Pigs and Chickens 

Reviewed by Neal Weaver 
Atwater Village Theatre 
Through April 15  

In the interests of full disclosure, let me say that I am not very knowledgeable about computers and programming, so much of the technical jargon and inside humor in Marek Glinski’s play went right over my head. Glinski’s play might be called a cyber-satire, or a madcap comedy for the cyber age. I could not always follow exactly what was happening, though the overall idea was clear enough.

Wili — short for Wilhelmina (Sharon Freedman) is a former wannabe screenwriter who is currently going through a messy divorce, including a battle for custody for her daughter, which she describes as “very Kramer vs. Kramer.” She also has serious anger management issues and is pursuing a new career as a computer program writer, though she seems to have few qualifications for it. She applies for a job at a chaotic tech startup firm with only one customer, a company called Albatross.

The other employees seem to be trying to root out the glitches and errors in the company’s computer programs. They ignore Wili or actively snub her, making it impossible for her to learn whether or not she has been hired or what her duties are. In any case, they all seem to be more or less demented. Aditi (Poonam Basu) is a woman from India who is massively pregnant and goes into labor early in the proceedings. Chris (Christopher Reiling) who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome and has an obsession for Milk Duds, is hopelessly in love with Aditi even though she is married and pregnant. Brett (Don Cummings) seems to be the office manager, although he moonlights as a lute-strumming troubadour at the Renaissance Faire. Sam (Anil Margsahayam) is a would-be screenwriter who is writing a script that is clearly a ripoff of The Lone Ranger. Brian (Andy Shepard) fears for his job because he hasn’t a clue what he’s doing and is only employed because of an influential cousin.

Soon, Wili is confronted by Denise, a disembodied voice that seems to be either a virtual human resource agent or a company spy. Denise is a being of uncertain gender. When speaking with a woman’s voice, “she” insists on being called Dennis. When speaking with a man’s voice, “he” insists that his name is Denise. (His/her voice is supplied by Liz Ross and Keith Szarabajka.) He/she questions Wili’s qualifications and suggests that her unlikableness might be a detriment to group morale — which inspires Wili to launch a campaign to prove she is likeable.

There is some back-stabbing by Stephanie (Lizzie Peet) as well as incompetence among the staff, leading to endless confusion — and so the piece goes whirling along, till Wili blows her stack and denounces everyone. Intended and unintended consequences rain down like confetti.

The plot doesn’t always make sense, but it is consistently amusing. The title refers to the relative positions of the staff. Pigs are higher on the totem pole than chickens.

Director Kevin Comartin gives the piece a brisk and lively production, and he has cast it well. All the performances are expert and funny. Amanda Kneehans designed the rather minimalist set, and David Boman contributed the useful sound design.

Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Avenue, Los Angeles.  Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m. No performance on March 24. (818) 839-1197 or https://dime.io/events/pigs-and-chickens. Running time: One hour and 50 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.