Marcia Eppich-Harris

More laughs than chills in Fonseca Halloween show

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By John Lyle Belden

Proving any time of year is right for a holiday tradition, Fonseca Theatre Company presents “Boo-La-La! 4,” a set of funny and eerie short plays intertwined with appropriate pop hits.

Past Boo-La-La actor Charlie Rankin directs the cast of Ashton Driscoll, Avery Elise, Hannah Luciani, and Gloria Renollet, who show great comedic skill as well as excellent chemistry. Though this is their first time as an ensemble (and FTC debuts for Luciani and Renollet) they interact like a polished comic troupe or cast of [name of popular skit-based TV show here].

This is evident from the opening bit, “One Night Only” by Judson Wright, as an improv group attempts to riff with “props” they happened to find backstage.

In “A Sad Vampire” by Aleah Vassell, Driscoll and Elise are bartender and customer on a quiet Halloween night. The follow-up song, putting a number from a hit musical to new use, adds a twist to the plot.

 Luciani and Renollet follow with “Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary” by Piper Murphy. Careful where you read that title, as these girls at a sleepover find out the hard way.

A Civil War reenactment feels too real in “The Ghosts of Chickamauga” by Sharla S. Stevens, as one of the four we see on stage shows us that for some, the battle never ended.

It’s not one of these shows without a piece by local playwright Mark Harvey Levine. His “The Pumpkin Priest” brings us back to the funny pages with characters from one of his popular Christmas plays, this time with “sincerity.”

“Dragnet” by Christopher Wittman features Driscoll, Elise, and the return of an upcycled puppet from last summer’s “Mami Wata” as an avenging spirit.

 A carnival haunted house seems like an odd place to propose, but in “Hauntingly Ever After” by Marcia Eppich-Harris it does feel right, as a zombie tries not to literally fall apart before getting the question out.

Not too scary, not too risque, and plenty entertaining, “Boo-La-La! 4” is highly recommended for your spooky-season activities. Performances are Friday evenings, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, through Nov. 2, at 2508 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis.

Get info and tickets at fonsecatheatre.org.

Play finds a way to have its say

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By John Lyle Belden

Equivocation, the use of language to say something without directly saying it, is a way of “telling the truth in difficult times,” according to the play “Equivocation” by Bill Cain, presented by Southbank Theatre Company, directed by Marcia Eppich-Harris.

In Cain’s drama, he takes actual historical events in the wake of the Gunpowder Plot of Nov. 5, 1605, and adds a fascinating “what-if?” – that King James I (target of the treason), through his advisor Sir Robert Cecil, commissioned William Shakespeare to write – adapting a prepared manuscript – a play on the “True Historie” of the event.

(The “Plot,” now remembered in the UK as Guy Fawkes Day, was to blow up the House of Lords while the King was in attendance for the opening of Parliament. An anonymous letter to one of the Lords warning him to stay away was given to Cecil, who showed it to James. Fawkes was not a principal conspirator but rather the “trigger man,” arrested before he could light the fuse on 36 barrels of powder. The cause behind this assassination attempt, which would have killed hundreds if not thousands, was the ongoing strife between England’s Catholics and the ruling Protestants.)

Shakespeare (Ronn Johnston) turns down the assignment, noting he only writes past events, legends and history, not current events. Cecil (J. Charles Weimer) insists, calling the playwright a master of “the art of cynical manipulation” whose works will outlive him by at least half a century. In this flattery, he could be describing himself, a man physically and ethically bent who helped put the former King of Scotland on the throne, and – especially as a bag of coins hits Shakespeare’s palm – one unwise to refuse.

“Shag,” as the Bard was then known, says he will bring it to his company, the King’s Men, a cooperative enterprise, for a vote. Veteran actor Richard Burbage (Dan Flahive), essentially the company leader, is at first reluctant but they could use the money. Actors Robert Armin (Joshua Matasovsky), Nate Field (Weimer), and young Richard Sharpe (Matthew Ball) readily agree.

