Tanya Batson Savage, Freelance Writer
Members of the Independent Actors Movement perform the play 'Two Can Play' at the Best of Tallawah, held at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts at the University of the West Indies on Sunday. - ANDREW SMITH/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
THERE WERE three outstanding performances in Friday night's edition of Tallawah 2005, taking place at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts, University of the West Indies. Actually, there were four, but one of them was outstandingly bad, and so will be dealt with separately.
Independent Actors Movement (IAM) once again produced an innovative, vibrant engaging and energetic take on sex, and sexually transmitted diseases with 'Self Defence' and the four actors in the group remain rather dynamic. The production tackled the need to use 'protective' measures when engaging in sex whether through abstinence, the pill or the condom.
The disease element was shown from both the inside and the outside with white blood cells being depicted as the soldiers of the body, attempting to keep out all invaders. The production used imaginative revisions of popular songs, most of which were inverted to somewhat ironic effect. So, 'Tuck Een Yuh Belly' became a pro-pill song, and the cry for abstinence turned up in lieu of the 'Willy Bounce'.
ESTABLISHING CONTINUITY
The piece, however, was not without problems, particularly in terms of establishing continuity and making the movement from one sketch to the next flow smoothly enough, while the meaning of the opening sketch was somewhat unclear.
Even so, 'Self Defence' is particularly commendable because teaching about sex and sexuality often leads to being preachy, but the group tackled it with great innovation. Indeed, all three of IAM's pieces were interesting. The group also staged the pro-woman poem 'Lion Heart Gyal' and a quirky tale of murder, the monologue 'Just Cause'.
Ruff Draft's monologue 'Me and My Six Men' also stood out. Performed by Carla Moore, the piece was a beautiful take on a woman's burgeoning sexuality from childhood to womanhood. The piece was well written and Moore is naturally engaging and delivered well. However, 'Me and My Six Men' could have used stronger direction in the use of space allowing for more distinctive transitions. However, prop usage, which included apples and men, was delightfully imaginative.
Indeed, it is not merely excellence that made pieces stand out. 'This is My Suicide', another Ruff Draft production was particularly commendable because of its attempts to bring something new to the stage. It's undoing, however came from the same source. The piece, which shows the 'suicide notes' of four persons attempts to combine video and live stage performances, as the 'notes' are all recorded.
EXCESSIVE PERFORMANCE
Unfortunately, this meant that most of the production took place on the screen not the stage, which made it questionable as to whether it was still live theatre. Additionally, while the performances of those on the screen would have made good theatrical work, with the exception of Noelle Kerr's performance, they were excessive for video. Additionally, the techniques of film production were not sufficiently employed to make the stories of those being taped seem more personal and intense.
Most of the other pieces for the night either came from the combined efforts of Mary Seacole Hall and Chancellor Hall (CHANSEA), or from Mary Seacole. It is from this set that the fourth outstanding piece came in the form of a rendition of The Missing Link.
The play was first unveiled in the October rendition of the Sunday Morning Readings at the PSCCA. Then it had the benefits of a good script, good actors and good direction. What was presented on Friday night was an emaciated travesty of what the piece could be. It must have had the young playwright cringing in pain as the actors ripped his script to shreds adding bad dialogue to their terrible performances.
The production also lacked any viable knowledge of how to use the stage, or the value of props. CHANSEA also contributed a rendition of Old Story Time to the night, while Seacole delivered the poem 'Standback' and the monologue 'I Am Happy'. The University Dramatic Arts Society (UDAS) had a single entry for the night, the monologue 'Kenyatta's Akimbo'.
