Thursday night I attended two one-act plays at the Rachel Browne Theatre as part of Theatre Projects'
In the Chamber 2010 production. The first scene is a bedroom scene of a couple trying to sleep while one of them steals all the covers. One person eventually leaves the room, while the other sleeping man hears a strange voice and ends up speaking to it saying "I still have chaos in me" before the lights go black again.
Last Man in Krakendorf
The first 50 minute monologue is about an agricultural engineer, Doug Turner, played by actor Steven Tanner, who has an emotional mid-life crisis in a hotel room while doing a PowerPoint presentation to a camcorder that is supposed to represent the CEO of AgroTech Industries, Warren Buffet. Turner works with human factor analysis research and has to investigate the cause of a devastating hog barn fire on a hutterite colony where he finally has an awakening that caused him to lash out at the hog farmer and the boss during the presentation.
The simple set of only a bed, nightstand, chair and table with a laptop, makes Tanner's performance seem intimate like a confessional. We witness his character struggle with the fact that he's been doing the same thing for 20 years and finally realizes he hates everything about it. He wears a simple blazer and black jeans with loafers and glasses. He often flips back his greying hair as he speaks rather bluntly to the camcorder.
We witness Turner trying to wrap his head around the devasting fire he had to investigate, using humour, often swearing saying "Who fucked up? You fucked up!" He even puts the curse word in his powerpoint presentation (that also included many hilarious slides). The play is also very topical considering the amount of hog barn fires that have happened in Manitoba recently. If someone didn't know the realities of the hog industry in this province, they would after the 50 minutes of dialogue from Tanner. Kudos to him for memorizing so many lines!
Last Man in Puntarenas
After intermission, actor Steven Ratzlaff sits at a makeshift banquet of sorts, surrounded by a few other "people" set up on stage as balloons attached to each chair. He makes a speech about Manitoba's Health Care system, using his son's death during heart surgery as an example. He tells the audience of his epiphany during his winter stays in Costa Rica, and then continues on with the inquest of his son's death. We discover that his marriage ended because of it, his wife couldn't handle the loss. It seemed Ratzlaff's character escaped to South America trying to forget his loss through alcohol and legal prostitutes.
Ratzliff ends up losing most of his balloon audience one by one as he makes comments about being a school teacher at Balmoral Hall. "Oh, Balmoral Hall girls" he said while reminiscing about liking his old students. Like Tanner's monologue, Ratzliff also throws around the F word which makes his act humourous yet real. Especially since its about an inquest at The Health Sciences Centre.
Ratzliff's character feels remorse for not letting his wife have a child until she was 40, and then since they didn't get tested during pregnancy, their son ended up having down syndrome and a heart defect- hence the cause for heart surgery. He also feels bad for not consulting with another doctor for other options. "Bitterness at eggs gone bad" is how he described his wife losing hope within the system and ultimately herself and their marriage.
Both acts were tremendously passionate about very significant topics. Each actor's monologues were thought-provoking and human, making the audience feel a range of emotions. They both explore traumatic situations and the self discovery that comes with it.
And if you didn't know the typical Canadian stereotypes before tonight, you sure do now! haha... Giant beaver anyone?
