Windsor Theatre's production of one act plays this past Saturday delivered two engaging and thought-provoking one-person shows written by James O'Reilly (not of Mount Allison) and Mt. A. student Breanna Dunn Moore. The former writer's Work was performed by Padraigh MacDonald, and Moore starred in her production of What are you Trying to Say.
Work is a cynical, sarcastic, and outrageously funny story about James (Jim) O'Reilly and his past work experiences. The stage is literally Jim's subconscious, in which the audience takes part experiencing, as it is performed directly to them. Because the audience witnesses the subconscious, the play is sometimes confusing, seeming to jump forward and back in time. Jim tells us his memories, some from childhood and teenage years with his parents in the projects of North York, Ontario, and others from his more recent years of employment. The show topic is centralized on work, and Jim is frustrated with and angry about it. He worked as a waiter, in a meat-packing plant, in the sewers, and in an office - though the play is one act, it is broken up into three parts. In the last part, Jim's office job, the audience thinks he may have pulled himself out of his hardship, but in the end, he's really just in the same situation he has always been in, with a dead-end job, a life smoking pot, listening to music, and not doing much else that is productive.
The dialogue is full of metaphors and imaginative descriptions that emphasize the disgustingness of working in the sewer, the frustration of working for a boss you don't like, the annoyance with customers in a restaurant, and the irritation of working at a meat packing plant with a few inches of brine on the floor that eats away at uniforms and shoes. Two stories that surely will stick in the audience members' minds: the man who pulls some sort of earwig with a hooked tail out of his date's ear, pulling parts of gray matter with it; and Jim's experience in the sewer, using a bucket to fish out substances creating blockage, only to have the bucket fall on his face so he gets covered in feces.
MacDonald's performance of the piece was priceless. His use of different voices and attitudes for various characters he talked about was hysterical, and truly showed his acting potential as he became the other characters, then seamlessly switched back to the character of Jim. He adopted a lisp when imitating the voice of someone who annoyed him, and, as an example of another character, a perfect New York mafia thug accent, the owner of an Italian restaurant. His imitation of another restaurant manager, a middle-aged ex-dancer, was brilliant – it was amusing to see a bearded, shaggy-haired male dancing across the stage with fluttering hands and ballet movements. The energy he brought to the piece did not falter through the whole show. The audience was constantly laughing, and were sympathetic when they were supposed to be. In addition, his portrayal of an erratic character who just cannot get it together brought more humour to the show. The piece ended with a much-deserved standing ovation.
What are you Trying to Say switched gears completely after a fifteen-minute intermission. The piece follows Moore's experience of not speaking for seven days, “to prove I can talk without talking,” as she says in the play. The story was based on a real experience, with some fictionalized instances for comic effect. With each new day in the story, Moore held up signs indicating Day 1, Day 2, etc., so the story is easy to follow. There was no set or props at all, and Moore mimed everything clearly so the audience would not be lost. Moore's switches between characters were also seamless. With the introduction of a character, Moore took on their unique stance, voice, and mannerisms, and because of this, the audience clearly knew what character she was playing without being told again. Not only was Moore's acting superb, but she moved naturally across the stage, at one point doing a bump-and-grind dance at a party; and at the beginning, imitating the dance performance she witnessed that inspired her to take the vow of silence. The sign language she developed was also easy for the audience to follow, and sometimes very creative.
Throughout the seven days, Moore demonstrated the hardships she encountered while not being able to speak. Her brother harassed her, trying to get her to talk again. The character she simply called “Middle Sister” read her private journal and left an angry note for Moore, who wrote an angry letter back. The anger was expressed by Moore miming writing on a piece of paper, with the words become bigger bigger, until Moore jumped around the stage thrashing her arm up and down and back and forth as if writing big, angry letters. In the story, some people yelled at her as if she was unable to hear. She began to notice things she had not noticed before, such as her grandmother's lips when she helps her put on lipstick because she cannot explain it to her in words. Most importantly, she realized that a conversation does not have to entail only speaking. Towards the end, when she approached midnight of the day she would be able to talk again, she made a list of things she wanted to say, as if vowing to say these things, just as she had vowed not to say anything at the beginning. This was the closing of a balanced story that came full circle. Funnily enough, her first word on day one of speaking again was simply, “Hi.”
After her show, Moore answered questions from the audience. She was asked when she decided to write the story, and answered, “I got the Crake Fellowship grant at the end of last year and a research grant in the summer. I've been writing since August and working with Mary Ellen MacLean [an actress who has performed in Sackville and directed Moore's piece].” She is on her thirteenth draft, and says she will start writing another one soon. An audience member asked if Moore had learned how to move so expressively during the vow of silence. Moore answered, “I've played charades. I dance at the Pub sometimes. Actually, I went in blind. I'm a better listener because of it. And I've never felt so isolated in my entire life! I also didn't know real sign language.” Another member asked, “Are people afraid of silence?” to which Moore answered, “Definitely. It's amazing how people ramble when someone is silent. We feel we have to fill that space. It sucks.” The last question of the evening was, “Would you do it again?” Moore replied that she would like to take a vow of silence once a year.
The two pieces performed that night were very different – one, an erratic but entertaining story not written by the actor; the other, a very personal story that the actor can connect easily to because she had written it. Neither piece was better than the other, as they were both insightful, creative, and amusing in different ways. Both performers undoubtedly have a successful road ahead of them.