Barrington Stage, Pittsfield, MA
through March 4, 2018
by Shera Cohen
The numbers add up well for the 7th annual “10X10 New Play
Festival” as 6 actors portray over 20 roles in 10 plays (each 10 minutes in
length) penned by 10 playwrights under the astute direction of 2 creative
professionals. Although I don’t know the number of seats at Barrington’s St.
Germain Stage, the plays hosted a full house for its opening performance.
While the plays are short, each is a complete full story
with a beginning and end. Other common denominators include: small casts, very
little staging, few props, and costumes pretty much off the rack (except for
one). Judiciously connecting these “playettes” (it’s fun to coin a word) are
music and sound effects. Segues are filled with ideally selected and arranged
well-known songs or improv jazz. In other words, it’s a fast afternoon at the
theatre.
Given one week to rehearse these 10 plays, the result is
perfectly charming. Most stories are comic, featuring only two characters. Each
actor depicts roles in four or five plays. These skilled actors seem to turn on
an internal switch as they change from a precocious middle-schooler to the
Virgin Mary, in one example. Kudos to the playwrights who add elements of
poignancy into the comedies and humor into the tragedies. In the mix is one
laugh-out-loud slapstick, with no dialogue, titled “The Fly.”
Isn’t it wonderful for Barrington Stage to highlight the
works of so many writers? Some playettes work better than others, but remember
than none are destined for Tony Awards, and are only 10 minutes long. My favorites
include: “Seven Minutes in Heaven,” depicting the awkwardness of a young teen
couple wannabe; “Perspective,” taking the subjects off a Michelangelo-type
canvas, giving them New York accents and contemporary swagger, and dissing Mona
Lisa’s obviously fake smile; and “The Secret to a Healthy Relationship,”
demonstrating how a romance can go awry in a matter of minutes.
This exciting and hugely successful Barrington Stage program
is a significant component of Pittsfield’s 10X10 Upstreet Arts Festival which
also features art exhibits, films, museum activities, poetry, and dance.
Pittsfield, like many middle-sized somewhat snow-covered New England cities is
“open” to visitors seeking arts and culture in the off-season.
