My overall impression
Every once in awhile you are lucky enough to see the thought provoking World Premiere play by a new playwright you truly admire. Such was the case tonight seeing “Feeding Time” by M. Nasorri Pavone, a Play in the Box production at the Art of Acting Studio, directed by Don K. Williams.
Welcomed to the theater by the author who offered me a cold beer while waiting for the house to open, I read her program notes and agree with her assessment: With Los Angeles rents and the cost of living skyrocketing, Bohemians and the indigent who are not complexly homeless are surviving by living in motor vehicles, the ultimate symbol of American independence. The rugged individualism of these people and the “go it alone” attitude are what the characters in “Feeding Time” are all about.
This marvelous “Play for Two” features Michael Keith Allen and Toni Loppnow as a Man and Woman living in RV’s on an empty lot who cross paths for a short time. First we met The Man, waking up and struggling out of his RV to find another RV has parked too close to him on an empty lot. Arrogant and adamant that all he is looking for is “some peace, some breathing space, some wide open space around me,” he pounds on this rogue RV to get its owner to at least move over to the other side of the lot. And what response does he get? A pair of frilly women’s panties are thrown out at him. Thinking he had interrupted a guy “getting lucky,” he grabs another beer (and pockets the panties) and heads back to his homestead. With great skill, Allen gives this lonely man a vivid three-dimensional soul, from all bravado to strike-out anger to being reduced to tears.
Soon the sound of his popping beer can causes The Woman to appear at the door of the interloper RV. She is well dressed but cannot really communicate logically enough for The Man to completely understand what she is talking about, even when she speaks through puppets to tell him how she is feeling. But as portrayed by Loppnow with her sensitive loopiness, we know what she is trying to say. Eventually so does The Man, and their heartwarming who-saved-whom wading pool scene leading to an impromptu dinner celebration complete with Syrah “Hurrah” wine in a box and lots of “toasts” in many forms, reveals two lonely souls who have reached out and touched each other’s hearts.
There is a lovely scene when the two are feeding the ducks at the Venice Canals, but The Woman gets upset seeing a female duck being “attacked” by male ducks and demands that The Man get them to stop. Of course the ducks are “doing what comes naturally” explains The Man, but the betrayal expressed by The Woman gives us some understanding of who she is and how she wound up on the streets alone. Allen and Loppnow play this scene within inches of the audience, bringing us deep into their world through their deep felt emotions and honest portrayals of these two damaged beings trying desperately to connect.
But eventually The Man awakens to find he is alone again on the lot. Allen brings his heartbreak and anger at us full force until he settles back inside his RV and discover The Woman has left her two puppets (one male and one female) there for him with their hands sewn together. It is her way of saying she might be gone, but he has touched her heart and will be with her always. Perhaps others saw it differently, but the optimist in me wants to believe the few days these two people had together showed each of them that opening your heart to another person is always worth it, even when the odds are against it.
Special kudos to Michael Keith Allen for his ingenious set design, creating two RV’s in a room so small there are only 20 seats in the theater. It is this intimacy that fuels the connection between the actors and their audience. Good theater should make you think, and with Pavone’s witty and poignant dialogues/monologues, this play will keep me deep in thought for quite awhile wondering about what really “feeds” me.
“Feeding Time” continues during the Hollywood Fringe Festival through June 24 at the Art of Acting Studio, 1017 N. Orange Dr., L.A. 90036. I truly hope to see this show on the streets of Los Angeles this summer, played in two RV’s parked on an empty lot somewhere. For no matter where you call home, there are people close by living in their vehicles and wishing for someone to pay attention to them, or at least share their life for an hour or two.
Shari Barrett
June 21, 2012
