Louisville, Kentucky is only a five hour drive from Athens. I would not have known this exactly if I had not hopped in a car at noon on Thursday with good friend Sarah Nelson (an Oregon native who I happened to meet out in Ohio) and driven Southwest until precisely five o'clock when we arrived in Louisville.
I had a mountain of work to do: Prepping for Man Equals Man which I began rehearsals for on Monday (I'm playing Begbick); also I was prepping for my first acting class in grad school dedicated completely to Shakespeare (I've had voice classes in Shakespeare already, but an acting class will cause its own immense challenges); and of course there are all the stresses of beginning a new term. Despite all that I chose to spend my last days of Spring Break in Louisville. What's the draw? Well, besides the museums, the neighborhoods, the great food and even the Bourbon, the Humana Festival is happening right now at the Actors Theater of Louisville!
The first night Sarah and I were in town we popped into the theater to see A Devil at Noon by Anne Washburn, which was this really disturbing little story about a science fiction writer (Joseph Adams) whose characters begin coming to life on him in the most unnervingly realistic fashion. The mime work in this show was so impressive. There was, in effect, no set to speak of, but everything in the "kitchen" was created through the specific movement of the actors and the spot-on sound design of Matt Hubbs. Every invisible pill bottle that was shook rattled, the invisible coffee machine made whirring bubbling noises when it was turned on, the imaginary cupboards shut, and the unseen apple crunched when it was sliced into by the non-existent knife. Apparently the actors began with a fully dressed set, and slowly the kitchen was taken away until they were miming everything with only sound. Sarah swore that even though she knew there was no actual coffee on set, or a coffee pot, or a counter, she could still smell the aroma of a freshly brewed cup. It was a really well executed choice.
On Saturday, after a day of simply seeing Louisville, it was time for me to head back to the theater. Sarah struck out on her own to tour some of Kentucky's Bourbon distilleries and had an incredible time, but I was too excited about the new plays being produced. So I stayed in town to see the afternoon showing of Bob by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb and an evening showing of Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them by A Rey Pamatmat.
Bob was one of the sillier plays I've seen in a while. It was the story of one man's life, Bob's life. The play begins with Bob being born and almost immediately getting abandoned in the bathroom of a White Castle in Louisville, Kentucky on Valentines Day. The rest of the play is a ridiculous and wild ride involving a tan Chevy Malibu, Mount Rushmore, a fated rest stop, a woman named after Amelia Earhart, fudge shops, a butler named Tony, so much laughter, and fleas. It was truly a perfectly ridiculous afternoon, and I'm pretty sure it made White Castle very, very happy.
Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them was one of the best pieces of theater I have ever seen. In my years being a theater enthusiast (I'd say that's about ten), I have seen many shows that I loved, but only a few that really touched me. Only a small few that I have felt completely illuminated by. These shows are, in order, Oregon Shakespeare Festival's production of Richard III in 2005, Portland Center Stage's production of Sometimes a Great Notion, August: Osage County on Broadway with Estelle Parsons, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's production of Three Sisters just last year, and now this year's Humana Festival's Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them. It was that good.
It was the story of a twelve year old girl named Edith (Teresa Avia Lim), her older brother Kenney (John Norman Schneider), and their equally youthful friend Benji (Corey Michael Smith). All but abandoned in their farmhouse in rural middle America the three children band together to create their own family and find strength within themselves to stand against their absent and unsympathetic parents. I laughed and cried and was so, so moved. The actor's work was superb. Such simplicity. Something I really hope for in my own work.
On my last morning in Louisville (I had to get the heck out of there because Spring term was starting up again the next day) I saw The End. A play put on by the Acting Apprentice Company, made up of numerous interconnected short pieces about the Apocalypse by playwrights Rey Pamatmat, Marco Remirez, Jennifer Haley, Allison Moore, and Dan Dietz. It was intriguing, funny, and terrifying all in the space of an hour and a half. Personally I thought it was nice to bookend my trip with A Devil at Noon and The End as they both explored an end of the world sort of theme. Here's the end of the world, and a weekend of theater! Woohoo!
Now I am back for spring term of my second year in my MFA program, and we are already a week into rehearsal for Man Equals Man, so I'd better get back to work. But thank you, Louisville! And best of luck through the duration of the festival!