In writing the King’s play, Shakespeare encounters a problem: In a story about something not happening, there is nothing interesting to put on the stage. While exploring the questions of what did happen, Shakespeare finds a bigger problem: The truth is not what was written on the pages given to him.

This leads to revealing interviews with alleged conspirators, Tom Wintour (Ball), awaiting execution, and Father Henry Garnet (Flahive), awaiting trial. Garnet was notable for his treatise on equivocation, which Shakespeare begs to better understand.

Also on hand is Shakespeare’s daughter, Judith (Abigail Wittenmyer), whose twin brother Hamnet (their father’s favorite) died in childhood. She lends assistance, though little appreciated, but will have her say.

In the shadow of the gallows, the Bard labors to bring forth a work of honesty that still keeps him off that scaffold. The results will still be remembered, many-times-fifty years later.

Johnston gives us a very human and relatable Shakespeare, exhibiting flashes of his genius along with his frustration at a nearly impossible and dangerous task, as well as his long overdue dealing with a personal struggle. The others flow back and forth smoothly between presenting The King’s Men in rehearsal and the men who serve the King at court. Flahive is masterful in his turns as the gruff master thespian and the clever yet doomed Jesuit priest. Ball also portrays the easily amused yet still intimidating King James, complete with Scottish accent. Wittenmyer makes a potentially overlooked character boldly stand out.

Along the way we sense how tensions then reflect questions now regarding freedom of expression, censorship, and expressing truth to power. These issues are as timeless and relevant, perhaps even more, than the works of the celebrated man at the center of the play.

There remain four more performances of “Equivocation,” Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 18-21, at Shelton Auditorium, 1000 W. 42nd St., Indianapolis (southwest corner of Butler University campus). Get information and tickets at southbanktheatre.org.

Southbank takes up Quixote quest

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By John Lyle Belden

“Take a deep breath of life and consider how it should be lived.”

These words spoken by Miguel de Cervantes as his creation Don Quixote in the musical “Man of La Mancha” help sum up the method behind the madness of the deluded knight at the center of the story – and is perhaps his most lucid advice.

Southbank Theatre Company and its founder, director Marcia Eppich-Harris, present the man, the madness, and the dangerous times in which this celebrated satirical novel came forth in their current production of the Broadway classic. Written in the 1960s by Dale Wasserman with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Albert Marre, the story is loosely adapted from Cervantes’s 1605 book, portraying the author working through select scenes and characters in the more sweeping novel.

In the late 1500s, the dreaded Spanish Inquisition has arrested Cervantes (Paul Hansen), along with his servant (Anthony Nathan), not for a certain book he has yet to finish, or for being an actor or playwright, but because in his temporary employ as a tax collector, he tried to foreclose on a church. This lands him in our principal setting, a spacious communal dungeon in which the other prisoners mill about, seeking to cure their boredom. Their Governor (Scott Hall) declares the newcomer should stand trial for charges of the criminals’ choosing.

Cervantes seizes the opportunity – both to buy time and see how his stories are received by others – and “defends” himself by putting on our main story, the play within the play. Pasting on gray whiskers, he declares himself Don Quixote, with his servant now the farmer-turned-squire Sancho Panza. Other prisoners join in as various characters as needed.

If you know nothing else of this tale of an aging minor nobleman who reads one too many medieval romances and thinks himself the last defender of Chivalry, you have probably heard about the windmill. It’s actually a small part of the story, and Quixote’s charge against the four-armed “giant” happens quite soon in the musical. This is how we theatre folk get you, casual fan: come for the windmill tilting, stay for the meaningful stuff.

The plot really gets rolling when Quixote and Sancho arrive at an inn, which our knight sees as a castle (naturally). The Innkeeper (Hall) humors them, and we meet the other guests, a gang of muleteers led by Pedro (Kevin Caraher) who harass Aldonza (Jessica Hawkins), the wench serving up drinks, and maybe something more if the price is right. Quixote sees the woman, envisioning a high-born lady whom he declares to be “Dulcinea.”

