Kevin and Bari (Don Converse and Duchess Dale) contemplate their future in ‘Hunker Up’, presented by Teatro Paraguas via Zoom. Courtesy photo

By BONNIE J. GORDON
Los Alamos Daily Post
bjgordon@ladailypost.com

Kevin and Bari, the seniors who found romance during COVID lockdown in “Hunker Down” are back for an encore in “Hunker Up”, a short romantic comedy sequel. Can their relationship survive once they get out of isolation?

“Hunker Down” was presented by Teatro Paraguas several times in 2020.

Duchess Dale and Don Converse starred as Bari and Kevin and reprise their roles again for “Hunker Up”. Dale directs.

“The characters kept talking to me,” Los Alamos playwright Robert F. Benjamin said. “I usually feel more in control. This time I felt pushed.”

A lot of the audience of “Hunker Down” wanted to know what happens to quirky introverted Kevin and outgoing gregarious Bari once the pandemic recedes, he said.

“Bari was comfortable with her life before the pandemic,” Benjamin said. “She’s not sure Kevin will fit into that life. Kevin knows he wants to be a bigger part of her life. For Bari, constructing a ‘new normal’ that includes Kevin is more of a stretch. He knows he has to win her over with a strategic courtship.”
Creating a post lockdown life is an issue a lot of people are facing and they’ll identify with this engaging couple.
“How much of what we dreamed during lockdown do we really want to do?” Benjamin wondered. “Do we create a new normal or do we discover it?”

The linguistic intensity of the couple’s conversation carries both the original play and the sequel. It’s ideal for the Zoom format.

“Usually the setting of the play is a big part in live theater,” Benjamin said. “That can’t be true of a Zoom production. With Zoom, the relationships and the language have to carry the play. There is a lot of potential to reach a larger audience with Zoom, but theaters will have to train audiences to understand a Zoom play on its own terms.”

Many of Benjamin’s plays feature situations and characters not usually seen on stage. Right now, he’s working on a piece about a young Jewish woman trying to figure out how to communicate with God.

“I like to go where people haven’t been before,” he said.

“Hunker Up” will be live on Zoom at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 24 and 25 and 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 26. Visit teatroparaguasnm.org to get the Zoom link and reserve your seat. The production is free, but donations are very welcome.