That venerable theatrical organization Actors Studio has long been doing its work in private. Its acting, directing and writing units have been active on both coasts, but always behind the lines, far removed from the production battlefield. This was a conscious decision on the part of the Studio, whose emphasis has always been on “the work,” not the result.
Now the Studio’s West Coast division has left its sanctuary and put its work out for the public to see. 7 Easy Pieces, seven short plays from the Actors Studio West Playwright/Directors Unit, has just opened at the Greenway Court Theater in Hollywood, produced there by the Greenway Arts Alliance.
The theme linking all seven plays is “a critical mistake.” Seven different teams of writers and directors, joined by sixteen actors (almost all of them Studio members), have attacked the theme in lusty, largely comic fashion, setting their stories in a variety of locations, including a cemetery, a life-raft, a corporate office and an all-night bar. A four-person crew working on a nifty set design by Peter Flood and Gary Lamb, help with the scene changes and keep the flow going.
The most touching tale of the night is Gena Acosta’s The Sullivan Girl, with its two Beckett-like grave-diggers mourning their lost loves; the most hilarious are David Zimmerman’s The Tempest of Lord Howe (two plane-crash survivors fighting off death by boozing and fornicating) and Jim Geoghan’s absurdist Interview With a Cat (yes, about a job-hunting pussycat).
The most savage piece is Brad Schreiber’s Let’s Review What We’ve Learned (conductor wreaking revenge on a music critic).
Snappily written and directed, skillfully acted by the Studio ensemble, 7 Easy Pieces is successful in every respect. It can only be hoped that Greenway Arts Alliance will continue to tap into the pent-up energies of Actors Studio West.
