What happens when you give Brown students three chairs, two cubes and a pen? Apparently, you get an eclectic festival of original short plays.
"Three Chairs, Two Cubes" features five student-written plays, each running about 15 minutes long and using nothing more than three chairs and two wooden boxes for a set.
The first play, Ben Gottlieb's '07 "Instructions for a Block," immediately directs the audience's attention to one of the centerpieces of all five performances: a large, black cube. Attached to the cube is a list of simple instructions directed at no one in particular and containing no explanation for their existence. Two young characters, Ernie (Alexander Horn '05.5) and Ellie (Elisabeth Zerofsky '07), circle the cube, unsure of how to approach the seemingly clear instructions of "turn the block to your right" and "step onto the block."
The scene unfolds with the clarity and productivity of "Waiting for Godot," as the two characters fumble over the box's instructions. Each often resorts to repeating verbatim the other's questions as though voice and intonation could supply insight into previously enigmatic statements. The characters often forget what they are talking about as they get lost in the web they have spun for themselves from straightforward instructions.
The scene gains momentum and clarity when the instruction "kiss each other on the cheek" adds a much-needed human side to the scene. This instruction is interpreted just as clumsily as those that preceded it, and it soon becomes clear that nothing can be explained or decoded before stumbles, confusion and occasional awkwardness. Appropriately, the scene concludes with the characters and the cube precisely where they started.
"Breathing," by Jennifer Silverman '06, takes place in a more tangible realm. The play features Naien (Mirele Davis '07), who suffers from a mental disorder that has created an unbridgeable chasm between her character and reality. Naien's poetic dialogues document the idiosyncrasies of her thought processes, which extend to her inability to communicate with her brother Ali (Jake Rosenberg '07).
The festival's third play, "Apricot Supernovas," by Krista Knight '06, embodies an atmosphere distinct from its predecessors. "Apricot Supernovas" is structured like a contemporary "Twilight Zone" episode. An enigmatic teacher narrates the story of one of her fourth-grade students, Yen (Nate Saunders '04), who has mastered the concepts of Newton's laws but cannot figure out how to escape the gravitational pull of the babysitter with whom he has fallen in love.
The charm of "Apricot Supernova" is its flowing, original writing. The story is truly innovative and draws the audience into Yen's world as it collapses around him.
"Living Room," by Diana Fithian '04, is one of the highlights of "Three Chairs, Two Cubes." The short play centers on the living room of a recently divorced couple trying to sell their house.
The couple is visited by a potential buyer, Serena, their former babysitter (Brittain Youngblood '07). As the three recall their experiences in the living room, it becomes clear that Serena has come to settle the score on a dark secret still embedded in the room.
Tense, beautiful acting keeps the audience on the edge of its seats. Although the scene unfolds in 15 minutes, it is striking and leaves an impression.
Finally, "Why are We So Unhappy?" or "Goodnight, Dear" by Yale Wang '06 features a young couple struggling to build a life on the memory of a once-immeasurable love. The frustration of the wife (Kai Morrison '07) boils over when her husband (Owen McDougall '07) wakes her yet again with his monstrous snoring.
The couple's broken-down apartment is a stark contrast to the palace they imagined their love would build. In touchingly performed soliloquies, the two recall the roots of their relationship and wonder if their old passion could be salvaged to save their crumbling marriage.
While each play has its own charm, it is the combination of these five distinct narratives that makes "Three Chairs, Two Cubes" a must-see. The plays are the perfect length to engage the viewer, without one dull moment in the production.
And although the plays could stand on their own, the knowledge that the scripts for "Three Chairs, Two Cubes" were generated by students makes its scenes all the more impressive.
"Three Chairs, Two Cubes" plays at Production Workshop Friday through Monday at 8 p.m.
