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Peer Reviews The 5/7 Project: The Fifth Wall Sevens Reviewed by Keith Waits Entire contents copyright © 2008, Keith Waits. All rights reserved.
This was my first exposure to the work of Specific Gravity Ensemble, a company whose motto is, "Doing theatre wherever we damn well feel like it." Famous for the "Elevator Plays" they have presented twice, they are currently occupying the basement of the historic U.S. Marine Hospital with two clever one-act plays known as "The 5/7 Project." The "5" of the title is The Fifth Wall, by company member Christopher Shiner. The play presents two women who appear to be imprisoned in a cell together, and an Author who sits above the stage, apparently creating the "reality" of the two characters' existence on her laptop as the script unfolds. The dialogue she creates for the women concerns itself with god, existence and perceptions of reality that eventually capture the Author herself in an existential web that, while not wholly original, is still funny and entertaining. Mr. Shiner's characters are filled with strong emotion, and the performances of Julia Leist and April Singer do full-throated justice to the dialogue. Sarah Feldman is equally fine with the smaller, less showy role of the Author. The second half of the bill, Christie Baugher's Sevens, is a fascinating "what if?" scenario, as it imagines another prison cell, occupied this time by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Instead of the glory and fame as America's founding fathers history affords them, here we are presented an alternate fictional "history" in which the revolution has collapsed; the four have been captured by the British and are condemned to death by hanging. While they await their turn with the executioner, they debate the wisdom and meaning of their actions. Like the first play, Sevens is a dialogue-heavy piece of theatre, but the words are rich and complex, resonant with the known history of these men. It would be easy to stumble and trip over the intense verbiage, but the cast of seven never falters. Sarah Feldman as Jefferson, Lucas W. Adams as Adams, Christopher Shiner as Hamilton and Stefan Gearhart as Franklin all perform with authority, managing to capture the essential nature of each iconic figure without resorting to cliché. As for the performance space, true to their mission, the members of this ensemble have brought the audience into an environment that seemed inhospitable, but was well-suited to the dark and grungy atmosphere the material seems to call for. Limited lighting and set pieces very effectively turned the deteriorating surroundings into two distinct prison cells. As an added bonus, the Hospital building was open for viewing, including the newly reconstructed cupola. It is worth the climb to view this bright new structure and get a glimpse of what is in store for the entire building. The Specific Gravity Ensemble is a unique and
original addition to the Louisville theatre scene,
a group that has set themselves a challenge in
maintaining their unusual mission. I look forward
to seeing them keep this ball in the air. Specific Gravity presents...The 5/7 Project Posted Apr. 15, 2008
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