Meanwhile in La Mancha, Quixote’s niece Antonia (Ashton Driscoll) and housekeeper (Yolanda Valdiva) enlist the help of a priest (Jericho Franke) and Dr. Carrasco (Rachel Serago) to find the man and bring him back to his senses.

The cast also includes Kendall Maxwell, Scott Stockton, Amalia Howard, Susannah Briscoe, Aaron Henze, Andrea Haskett, and Will Harris, who also plays guitar in coordination with the backstage orchestra, led by Seth Young.

A notable aspect of Cervantes’s satire is the comedy of good intentions gone awry, usually with others hurt while our oblivious old man goes blithely onward. This especially hurts Aldonza, who ironically becomes the one who most gets the point of this pointless adventure in the end. Thus, the musical asks a lot of Hawkins, and she is more than up to the challenge. She is compelling and commanding as a woman coming to terms with the possibility that her horrid past and present don’t define her future.

Veteran actor Hansen captures that perfect mix of maturity and whimsy to tackle his double-role. In both modes, he exudes confidence that stays a step ahead of the fear of a darker reality. Nathan, who must have been a court jester in a past life, is totally in his comic wheelhouse here. Serago, who as a prisoner is Cervantes’s “prosecutor” at trial, keeps one guessing if maybe the good Doctor is getting a kick out of tormenting Quixote in his efforts to save him.

There is much to unpack thematically, especially the simultaneous folly of and need for striving for a higher ethos. Perhaps this is why its most famous song, “The Impossible Dream,” resonates so much for so many. Hear it in context and see the “Man of La Mancha” at remaining performances Thursday through Sunday, March 14-17. at Shelton Auditorium, 1000 W. 42nd St., Indianapolis (edge of Butler University). For tickets and information, go to southbanktheatre.org.

Thus Spake Southbank: Fascinating portrait of a misunderstood man

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By John Lyle Belden

It’s interesting that Marcia Eppich-Harris relates her writing of the play, “Seeking Nietzsche,” now premiering with Southbank Theatre Company, “out of order in 30- to 45-minute blocks, simply writing whatever I had time to blast out.” This scattered approach reflects how German academic and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) reportedly composed one of his more notable works, “Thus Spake Zarathustra,” which is referenced in the play.

True to a philosopher of at the edge of the modern world, this dramatic examination of the man goes back and forth, from his deathbed to his early academic career, to his various works, and to his key relationships. Lukas Schooler in the brushy mustache bears a resemblance to Nietzsche, and his talent at interpreting the often-misunderstood personality brings him brilliantly to life, noting, in Eppich-Harris’s words (that Friedrich would likely have said, given the chance), “Some men are born posthumously, as I was.”

The set, designed by Aric Harris, is a theatre of Nietzsche’s decaying mind – papers everywhere – which fits neatly into the pit-like indoor amphitheater of Shelton Auditorium at Butler University. Evren Wilder Elliott, familiar with being misunderstood and the struggle to make one’s self the best man possible, directs with an eye to portraying a man whose life and opinions were ever on the move, never predictably fixed. Nikki Sayer is stage manager.

In Nietzsche’s world, we meet his firmly conservative sister, Elisabeth Forster-Nietzsche (Amalia Howard), whose German Nationalist pride easily adopts the anti-semitism his brother never felt. There is also Lou Salomè (Trick Blanchfield), with whom Friedrich and another companion attempt a philosophical commune – a sort of thruple with no sex, but a lot of longing. That doesn’t last, but Salomè’s deep platonic affection for him does. Celebrated composer Richard Wagner (James Mannan) is embraced as a father figure; his works were as brilliant as his views on society were toxic. Swept up by the former, Nietzsche finally cannot tolerate the latter.

Much of the difficulty in understanding the philosopher was due to his fluctuating viewpoints, scribbled roughly on various sheafs of paper; this was further distorted by the posthumous editing of his sister, an eventual admirer of the new German Chancellor.

