and sharply directed by Giti Lynn, concerns two soldiers who stand guard over a white tape line in a "place of peace" while all around them a war rages on.  It seems that the "greens" have been pretty much obliterated by the "blues."  As the soldiers talk we find out that Fred (a green), a slow, but sincere and optimistic fellow has endured the loss of his entire family, fellow soldiers, and the very land he lived on - all of this, of course, done by the apparently militarily superior "blues".  Jeffrey (a blue) tries, in vain, to smooth things over with pretty language, a sure smile, and a quick finger on the trigger (sound familiar?)  In the course of their tenure together, the two have become friends, which doesn't come across at all as cliche as it sounds writing it now.  It is through that friendship that Steelsmith makes one of her points - stick two enemies in a room together for long enough with guns pointed at each other, and some common ground is sure to be met.  But true human nature prevails in an interesting plot twist that makes complete, and profoundly sad, sense.  The implications of the piece in terms of the US in Iraq are points well-made without being overtly political or heavy-handed.  The success of this potentially ugly piece rests in the hands of the director, Ms. Lynn, and her cast, Maboud Ebrahimzadeh, as the blue Jeffrey, and J. Buck Jabaily, as the green Fred.  Ms. Lynn starts out the play with a chilling marching exercise that comes through the audience under the glare of a very bright light aimed directly at the audience.  Her blocking, and careful parceling out of details, along with keeping her cast in tight focus, creates a funny, touching, and ultimately extremely tense half hour of theatre.  Mr. Ebrahimzadeh plays his role with a complexity that is remarkable given the short time the play happens in.  He is arrogant and cocky to be sure, but he infuses just enough sincerity in his portrayal to make the friendship plausible.  It is his character's self-assuredness that makes the final twist all the more shocking, and upon reflection, scary.  Mr. Jabaily shows, in the space of an hour the range of his considerable abilities.  In no way the alpha male here, his interpretation of the limited Fred is very nearly heartbreaking, as he recalls a particularly painful war story, and is ache of loss is felt throughout the room.  As the play winds toward its conclusion, the transformation of Fred from follower to leader is absolutely chilling.  In Mr. Jabaily, Baltimore has found its first actor to watch for in 2007.

And so, Baltimore, there is a new kid in town.  Let's welcome Single Carrot with some well-deserved attendance!