Tape is excitng, twisted and funny
Reviewed by Tracey Paleo, Gia On The Move
Sometimes there are colorful, fine-grained, volcanic agates among the dull black pebbles you stumble upon in your adventures to new places. Last Friday night, I came across just such a variegated and quite to my surprise, extraordinary piece at the Actors Playhouse in North Hollywood.
Tape, written by Stephen Belber and directed by Robyn Cohen, a substance born of volatile material, reference, and theme for the current times, is the most brightly layered production yet that I’ve discovered in NoHo in the last several months.
Tape is a small, three-person play, anchored in an even smaller black box theatre, but large enough to burst the house at the seams.
Dealing with reality and perception, three former high school friends, meet one afternoon in a motel room, to confront each other’s attitude, viewpoint and “truth” of a past sexual incident. It’s exciting, twisted, violent and funny. Most of all, there are surprises, something to genuinely look forward to in this production which is headed by a stellar cast of actors, Ky Soto (The Instant Messengers hip hop group), Devin Crittenden (Almost Maine, CSI) and Katie Ryan (Angel Asylum, One Buck).
There is one special long and silent pause in this piece that hit me like a truck, and it was delicious!
Highly recommended!
To note: In congruence with Tape’s themes, the producers are donating proceeds to Peace Over Violence, an organization that provides care to victims of domestic violence.
The Collective Studio Los Angeles Presents Stephen Belber’s Tape at Actor’s Workout Studio, located at 4735 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood.
Follow them on Twitter: @TapePlayLA
Reposted from the Tolucan Times
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