Photo by Paul M. Rubenstein
Reviewed by Devin Weill
City Garage
Through August 17
Maybe the trifecta of the 76 gas station turkey sandwich, full moon, and repeated rape sequences on stage were the perfect marriage to make my stomach have difficulty digesting, or maybe the subtle sounds radiating from my stomach came as a result of the intense BUTI yoga class I took earlier that afternoon. Either way I had a strong visceral reaction to Maria Irene Fornes’s The Conduct of Life at City Garage.
Before the full throttle theatrics, I met Frederique Michel, the French redheaded miniskirt-donning femme fatale who directed the play. She warned Paul and me with the simple remark, “It’s tough” that accompanied a slight chuckle.
Placed in a sofa in the last row of a small theater (maybe 50 seats at most), Paul and I had a bird’s-eye view of the three realms represented on stage: the upstairs attic, the living room, and the basement (or at least that’s how I interpreted the layout). The only sound that accompanied the voices of the characters in between scenes was a clanging-of-iron-working-at-a-rail-yard type sound.
The first image ingrained in my mind is of Orlando (George Villas), the lieutenant—his militant aura, rigid movements, and mini monologue where he announces, “The goal is to eliminate all obstacles . . . maximum power is the ultimate ideal.” Those words seem to paint the pain and pleasure paradox that haunts Orlando.
Orlando’s “obstacles” come in the form of the three women in the play: Olimpia (Nicole Gerth), the maid; Leticia (Kristina Drager), Orlando’s wife; and Nena (Nili Rain Segal), the orphan girl he holds hostage and rapes repeatedly. Olimpia offers some comic relief to the otherwise dark, difficult drama with her sassy remarks and obvious faint friendship and loyalty towards Leticia and her role as a comforting mother figure to Nena. Leticia comes off as a foolish woman trapped to the confines of the house but she also seems to be simultaneously scheming her escape with dreams of going to university, becoming educating, and changing the world. Nena is a trembling puppy dog, a shell of a person. What seems most evident is that the strength and fortitude of Orlando is a veneer hiding the destroyed person he truly is. Like Nena, he is an orphan, without a home, a shivering puppy dog whimpering for help. Orlando’s desire to destroy only further destroys him, leaving him powerless. The Conduct of Life grapples with the common paradigm of male domination and female submission. But the play subverts that theme with Orlando because his hubris shines brighter than any physical strength he possesses and ultimately destroys him.
City Garage, Building T1 at Bergamot Station Arts Center, 2525 Michigan Ave, Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 5 p.m.; through Aug. 17. citygarage.org.