I joked to Eppich-Harris that I would have named the play, “God is Dead, and I’m Not Feeling Too Well, Myself,” but that sentiment does sum up the feeling of her “Finding Nietzsche.” In Wilder’s hands, with bold support by Howard, Blanchfield, and Mannan, we get from Schooler an intriguing soul always suffering in some manner – mentally, spiritually, and especially physically – but with an underlying cord of humor than never quite breaks until the moment he sees his legacy likely forever tainted, when we see the ghost of the man who mourned God, nearly cry.

Pardon the tangent, but consider how on short video online platforms, you can see an exploding object with the video run in reverse. The outer damage and exploded bits collapse towards the initial blast, finally bringing the true object in focus. This play hits “rewind” on the violently interpreted concepts such as the “ubermensch,” bringing us back to the contrary yet certain man who went out for a walk and came back with some insight.

A brilliant exploration of a man, his philosophy, and how they molded each other before changing the world, the play runs Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 21-24, at the Shelton, 1000 W. 42nd St., Indianapolis (Seminary side of the Butler University campus). Information at southbanktheatre.org, tickets through Butler Arts and Events.  

Troy story gets musical treatment, giving the women their say

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By John Lyle Belden

“Troilus and Cressida” is regarded as one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays,” problematic for both its blending of comedy and tragedy, and the unclear resolution of the title characters’ story. But it is set during the myth-shrouded events of the Trojan War – and war is messy.

In crafting “Troilus & Cressida: The Musical” for Southbank Theatre Company, Marcia Eppich-Harris adds to her adaptation a series of songs she wrote and composed, giving the production an operatic feel and allowing her to emphasize the plight of those who suffered most: the women of Troy.

Our narrator is the prophetess Cassandra (Yolanda Valdivia). True to legend, her words are frequently ignored when they don’t say what Trojan (male) leaders want to hear. Therefore, it is up to us to listen.

Seven years into the siege of Troy, the Greeks – led by Agamemnon (Rachel Snyder) with Ajax (Kendall Maxwell), Ulysses (Kevin Bell), Diomedes (Nick Asher), and fights-only-when-he-wants-to Achillies (Brant Hughes) – seek a way to break the stalemate so they can sack the city and go home. A challenge for single combat between champions is offered, and the Trojans – led by Priam (Karen Webster-Cones) with sons Hector (Robert Beltz), Paris (Natalie Marchal) and Troilus (Matthew Walls), and military leader Aeneas (Aaron Henze) – take the bait.

There is also romance: As her father has gone over to the Greeks, Cressida (Amalia Howard) is cared for by her uncle, Pandarus (Paul Hansen), who cleverly arranges her courtship with Prince Troilus. Love blooms – until a prisoner swap nips that in the bud.

There is also comedy: Agamemnon’s Fool, Thersites (Anthony Nathan at his goofy best) takes up no sword but employs his rapier wit, and juggling, to survive and mock the senseless goings-on.

There is definitely tragedy, such as the lengths Achillies’ servant and lover Patroclus (Will Harris) will go to for his master.

And never forget the women, as Cassandra, Cressida, Hector’s wife Andromache (Jennifer Kaufmann), and Helen (Carolyn Rae Lynch) for whom the Greek ships arrived, lament their position – even in nobility – of being little more than property.

Lane Snyder is unforgettable as Agamemnon’s daughter Iphigenia, especially in the role she takes on in the second act (the Bard’s five acts are condensed to two).

As in the Shakespeare original, the play ends with little more than death and disillusionment. The legendary climax to the war – a kingdom for a horse, as ol’ Will would say – is only hinted at. For its moment, though, Eppich-Harris’s musical lets us dwell on the grinding endlessness of human conflict, and the innocents (and innocence) destroyed.

Four performances remain: Thursday through Sunday, July 20-23, at Shelton Auditorium on the southwest corner of Butler University, 1000 W. 42nd St., Indianapolis. For information, see southbanktheatre.org. Tickets are available through Butler’s site.

