Ask the Audience by Mindy Leaf
Seven seems to be their lucky number. NEW CITY PLAYERS’ Giving Tuesday fundraiser allowed them to bring seven short new plays by seven playwrights to life! In this case, I mean performed before a live audience, safely outdoors on the patio of one of their earliest gathering sites (and recent host of City Speaks), Cyth & Co. in Oakland Park. Now also proud sponsor of the first NCPLab FESTIVAL.
Congratulations to the local playwrights and actors who were chosen from recent, monthly NCPLab Zoom sessions, culminating a pandemic history of over 200 new play readings. I attended most of these Monday night gatherings of several dozen or so participants that begin with smaller “breakout room” check-ins wherein four-to-six members are randomly assigned to private Zoom sessions before reassembling for the play readings. Here we casually chat about what we’re up to and/or the day’s chosen topic. It’s always a treat getting to know or reconnect with both regulars and newcomers — writers, actors and viewers — in this more intimate forum.
Many of the names selected for the upcoming live show were already familiar, and respected for their talent. Typically during Zoom readings, viewers comment profusely in the chat and virtually applaud after each play; but last Monday we got to do a lot more. NCPLab’s January 31st session featured all seven chosen Festival plays, along with attending playwrights, director, many of the actors … but also audience participants who, along with the pros, were all tasked with perfecting these wonderful scripts. Though I admit, after seeing them, not many, if any, changes were necessary. But I was flattered at being asked for my opinion so any tweaks could be accomplished before the show’s debut on February 17.
Inside Cyth & Co., venue for the NCPLab Festival
I guess the producers figured you couldn’t get a more invested and theatrically savvy group than NCPLab attendees. And while it’s always fun and stimulating to offer opinions, it’s nice to know they are seriously received. After each Zoom play reading, we were allowed several minutes to fill in the NCP Lab Fest Survey online form which consisted of three questions, and plenty of room for answers. You could submit your responses under your email address or anonymously, and playwrights did not comment on their own work. I’ve attended numerous Zoom readings of new plays over the past couple of years, and many included requests for audience comments. New City Players’ three questions pretty much cover the gamut of what’s important: 1. What is something that stood out to you? 2. What is something that raised questions for you? And 3. Was the story clear and concise, and if not, why?
Outside Cyth & Co., venue for the NCPLab Festival
To keep us focused and entertained during these mini intermissions, company manager Krystal Valdes played some really cool songs (she must be psychic, having chosen so many of our all-time favorites!). Participants were seen dancing in their Zoom boxes before, during and after filing their comments. As one who prefers to write in silence, I simply lowered the volume on my computer when needed.
Now I’m really curious to see how these plays may have changed, if at all, due to our feedback. I plan to attend the patio-staged show next week and also look forward to enjoying baked goods and drinks from Cyth & Co.’s highly consumer-rated café. And I hear New City Players isn’t done with us audience critics yet! At the live NCPLab Festival, attendees will be asked to vote for their favorite play. The winner of the Audience Choice Award will get more than bragging rights; they’ll get to go home with a $250 bonus prize.
Ernesto Gonzalez in NCP’s production of Twelfth Night, 2017
I must say, even the playlets’ titles sound intriguing … and they more than live up to their names. We began our Zoom Lab lineup with Michael Gioia’s The Waiting Room, where it felt like we were eavesdropping at a hospital’s birthing center. An honest and heartfelt conversation ensues between an opinionated grandmother (Nancy Winokoor), displeased by the choice of her grandson’s name and a far-from-ready young father-to-be (Ernesto Gonzalez), who’s suddenly confronted by the fact that his premature infant may not survive. Touchingly believable — thanks to both a fine script and fine acting — the play reminds us of how people from differing backgrounds and generations can find solace and companionship in unexpected places. Their verbal exchanges help alleviate their anxiety and they support one another with compassion.
Perhaps because these plays were written during a time of forced isolation, I found they tended to focus on human connections – whether it be between strangers, lovers or friends. Nick Valdes’ searing The Handicap presents a protagonist so alone and alienated, she feels she can only make a friend if that person is lobotomized into acceptance.
The A and B characters in To the Moon and Back by Natalie Cabo suffered so dark an incident in their relationship, it won’t allow them to reconnect, yet they promise to always show up for emergencies. We observe them meeting at night, swinging on a swing set. They swing wildly, antagonistically and dangerously apart at first, but toward the end they are in sync, aiming toward the moon. Reflecting on what makes the moon so beautiful? It needs darkness to exist.
Our surprise-and-shock playwright Tyler Grimes outdid himself with My First Time. It’s always a pleasure to be gobsmacked by a Tyler reveal. And fans of uber-versatile Tim Davis will love seeing him in this vulnerable, believable, yet totally unexpected role.
When Luis Roberto Harrera wrote Missing about a couple taking refuge in a bunker because the outside air is poisonous, it must have been early in the pandemic. When they complain about being stuck inside for 157 days, I ruefully asked myself: Is that all? Nonetheless, the man, especially, becomes paranoid about venturing out despite dwindling food supplies. An “all clear” knock on the door is met with suspicion and terror. Yes, very now and very real.
Speaking of keeping it real, nothing could be more real and timely than Fire is Light by Ilana Jael and Run by Jenora Hamilton, who also acted in Jael’s play. She’s cast as a young black woman who watches a Target store go up in flames outside her window. She wants to join the Black Lives Matter-style protests against police violence, but is discouraged by her white boyfriend who is concerned for her safety. They debate whether fighting violence with violence, and in this case, literally, fire with fire, is the way to go. It’s a deep dive into how race, racial history and, ultimately, love can become the catalyst for personal involvement in demanding social change.
Hamilton’s Run hurts deep as it examines how far one woman will go to “save” her best friend. And then there’s the moment she realizes it’s time to step back; she can’t help her anymore. If anything, constantly bailing her friend out both enables and exacerbates her dangerous behavior. They aren’t mischievous kids on the run anymore; her friend must own up to her criminal actions and be held accountable.
This soul-searching play is complicated by the scourge of drug addiction, boyfriend breakup pain, and — what really got to me — the despicable act of selling a beloved pet for drug money. It’s almost like selling a child, an ultimate low … but things get worse. You’ll see. It’s often been said that addicts will do anything for a fix, make any excuse. This reality, and its consequences, is illuminated in painful detail.
For tickets to the NCP Lab Short Play Festival, click here. All seven plays will be performed live at the outdoor patio of Cyth & Co. coffee and cocktail cafe from 7:30–9pm on Feb 17, 18, 19 and 20. Cyth & Co. is located at 3446 NE 12th Ave., Oakland Park 33334. For directions and menu go to cythco.com.