In keeping with those quick one-act plays, I now present a compact review of the festival’s first weekend.
“Memory Sticks” by Kristin Holodak
Pete (Andrew Greenleaf) and Lisa (Julie Zito) love each other, but only one thing stands between them and blissful domestic partnership. Pete is addicted to flash memory sticks, which he uses to record actual life memories, good and bad.
It’s a premise worthy of Philip K. Dick, and its sharp dialog — written by Kristen Holodak and deftly delivered by Greenleaf and Zito — flows effortlessly.
While the plot hinges on Pete’s obsession with technology, its true conflict — Pete’s fixation with the past — is addressed only indirectly. Without an appreciation for the character’s motives, the play leaves some expectations unfulfilled.
“The Record” by Matt Casarino
VIP Ron (David Flinn) slips journalist Marni (Melissa B. Robinson) a big scoop. But when he realizes the damage his words can do, he tells Marni to keep it “off the record.” Threats of wrecked careers and bodily harm ensue.
Playwright Matt Casarino aims for quick, Mamet-esque dialog but falls short of his mark. The actors’ slow timing only trips the script further, resulting in a loud but emotionally flat play.
“No Vacancy” by Joe Dennison
Married couple Jake (Stuart Fischer) and May (Stephanie Phelan Offutt) may have bought the farm, but they can’t work their way through the GOP — Gates of Paradise.
Had they wrecked their car just a few seconds sooner, there would have been enough room in heaven for the both of them. But now, their guide to the afterlife (Ralph D. Johnson) tells them that they must choose who scores eternal bliss and who rides the spit on hell’s rotisserie.
The plot is predictable, but Fischer and Phelan Offutt portray the couple with spunk. It turns silly and cute into funny and endearing.
“Significant Others” by Steve LaRocque
A husband (David Gorsline) and wife (Leta Hall) are technically married, though they have separate lives with their respective POSSLQs — people of opposite sex sharing living quarters.
When the spouses meet again for their daughter’s wedding, they immediately recall the insecurities that drove them apart. However, their magnetism is like a sexual and emotional dynamo that holds them together.
Gorsline and Hall are terrific at constructing, then deconstructing, the sexual tension. Steve LaRocque’s intelligent script occasionally gets ahead of itself. (The wife’s description of how frostbitten feet affect higher brain function is overkill.)
Otherwise, it’s one sharp, smart act.
Photos by Neil Edgell for the Silver Spring Stage.