Dark side of humanity and academia explored in new play

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By Wendy Carson

With “The Profession,” Marcia Eppich-Harris has written a play that encompasses our current political and social climate just a little too well. I was privileged to attend a staged reading of the script a couple of months ago and it has stayed with me ever since. Her script roots out not only the dark underbelly of male dominance and what men will do to protect their own, but also the appalling lack of power or support women have when confronting a system stacked against them. Needless to say, nobody emerges from this story unscathed.

Two main storylines intertwine here. One is about Valerie (Becky Schlomann), a dedicated literature teacher at a small, private university who is desperately fighting to keep her job. Secondly, we have Marina (Trick Blanchfield), the impassioned student every teacher longs for, just trying work her way through college no matter how she has to swing it.

Valerie’s nemesis in her plight is Mark (Brad Staggs), a dean still smarting from her questioning of his decisions last fall and ensuring that her future employability is forever doomed. Department chair Jill (Jeri Jackson) has no desire to ruffle feathers herself. Meanwhile, Theology professor Paul (Brian Stuart Boyd) is also relieved of his job, but with a much better settlement check, wonderful references, and a promising spot at a major university.

For her dedication to learning, Marina deals with the exorbitant fees and ends up working as a stripper in order to stay in school. At the club just off campus, she is mentored by the lovely, yet jaded, Lucy (Lola Lavacious) and watched over by the club’s tough but fair manager Flint (Tom Smith).

Seeing Valerie, her favorite teacher, getting a raw deal, Marina divulges to her the seedy goings on by college staff at the club. Valerie’s personal morality keeps her from using this dirt, at first. But as the situation gets ever more serious, and dangerous, she knows she will have to do something.

This drama pulls no punches in all it entails. It does contain vivid discussions of sex work and abortion. As I noted above, the abuse of power and workplace discrimination are rampant as well. Still, it shows vividly how gender politics, as well as other ills contained within, play out in a realistic manner. Eppich-Harris and director Elisabeth Speckman both drew on their experiences in academia in creating this work and bringing it to painfully vivid life.

The cast is sheer perfection with each one embodying the true soul of their character. While Schlomann and Blanchfield are easy to root for, and to understand the impulsive decisions they feel necessary to make, Jackson and Staggs come off so oily with corruption you may need to remind yourself they’re just good actors if you see them off-stage. Boyd has two faces to work with in his character, and plies them well. Smith, a natural at paternal roles, is no angel, but feeling no need to put on a façade, Flint comes off better than the learned men who frequent his club. Also, a shout-out to Ms. Lavacious – while she has years of stage performance under her belt, this is her first performance in a scripted show.

I cannot recommend this play enough. The concurrence of its opening on the same date as the state’s abhorrent anti-abortion law taking effect feels like a sign that maybe with enough encouragement, we can make some real and lasting changes for the good of all. I honestly hope you leave the theater in this frame of mind as well.

Presented by Southbank Theatre Company, performances of “The Profession” run through Sunday, Sept. 25, at Fonseca Theatre, 2508 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis. Get information and tickets at southbanktheatre.org. (Note: Venue requires masks due to close proximity between audience and stage.)

Uneasy relationships in Southbank production

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By John Lyle Belden

Ever have those people in your life who are just awful, yet they’re somehow your best friends? Thanks to shows like TV’s “Seinfeld,” we can see what it’s like when such people are besties with each other. Now imagine if these persons that you love, yet wouldn’t trust to watch your houseplants, had real problems and real feelings.

This, with a healthy dose of father-daughter issues, is the world of Nina Raine’s play, “Rabbit.” Her first produced work, debuting to acclaim in 2006 on London’s West End prior to a hit Off-Broadway run, gets local treatment with director Marcia Eppich-Harris for her Southbank Theatre Company at the Storefront Theatre in Broad Ripple.

