The first set of performances were selections from All in the Timing, by David Ives and was directed by Bob Fishel ’07. The first show, titled Words, Words, Words, was an amusing skit about three monkeys that were being used in an experiment to type out Shakespeare’s Hamlet. They gave a funny depiction of life as a lab experiment by jumping around, screeching, and making a lot of jokes.

Next, The Universal Language was about a scammer who attempted to make money by teaching a fake language, and his student who desperately wanted to learn another language in order to overcome a speech impediment. After listening for a while, it was pretty obvious that the language was a combination of several other languages, but I was amazed by how fast and proficiently the actors who played Don (John Pettengill, ’06) and Dawn (Carrie DePetris) were able to speak the faux language.

The final presentation from this selection was Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread. It was interesting to obtain so many different meanings from such a limited use of words. The play comprised of the rhythm of the words, which matched several of the patterns of the composer Philip Glass.

The next set of dramatic pieces was titled, Seven Short and Very Short Plays, by Jean-Claude Van Itallie, directed by Dale Weber, a graduate student. Weber had an unusual task of mixing several shows that had totally different moods to them. The first of these shows was called The Girl and the Soldier and, mixed the two themes of love and war together, presenting it in this serious piece. The soldier, played by Matt Harris, described the war vividly in a monologue, while the girl, played by Tarin Kassover, sang a melody in the background.

Rosary, the following play, touched upon the serious subject of purity and homosexuality as experienced by the lead—and only—character, a nun. The scene opened up dimly lit, outside of a confession booth. Lighting from a gothic window shined down upon the nun and a nearby table. The nun, acted by Katie Navarette, emitted a serious amount of angst and guilt from being tempted by a woman while collecting money for the church.

Suddenly the mood changed as the brilliant white light attacked my dark-adjusted pupils. The scene altered from a dimly lit church to the bright white wall of a doctor’s laboratory. This play, titled Harold, represented how the government does not listen to the little man, whose voice goes unheard, no matter how loud he shouts. Harold, played by Zhen Jia GRAD, wonderfully presented a character that is lost in his own world. I was seriously surprised at his ability to sing opera.

Photographs: Mary and Howard, presented a different way of telling a tale. The words were prerecorded, and the actors acted out everything in the form of pictures in order to communicate to the audience.

Surprisingly, I never knew you could make a story using the alphabet before. The cast of Take a Deep Breath showed me that it was possible. Each person took a letter of the alphabet, presented the name of a person, and the story behind that person. The story they performed was a dark one, where all of the people were killed by the pollution of industrialization. The cast performed extremely well, changing their personality from one extreme to the other, while binding all of the stories together with the common theme.

Thoughts on the Instant of Greeting a Friend on the Street redefined how I think about people when I pass them. The show expands a simple greeting into so much more. The actors in this piece demonstrated that people’s memory can be extremely different from person to person. They also showed that people can have some pretty mean thoughts while simply saying hello.

Eat Cake was a hilarious piece presented by Cristina Lauria ’08 and Eli Pearson ’07, that reminded me that rape can have several different meanings. I cannot begin to describe how many random thoughts flashed in my head when I heard “I Am a Rapist” combined with the theme of cake. Pearson, the rapist, dives right into the piece with energy, and all I could hear the whole time was a roar of laughter from the audience. However, through all of that comedy, the play demonstrates that rape can represent more than just a sexual violation. It can symbolize denial of one’s freedoms.

The last show was an English comedy named Trevor, written by John Bowen, directed by Jacob Brode ’07. This full length play involved a lesbian couple whose parents are all visiting on the same day. They find a random man in the bar and entrust him with the job of pretending to be both of their boyfriends. The parents were played by Eric Garside ’08, Linda Lim, Jonathan Janssen GRAD, and Marisa Gallego ’06, and all of them realistically looked and acted like they were in their forties or fifties. The comedic trio of Jane, Sarah, and Trevor, played by Tina Blatsos, Faith Sherman, and Bradley Lamoureux, respectively, presented their desperate situation to the audience in a hilarious manner. Mr. Hudson, performed by Michael Shaaff, provided a stiff contrast to the rest of the cast with his serious demeanor as the “breather.” The most memorable moment for me was when the two parents and Trevor were sharing drinks in the kitchen.

Having once been a theater geek myself, I wondered how much work had gone into making a multiple show production of this scale, I interviewed all of the directory, as well as the stage managers who worked the magic behind the stage. All of the directors had started from the beginning of the semester to rehearse the piece, while the stage crew, led by Phil Genera, ’05, and Sara Petry, ’07, put in roughly five hundred man-hours into this job.

Each director also gave commentary about their show and their outlook on theater. Fishel said that “the great thing about [the RPI] Players is that you’re always surrounded by great people.” When asked about his feelings about theater, he said, “Just to be an actor, to give people enjoyment, I would never give it up.”

Weber praised his cast for having adapted to being able to play several different show genres. He also mentioned that he was surprised at Zhen’s ability to sing.

Brode has quite a lot of experience in theater, as he has been acting since the age of 10. He described his rehearsal schedule, which had his cast rehearsing nearly four times a week. Asking a few people that remained after the show had concluded, a student in the Class of 2007, commented that, “The show was very good.” Michael Valastro, ’07, responded to the question of what his favorite show was, said that, “Trevor was definitely hilarious.”

The RPI Players put on an excellent show, both with their actors and their unseen, but busy, technical crew.