Craig Taylor reads a special edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post during the performance of ‘Aliens’ Friday night at the Los Alamos Performing Arts Center. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com
Two women, played by Elisa Enriquez, left, and Allison Zastrow give homeless woman (Pat Beck), center, her heart’s desire in the Friday night performance of ‘An Unusual Bird’. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com
By BONNIE J. GORDON
Los Alamos Daily Post
bjgordon@ladailypost.com
It’s time for the Los Alamos Little Theatre’s (LALT) one-acts. This year, the series is called “8×10: 7 Come 11”. I look forward to the one-acts every year. Short plays present a miniature slice of life. Playwrights must cram their meaning into a few short minutes on the stage. This is the seventh time LALT has offered this format of individual short plays, solicited from local playwrights. Some of my favorite times with LALT have been at the one-acts and this year was no exception.
Most of the plays are comedic. Exceptions are the hard hitting “Gun Play”, which is about domestic violence and “An Unusual Bird” about two actors who fulfill a homeless woman’s dream. Both are ably directed by Jazmine Torres.
One of the joys of “8x10s” is seeing the actors appear in wildly different roles in the various plays. The acting and direction is uniformly good in all the plays. Comedic timing is essential to the success of the six comedies and succeed they do.
First-time director Kelly Dolejesi deftly handles the largest of the casts in “All Aboard!” This play is sure to touch a cord with locals as it takes us on a wild ride through quantum physics disguised as a trip to New Haven. Emily Teti as Meitner is one of the evening’s highlights.
“Sleeping Through Armageddon” takes us on another kind of wild ride – this one through the end of the world as we know it when aliens arrive on earth. Written by Tess Light, this play is a hilarious romp.
Speaking of extraterrestrials, “Aliens” brings us one of the best examples of “mansplaining” I’ve ever seen on stage and three very well-drawn characters.
“Alphabet Soup” by John Gustafson concerns three cave people, rushing to be the first to develop the alphabet. It’s really good fun, with three whacky characters brought to life by three talented actors.
“Necktie” paints a whimsical journey to a very unusual tie shop in southern North Dakota. Pat Beck is great as the confused Petunia.
“The Tenth Circle of Hell” takes place prior to a dinner party that is clearly headed for disaster. The comedic talent of Linda Taylor as Veronica is a joy to watch.
By order of presentation, the plays are:
- “An Unusual Bird” by Vicky Meagher
- “Alphabet Soup by John Gustafson
- “Aliens” by Stephanie Karr
- “Gun Play” by Dale Dunn
- “All Aboard”! by Michael Burgan
- “Necktie” by Cunningham North
- “Tenth Circle of Hell” by Fred Berl
- “Sleeping Through Armageddon” by Tess Light.
Los Alamos Little Theatre will perform “8x10s: 7 Come 11” through Jan. 21 at the Performing Arts Center, 1670 Nectar St. Shows are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, with a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday, Jan. 15. Tickets — $20 General Admission and $15 for Seniors or Students — are available online at Event Brite and also may be purchased at the door.
Cave women Larum (Megan Pimental), left, and Moubrey (Cassandra Bowman) ponder the alphabet. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com