Bella (Emily Ann Scott) is trying to help her testy father (Craig Kemp) with his neurological issues. It becomes plain through this play that they have a complex history, arguably abusive but tinged with love and the universal desire for a child to please her parent. She’s trying to help him recover from a stroke – but it’s not a stroke, and he’s not recovering.

From this scene we go to the main setting, a London bar where Bella starts celebrating her 29th birthday with friend Emily (Trick Blanchfield), who launches into a tone-deaf gripe about a hearing-impaired coworker. Changing the subject, they discuss who will join them at the party. An impromptu choice is Tom (Brant Hughes), an ex-lover of Bella’s who doesn’t seem to mind abandoning the women he had been with to join them.

They will also be joined by lawyer (a Barrister, complete with wig in his satchel) and struggling fiction author Richard (Ryan Powell), a long-time friend whom Bella had also slept with. Rounding out the party is American ex-pat, writer, and scratch-offs enthusiast Sandy (Joy Shurn). Prior to her arrival, Richard refers to Sandy as a “sexual kleptomaniac” – which sounds odd, but you come to understand he has a point.

When not appearing in flashbacks as the father, Kemp stays in the background as the quietly smiling bartender, a device which aids in the flow of the play. Raine’s storytelling skills, as well as those of Kemp and Eppich-Harris, come through in his vignettes and dreamlike moments that give context to Bella’s inner struggle, as well as the visible personality flaws that equally not-nice-but-they-try friends just take in stride. Were this a Brit-com like “Coupling” or the UK’s “Men Behaving Badly” (or America’s “Seinfeld”), she’d be seen as a bitch for bitch’s sake, controlling and harsh to others while easily wounded.

Not that the others are angels – Richard goes into a rant that could be described as playfully misogynistic, which seems both earnest and just getting a rise out of the ladies for fun. But this also gives Bella an opportunity to comment harshly on the roles and expectations of women in 21st century feminism, while living in the shadows of past leaders. Emily, a practicing physician, is hard-pressed to agree or refute.

Tom is a cypher with a Scottish accent (he “work(s) in the city”), but that gives Hughes room to work with to make the character interesting. In another setting, perhaps Sandy would be the “ugly American;” here she can be the voice of reason.  

The pace of our better angels quietly spinning out of control is given by a clever visual metaphor, front and center. Even as we might struggle to like, or at least understand, the characters, this whole becomes much better and more poignant than the sum of its parts.

And what of the title? It will eventually become clear. In a personal observation, it occurred to me that while in nature animals are said to respond to danger with “fight or flight,” for a wild rabbit, it’s typically “flight or freeze.” I’ll just leave you with that.

“Rabbit” has remaining performances Thursday through Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, Dec. 9-12, at the Storefront, 717 Broad Ripple Ave., Indianapolis. Entry is by a long stairwell, contact the theater or Southbank if this is an issue. Info and tickets at southbanktheatre.org.

Don’t ‘fiddle’ and miss this one

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By John Lyle Belden

“Seneca and the Soul of Nero” is a new play by Southbank Theatre Company artistic director Marcia Eppich-Harris, but stands well in style and content with other great historical tragedies. I sense it could have been written at any time between now and the 900s, when the myth that Emperor Nero “fiddled while Rome burned” became popular. 

The premiere Southbank production of the play, at the IndyFringe Basile stage through Oct. 2, resembles a Bardfest event in its excellent handling by director Doug Powers and a cast that includes David Mosedale as Stoic philosopher Seneca and Evren Wilder Elliott as teenage “Princeps” Nero. 

Despite the abundance of written material in the First Century, much of it surviving to today, the true history of Nero is anything but clear, with contemporary accounts often written by those who didn’t like the young tyrant and centuries passing to add myth and legend to his story. The fiddle didn’t even exist at the time, but it was possible to draw a bow across a lyre, an instrument that Nero did enjoy playing — and he embraced music and theatre at a time when its practitioners were in lower regard than prostitutes (never mind an alleged god-king). Just as we don’t mind the words that Shakespeare put into the ancients’ mouths, Eppich-Harris is perfectly entitled to her well-researched dramatic license, especially as she captured the spirit of the era and its abundant lessons for today’s social and political climate. 

