By Rebekah Weaver
When you see Six Characters in Search of an Author at An Other Theater Company in Provo, you may not believe this. But do you want to see a play that’s absurd and nonsensical, but also a play that grabs you emotionally and won’t let go? Then you only have to see one play: Characters in Search of an Author.
First off, I’d better put in some disclaimers. This play is written for adults. While I think some teenagers would enjoy it, the play is intentionally difficult to follow, so you need to be willing to work to keep up. You also need to be okay with some language and sexual content, since one of the main plot points hinges on prostitution.
Second, you may find it easier to enjoy the play if you know a little about it going in. Six Characters in Search of an Author is by Luigi Pirandello and premiered in 1921. It was originally poorly received due to its confusing structure and rambling plot. However, once the author added a forward to clarify things, audience members tended to like the play a lot better.
While An Other Theater Company didn’t provide a forward to their production, I got the basics in advance via Wikipedia, and I was able to follow the play pretty confidently. My husband did not have the benefit of advance notice of what was going on, and he was fairly confused the whole play. If you plan to go, I’ve included the basics below to help you keep up.
The play starts with actors (Caitlin Laurie Bell and Adam J. Gowers), a director (Chantel Ficklin), and a stage manager (Briana Lindsey Fisher) in rehearsal for a play they do not like. Then, out of nowhere, six characters show up, telling the director that their creator never finished their story and so they need the director to write and perform it.
The director is game, so the characters tell their story in fits and starts with a lot of arguing with each other. It’s a family drama, with the following people involved:
- The father (Regan Cole Whimpey)
- The mother ( Brooke Wilkins)
- The step-daughter (Amy Heimbigner)
- The son (Ryan Hopkins)
- The boy, or the step-son (Diego Cordero)
- The child, or the second step-daughter (Lucy Golden)
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Cathy Ostler also makes a brief, hilarious appearance as Madame Pace, a seventh character. As the six characters explain their story, the director tries to find ways to stage it and the actors practice performing it, with the characters dismissing all they do as not good enough. If you know this much about the structure of the play going in, you should be able to enjoy the play thoroughly.
The play has some particularly funny bits, especially when the two actors try to perform as the characters, while the characters heckle them. However, while much of the play is absurd, the play also contains some heavy subjects and some surprisingly powerful moments. Director Paige Porter (who also did lighting) kept this plot in line, which had to be quite a feat, as it’s somewhat chaotic. I like the deftness Porter uses to keep the flow steady and balanced, but with lovely arcs. Brooke Wilkins is the costume designer. Her costumes are great! Very fun and colorful, to add to the delight of the play.
I was particularly impressed with Heimbigner and Wilkins, who do a lovely job in their respective roles as step-daughter and mother. This play has more to say about the responsibility inherent in family relationships than I expected, and the scenes where the characters act out their own story are intensely emotional.
If you plan to see this play, you’ll find An Other Theater Company in the Provo Towne Center Mall on the second floor. The theater has comfortable seats — I’m pretty sure the benches are old church pews, and the padding is quite deep — and the venue is very small, so no matter where you sit, you’ll be close to the action.
To sum up, if you like absurdist theater that pokes fun at itself, you probably can’t do better than Six Characters in Search of an Author.
An Other Theater Company Presents Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello
An Other Theater Company, 1200 Towne Centre Blvd, Suite 2008, Provo, UT 84601
March 23–April 14, 2018, 7:30 PM
Tickets: $10–15
An Other Theater Company Facebook page
Six Characters in Search of an Author Facebook event
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