Imagofest

Imagofest Stella Adler–Los Angeles at Studio C Theatre Reviewed by Jennie Webb November 02, 2009 Any festival is always a mixed bag and inevitably a showcase of sorts. In the case of the ImagoFest, students and professionals attached to a noted acting school have decided to showcase their talents by premiering three new plays. What a refreshing choice—even given the muffled lines and rough edges—and one that's validated when the acting and writing work together, to showcase each other. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. The evening opens with EM Lewis' painfully intimate "Sing Me That Leonard Cohen Song Again." Under May Quigley Goodman's direction, Brad Cayer and T.M. Rawlins give bravura performances as a brother and sister whose tenuous connection is stretched even thinner during one early morning meeting. But this short, gritty chamber piece is full of silences and questions and music we can't quite hear or make out; too often the playing style here overshadows the material. In directing his own "Purplish," playwright Timothy McNeil makes sure his incredibly dark comedy is brought to life—or rather, near-death, given the subject matter—by the striking Angela Oakenfold and Meghan Leone as an angry, acerbic, cancer-stricken playwright and her sullen, girl-toy lover. The play gets off to a tricky start, but even at his most indulgent, McNeil uses facile dialogue to expose raw emotions. He goes to some absolutely hilarious places as this fascinating work explores a narcissist's relationship with death, and the ways in which lovers will always find new ways to hurt each other. McNeil heads the cast in young playwright Alex Aves' "The Goldilocks Effect," the confused story of an estranged daughter (Aves) attempting to make contact with her addled astronomer father, Darwin, (McNeil) who has no long-term—or even short-term—memory. Now and again there are glimmers of light here, but it's difficult to track or believe the emotional reality in this overextended tale of a man lost in the stars and his combative space cadet daughter. Laura Leyva directs, and while McNeil is adorable onstage, Aves has mystifyingly cast herself in an entirely unappealing role. Ben Robson plays Darwin's unintelligible caretaker. Presented by Stella Adler–Los Angeles at Studio C Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Oct. 23–Nov. 22. Fri.–Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun. 7 p.m. (323) 465-4446. www.plays411.com/imagofest.
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