By Elise C. Hanson-Barnett
Local playwright Mark Macey has a message to relay in his shadowy and startling Shooter: how has our country come to this? Shooter represents the story of a man capable of committing mass murder, drawing out the question of “why?” and answering “not really any reason in particular”. The play is told in a series of monologues recalling the shooter’s life, cut through with a Greek chorus played by five women: Cheryl Holadaway, Katelyn Limber, Mina Sadoon, Kali Scott, and Robin Young.
The play begins with a shock factor that forces the tone forward: a nude man, “He” (Conor Thompson) is likened to an AR-15 style action rifle by the chorus of women, who dress him with continued metaphors. Each article of clothing is an operation or part of the gun. Collectively, the women of the chorus handily grasped the sardonic tone of the play, portraying each of their vignettes with a buoyant and disturbing resonance. These vignettes were my favorite element of the play, and I found myself chuckling through the morbid satire.
Thompson does the greater part of the play as a monologue, and he is vexingly relatable through most of the first half. Thompson’s affability seeps through his character’s voice, giving He a simple warmth. He is just a regular guy, after all. Knowing what the character would lead to seeps through the monologues like acid, however, sitting under the tongue like battery acid. In a scene where he described a childhood baseball game, I felt my chest getting tight. Was I supposed to feel sorry for this guy? This, I think, is the playwright’s intent, and it was effectively executed by the entire cast.
Amanda Caraway is a skilled director, creating interesting shapes in a tiny space. The pre-show has the Greek chorus sitting among the audience in black hoods. It was creepy and artful and completely set the scene for what was to come.
This play gets a decided ‘R’ rating, but it is one I recommend for its strong voice and deft handling of a tricky topic.
Wasatch Theatre Company presents Shooter by Mark Macey
The Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival, The Gateway Mall, 124 s 400 w, UT 84101
August 5 1:30 PM, August 5 7:30 PM, August 9 9:00 PM, August 11 3:00 PM, August 12 7:30 PM
The fee to get into the Festival is $5 and the show ticket is $10. All ticket sales go directly to the artists.
Tickets can be found at http://www.greatsaltlakefringe.org/tickets/
I just left WTC’s production of “Shooter” stunned to my core and almost in tears. Conor Thompson’s performance is moving and frightening and not to be missed. More importantly, the play takes apart themes of masculinity and power. In the process it makes us wonder why these qualities are more important to Americans than peace.