Seneca was Nero’s tutor when he ascended to the throne, and the boy, feeling immediately in over his head, smartly kept the philosopher on as principal advisor and speechwriter, as well as trusted military leader Afranius Burrus (David Molloy) to head his guard. Also on the scene were his ever-hovering mother Agrippina (Rachel Snyder), naive half-brother Britannicus (Brant Hughes), and dutiful but suspicious stepsister/wife Octavia (Bra’Jae’ Allen) whom he would ignore in favor of the beautiful and ambitious Sabina (Trick Blanchfield). At Seneca’s side were faithful wife Pompeia Paulina (Jenni White) and his nephew, the famous poet Lucan (Noah Winston).

Elliott brilliantly brings us along on the emperor’s journey, as he grows older and more at ease with power, but no more mature. At first troubled by signing off on the deaths of the justly condemned, Nero comes to find a quick murder is an easy solution to an immediate problem — but then more issues pop up in its place. Each death takes a little more of his soul, power-madness devolving to madness, reducing him until nearly no one is left, and the knife is in his hand.

Mosedale stands ever solid, defending his young charge as long as he can while defending himself against the hypocrisy of living large yet espousing Stoic principles. In the end, he must choose between Nero and Rome. White’s Pompeia leads the greater example, steadfast to her husband but never wavering on their moral stand. 

Snyder embodies the complex Agrippina without slipping into villainous caricature, perhaps even engendering some sympathy as the evil she sows grows out of her control. Molloy exemplifies the “good soldier” completely, bearing his orders until his sense of justice can do no more.

An exceptional look at history and the dynamics and hazards of unfettered power, “Seneca and the Soul of Nero” is worthy to stand among the Classics. We encourage all who can to see it, and to those reading this in the future to consider bringing to your own stages.

Find information at southbanktheatre.org and tickets at indyfringe.org. Note that COVID-19 vaccination and masking are required of all audience members. Home viewing via “on-demand” streaming available Oct. 15-Nov. 14 (see Southbank site for details).

Indiana Ten Minute Play Festival

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By John Lyle Belden

In our restricted world, there are not a lot of opportunities for live entertainment. Fortunately, IndyFringe has managed a nice setup in its “pocket park” next to the theatre building, where an audience can sit at tables spaced about six feet apart. The actors use the garage-style opening of the Indy Eleven stage to set up their play space. (See indyfringe.org for upcoming shows at this unique venue.)

Last weekend, that little space held a big variety of entertainment as Fringe presented the Indiana Ten Minute Play Festival. The seven brief comic dramas had a surprising degree of depth and content, even at their silliest, thanks to sharp writing and excellent acting from a fun group of players.

We started with “Hurry Up, It’s Almost Bedtime” by Janice Neal, directed by Anthony Nathan with Emerging Artists Theatre. David Molloy is Frank, who is likely dead, which spells trouble for fellow senior-home residents Rose (Linda Grant), Lucille (Wendy Brown) and Betty (Joy Shurn). Nurse Brittany (Stephanie Anderson) hasn’t caught on, yet. The fast-approaching bedtime of the title gives them an idea to ensure that Frank’s body is found in his bed. While the idea of this play sounds macabre, the Golden-Girls-style repartee among the ladies makes this a nice dark comedy.

“Aloha Apocalypse,” by Marcia Eppich-Harris – directed by Megan Ann Jacobs with Rapture Theatre – is based on an actual event not that long ago when an “incoming missile” alert was sounded in Hawaii. Sophie (Laura Baltz) and Ed (David Molloy) are a mainlander couple on vacation who discover they may only have minutes to live. What to do? After a comically-arranged farewell video to their children, there’s the agonizing wait for The End. Feeling his conscience bother him, Ed makes a confession of infidelity. That doesn’t help them, but it makes things even funnier for us. Fate has the last laugh, of course, when it’s announced that the crisis is a false alarm. Baltz and Malloy have great chemistry, even when the reactions are unstable. A newscaster voice is provided by Thomas Sebald.

