My overall impression
As I child I loved trees and could always be found up in a tree. As an only child I often anthropomorphized most things, including the tress which all had names. So I was delighted to see Four Tree Plays which are four short plays all on the topic of trees.
“Seeking Still” depicts online dating for trees – smart and engaging writing by Nicolas Hoover cleverly encapsulates qualities of trees.
“Tree Counsel” by Stina Pederson is about an old tree that could possibly have been an old site of worship. It’s the weakest of the four in terms of writing, but does have some lovely moments.
“Sophistree” begins hilariously with an activist up in a tree that begins talking to him. Brendan Weinhold and Spencer Seibert’s writing is fast paced and goes from great one-liners to questions of spirituality and belief – although the spiritualism could be trimmed. Great concept and well executed. The end is incredibly touching.
“Does It Make a Sound?” by Jennie Fahn takes us to a party where there’s a squirrel, robin, cat, and of course, a tree. It has some sweet an d lovely moments, but it’s the actors that make it work with their clear characterizations.
The ensemble Dawn Alden, Whit Spurgeon, Leilani Marie Smith and Brendan Weinhold do a great job switching from play to play showing off a range of characters. Tim J. Lim’s staging is deceptively simply and precise allowing his actors to play and the audience to imagine.
