SUICIDE ANYONE?

so here are a few pictures from creighton's production of suicide anyone. the play is separated into three different acts with three completely different stories. the first act is a centered around a relationship carousel, and how specifically one couple's problems affect a close friend. the second act is the story of a struggling actress who threatens suicide. her attempt is interrupted twice by two different unexpected guests who in turn affect her life dramatically. the final act is about two men and their rocky relationship. influenced by a conniving neighbor one party strategizes how to win the love of his partner.

i played the role of chandler in the third act. my gay partner in the play (chuck) was played by peter vartanian and the conniving neighbor was played by becky zais. i attached a review written by mark robinson from the omaha insider. i felt as if he was too critical of the first two acts. the actors in this play worked incredibly hard and did not deserve such a harsh review. but robinson did love the third act, especially peter's performance. this is my first onstage performance at the university so i was very interested in what the reviewer had to say. he had only positive things to report about me and the entire scene as a whole, to which i was pretty proud. enjoy

SUICIDE - ANYONE? - Creighton One-Acts an Uneven Theatre Experience

November 15, 5:45 PMOmaha Theater ExaminerMark Robinson

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I caught the final performance of the Creighton University One-Acts and I left the theatre scratching my head as to why the final one-act of the set was leagues better than its predecessors. The entertainment entitled Suicide-Anyone? is a compilation of three one-act plays by John Patrick, each attempting to comedically take on the topic of death at ones own hands.

The first entry of the evening, under the name "Loyalty", told the story of a man trying to sleep. His best friend, who has just left his newlywed wife, shows up that the door in need of a place to crash. The wife calls, announces she is suicidal and the story unfolds as a comedy of errors sparked by manipulation and miscommunication. The premise and the situation are rife with possibility, but as directed by Wesley Pourier, it is a plodding, tentative affair. There are pregnant pauses and torpid acting to spare. The piece has a farcical nature and should have moved at a steady gait. Instead, no momentum or energy is allowed to build. Actors Zac Holmes, Miles Loggie and Kathleen Franco appear to be bored with the script and at times, speak in such a mumble, you are not sure what they saying.

The second of the set, entitled "Empathy", fares somewhat better. Again directed by Pourier, he manages to mine some credibility out of the more intimate moments of an actress whose lack of success has inspired her to kill herself. Kylee White tries hard to maintain some energy within the piece, but in the first half she is conspired against by the one-note Thomas Apitz playing a house painter who tries to cheer her up. It isn't until the arrival of Elliott Johnson as Speed, who manages some charm and vivacity, that the piece feels like we should give a damn.

In an extreme about face, Pourier helms the third one-act entitled "Confession" with confidence and humor that are sorely missed in the first two. This play, about a hyperneurotic homosexual man who is worried about people thinking he is gay, is an absurd half hour of spastic hilarity. Pourier finds his voice in this episode, exhausting both its physically comedic and sarcastic potential. He is aided by the brilliant performance of Peter Vartanian as Chuck, who hates the world viewing him as a fairy. Vartanian explodes with a bravura performance of frenetic hostility and wiry paranoia. You could light Albuquerque on the energy this actor uses to operate. He is supported by the solid performances of Jon Keating as his lover and Becky Zaiss as their next door neighbor. This one-act more than made up for the tediousness of the first two.

The production had a clinical and cold set design by Dan Herman and Patrick O'Malley. For an evening of comedy, it would have been nice if it had a warmer environment to encourage the mood for laughter. Fortunately, Mallory Freilich's costumes were both colorful and they helped to flesh out the personalities of the characters. Freilich has an eye for accentuating an actor's positives by using flattering colors and fitting the clothing to all the right places. The lighting design by Jerry Woiderski and Kenzie Hunter is serviceable, but seldom exceptional. A flaw can be found in the first show when each time an actor turns off/on one lamp, two lamps are effected. This is both distracting and unnecessary.

Suicide-Anyone? is hardly a complete evening of entertainment. It does, however, offer in its final third some terrific moments of comedy. Too bad the first two thirds could not be lavished with the same energy, staging and acting prowess.