Eclect-A-Fest: Program A

Reviewed by Neal Weaver
Eclectic Theatre Company
Through Sept. 1

“The Yo-Yo Pilgrimage” (Photo by David Nott)

Elect-a-Fest is a two-evening festival of new one-act plays, presented by the Eclectic Theatre Company. Program A includes 7 assorted short works. The plays range from the mildly interesting to the actively annoying, and the direction seldom does much to remedy the literary shortcomings. But the actors can’t be blamed for the weakness of their material, and in most cases they acquit themselves honorably.

Jeff Folschinsky’s “A Pill By Any Other Name” is a broad, heavy-handed, not very believable farce, directed by Justin T. Bower. In it, a bi-polar Dad (Paul Messinger) goes berserk when his daughter-in-law (Carissa Gipprich) mixes up his medications with those intended for the family dog.

In “Snugglebunnies on MyFace,” written by Caroline Marshall, and directed by Madelyne Heyman, Jenna (Cynthia Holloway) freaks out when she discovers, via MyFace.com, that her ex-boyfriend has found a new snugglebunny, while her friend Missy (Rosie de Candia)urges her to unfriend him and be done with it.

And in Justin T. Bowler’s “Touch,” directed by Heyman, a compassionate masseur (Luke Wesley Baldridge), who is still grieving for the death of his wife, helps a badly scarred woman (Olivia Godson) come to terms with her injuries and begin the process of recovery.

“Three Really Offensive Scenes About the Founding Fathers,” by Steven B. Green, directed by Thomas Ashworth, lives up to its name as it sets out to debunk Thomas Jefferson (Jon Mullich), John Adams (Kerr Lordygan), and George Washington (Messinger). Jefferson is depicted as an onanistic libertine and lecher who wants to make a sex tour of the slave-quarters, while Adams insists that he first write the Declaration of Independence, and Washington adds to the chaos by burning the aromatic leaves of his hemp-crop and giving Adams the munchies.

Kerr Lordygan’s “Tartine,” directed by Warren Davis, is a self-consciously arty and portentous triangle drama about a menacing baseball player (Doug Mattingly) who hates and resents the relationship between his sister (Jessica Neufeld) and her female lover (Susan Priver). Violence results and Camus is invoked, but to little purpose.

“The Yo-Yo Pilgrimage,” by Taylor Ashbrook and directed by Davis, is an insubstantial foray into science-fiction, set in a future in which Earth has died, and the population is dispersed to space colonies. It features two women (Joy Darash and Carissa Gipprich) who are taking a tour to the moon.

And Lordygan’s “Private Conversation,” directed by Steve B. Green, concerns a couple (Jane Kim and Mattingly) who rely on their electronic devices to keep their love alive.

The Eclectic Company Theatre, 5312 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Valley Village. Program A plays on Thurs. & Sat., 8 p.m., and Program B plays on Fri., 8 p.m., and Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Sept. 1. (818) 508-3003, eclecticcompanytheatre.org.