30:30:60 – A Competitive Birthday Event

Reviewed by Neal Weaver
Three Clubs Stage Room
Through June 20

RECOMMENDED

In her one-woman show, writer-performer Anne Brashier takes full advantage of the fact that the performance venue is a cocktail lounge, where her protagonist, former tennis pro Skyler Strong, is celebrating her thirtieth birthday. Skyler retired after the death of her sister and tennis partner, and in an attempt to deal with her grief, she made a list of 30 goals she wanted to achieve by the end of the year. But she procrastinated and achieved none of them.

So now she has decided to try and achieve all her goals in one hour, with mixed results. This involves her running laps round the theatre, teaching an audience member to juggle, serving up cupcakes to her guests (us), and indulging in a bit of offstage skinny-dipping. She also digresses from her plan in order to chase a cricket found in her dressing room, interact with the audience, hustle drinks and launch a tribute to the bartender.

It’s a slender premise, but Brashier is nothing if not exuberant, and she projects endless cheer and good nature — though her frequent interaction with audience friends may leave ordinary patrons feeling a bit excluded.

Three Clubs, 1123 Vine Street, Hollywood. https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/1735 Running time: One hour and 5 minutes.