“Don’t Toy With Me” by Andrew Black, directed by Casey Ross of Catalyst Repertory Theatre, brings the focus not only down to 10 minutes long but also to 10 inches high, as Thomas Sebald plays a GI Joe action figure that has arrived at the Malibu Beach House occupied by Beach Glam Ken (Grant Nagel). At the moment, they don’t hear the godlike voices of their child masters, so they can be themselves. They remark on how so much of their world is “out of order,” like the canteen or juice bottle they feel compelled to “drink” even if no liquid comes out. Eventually the mistress of the dreamhouse, Malibu Barbie (Kyrsten Lyster), arrives. And even if she can be temporarily distracted by a fashion faux pas, her power over Ken is too strong for the men’s relationship to last. The sharp script and this talented trio make this the most hilarious bit of the evening. And it helps that the actors have their “articulated” movements down, especially Sebald.

“Are You Busy Tonight” – by Russell Ridgeway, directed by Anthony Nathan – is what Mother (Wendy Brown) asks son Kevin (Nathan) in this funny roller coaster of a phone conversation. At first Kevin is annoyed at his mom wanting to invite her to an evening at the theatre, but after suggesting that she ask if someone else is free, he becomes even more exasperated to find out he – her son – was the 28th person she thought to ask! And that included a couple of friends who had died. Nathan is at his best acting flustered, and Brown is a force of nature, so they mint comedy gold here.

Heritage Christian High School Theatre Department presents a teen rite of passage with “Promposal!” by Josie Gingrich, directed by Spencer Elliott. Sam (Bradley Bundrant) likes Anna (Cate Searcy) but over time she has become distant. So, what better way to win her over than by asking her to the Senior Prom, in an extravagant gesture reminiscent of the ’80s movies she likes to watch. Our scene begins as Anna exits the Cafeteria thoroughly embarrassed, and Sam follows, desperate to find out how his perfect plan went so wrong. This sweet and authentic look at high school life, loaded with unforced humor, feels pitch-perfect. Bundrant and Searcy nimbly portray how two such different personalities – he impulsive and loud, she quiet and wanting to be invisible – can eventually feel meant for each other.

Mark Harvey Levine is great at making these short-form plays – Phoenix Theatre patrons may remember some years back he presented a series of them there in “Cabfare for the Common Man.” In this festival, Levine brings us “Ordained,” directed by Megan Ann Jacobs. Sharon (Kyrsten Lister) is manic, unabashed, double-espresso perky, and just recently ordained as a minister by the SacredChurchOfAngelicMinistry.com. Now, at this airport waiting lounge, she has found Abby (Case Jacobus), who is single, and Gary (Grant Nagel), who is also single. Let’s get them married! The resulting scene is wildly hilarious, even as what seems to be an encounter with a well-meaning lunatic starts to have the odd feel of destiny. Jacobus and Nagel play it well, taking the oddness in stride, and Lister is in her element.

What better way to finish an evening of unusual stories than with “Sock Puppet Fetish Noir,” by Kelly McBurnette-Andronicos, directed by Casey Ross, who also stars (stepping in for Missy Rump, who couldn’t make it for health reasons). Jane (Ross) pays a visit to an unusual detective, Inspector Darryl, a puppet sock who will only talk to her sock placed on her hand. It seems some “friends” have gone missing, last seen going into the laundry with their partners. But it turns out that Melvin (David Molloy), the man at the other end of Darryl’s arm, has been keeping secrets in that jar on the desk. So, yes, it’s very weird – quite funny – and with up-for-anything actors like Ross and Malloy, it somehow works.

This was a one-weekend event, so hopefully one or more of these scenes will pop up again somewhere. The festival was an excellent exhibition of local talent and creativity, part of the great and varied Indy theatre scene that we look forward to seeing more of as current events allow.