"Yes, but is it theatre...?"
Janus Speaks' Reality Wars at Tempe Performing Arts Center
**1/2 (out of *****)
Mark S.P. Turvin
(w) 965-1021  (h) 894-5443
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@asu.edu

	A new theatre company has formed, and its noble goal is to 
stage Arizona writer's new and experimental works. A lot of these 
kind of companies come and go, though their intentions are good. 
Many different things tend to sink them; money, general lack of 
audience support, and the uneven level of talent of the authors 
and cast. 
	In Tempe last weekend, Janus Speaks Productions tested the 
waters. It has some interesting credentials. The acknowledgments 
section of the program listed some heavy hitters, such as 
Childsplay, Tempe Little Theatre, and The Dial Corporation. The 
three writers showcased in their first production, Reality Wars, 
freely admit to their poetry-based backgrounds. The Executive 
Producer, Virginia Ikeda, announced to me her expectations for 
this new group were to "offer a different style of production 
every time we perform." All of this resulted in a production that 
was, as it should be expected, a mixed-bag of good and bad 
performances. 
	The only major problem with the show, beyond the inevitable 
technical problems which every new production company faces, was 
that it had the feel of a coffee house presentation. "Hey, dudes, 
let's fix up the old Java Barn and put on a show." There is a 
definite difference between poetry writing and play writing. 
Poetry moves with images and wordplay, while plays move with 
character interaction and conflict. As poetry, two of these five 
pieces are wonderful, especially Carol Martori's presentation of 
"It Starts in the Mind," in which the author reads poems based on 
pieces of artwork by San Diego artist Yogi Proctor. The artwork, 
which is presented in a slide show behind, is great. The poetry 
that reacts to and interprets these pieces is wonderful. But all 
told, the presentation is not theatre. At best, it can be called 
oral interpretation, as it really isn't even experimental theatre, 
since there is no acknowledgment of the theatre space and medium 
itself. 
	Nearer to theatre, though still in the realm of poetry, was 
the staged reading of the Samuel Beckett parody "Waiting for 
Goofo," by Perry Sams. Some theatrical elements are there, though 
the verbal wordplay that goes on between the two characters, Road 
Runner and Wile E. Coyote, seems better read than performed. 
Granted, the two actresses, Carol Martori and Jill Martori, did 
have scripts in their hands, but they managed to give a good 
presentation of what seemed to be another oral interpretation 
piece. This scene also seemed a little long-winded and fell into 
the trap of not only being a parody of Beckett's style, but of his 
excesses as well; it could easily have been shorn of five minutes 
and still gotten its point across.
	The three pieces that were close to being theatre suffered 
from mixed acting and minimal action. "The Machine" and 
"Solitaire," both by Mychele, go nowhere and do nothing, and 
worse, the acting depended on a very good actress, Sylvia Vizcaya, 
and a very bad actor, Ryan Wright. Ms. Vizcaya's presentation of 
the 80 year old mother in "Solitaire" and the young lady in "The 
Machine" were very impressive. Mr. Wright, on the other hand, 
seemed ill-at-ease on stage and read lines as though they were 
written on the back wall. 
	Where everything came together for the poet Mychele was in 
her third piece, "The Light Inside," a discussion between an 
overweight woman and her refrigerator. Ms. Vizcaya's portrayal of 
the Fridge was hilarious, and local comedic actress Ginny Harman's 
presentation of the overweight woman was a riot. The script was 
tight, and right on. It was the only real piece of theatre in the 
entire evening, and it showed some promise for Janus Speaks 
Productions and its playwright.
	I have no problem with oral interpretation and poetry 
presentations, my only concern is that productions of these type 
should be billed as such. An audience coming to see theatre would 
have been upset, while an audience aware of the offering would 
have enjoyed a good part of the evening's presentation.

Production Details:
Reality Wars-Five one act plays by Perry Sams, Mychele and Carol 
Martori
Janus Speaks Productions
Tempe Performing Arts Center, Tempe
833-2133
October 5-October 8

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