ASSMONKEY
Reviewed by Vanessa Cate
Lounge Theatre at the Hollywood Fringe Festival
Through June 22
If you’re a fan of one-person performance, the Hollywood Fringe Festival serves up more than enough to choose from, although the formula is usually similar. One person talks about their life struggles and, through anecdote, physicality, and sometimes a cute song, the actor works to prove how they have overcome their obstacles and come to appreciate their life and who they are inside. Though this format can ensure audience-burnout after a few duds, it also creates the opportunity for candid poignancy.
Sophia Del Pizzo’s ASSMONKEY falls in line with this genre. Having struggled with anxiety, depression, and substance abuse as a coping mechanism for those debilitating mental states, Del Pizzo has been through the ringer. She learned to identify her anxiety itself. She has even given it a name: “Ass Monkey.”
Despite being a clearly charismatic individual, Del Pizzo has a faltering stage presence. She paces back and forth, speaking softly (often inaudibly) in her performance, and seems to feel rattled by the audience. That makes the piece she’s written difficult, because she uses humor rather than candor to get her message across. Awkward physical gags, audience participation, and even a few songs (and, sigh, a rap).
Her chosen material works against her strengths as a performer. First, she is a talented and moving dancer, although she employs her movement only a few times as a joke. Second, her sincerity, shining beneath the guise, is more compelling than the tried-and-true jokes she slings.
Jimmi Simpson directs and makes an appearance at the end. Though Simpson is painfully talented (recall 2015’s production of Trevor at Circle X or watch him on Westworld), putting this behemoth of stagecraft next to the timid Del Pizzo serves to further underscore how out of her depth she seems to be.
The most successful portion of her show is her feux yoga meditation. In this, Del Pizzo fully inhabits a character outside of herself, plays it successfully, and draws in the audience. This scene would be a better opening to the show, as it seems to really ground the performer, delight the audience, and serve as an elegant segue into the heart of her show.
Despite the show’s well-intentioned misfires, the content is important, and the scientific factoids are valuable. If Del Pizzo can find her footing, there is potential for a unique and moving piece. As with the point of her show, her biggest obstacle is actually herself.
Note: During the Hollywood Fringe Festival, so many of us strive to catch back-to-back shows, and because of this, theaters strictly enforce their schedules. So I am obliged to warn a potential viewer that on opening night, the show started more than ten minutes late. If I had been scheduled to see another show afterward, I would have had to miss it.
Lounge Theatre, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Sat., 6/22, 10 p.m.; through Jun. 22. https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/6201. Running time: approximately one hour, no intermission.
