As a graduate of a University Theatre Arts program, I well remember how important it was to have an audience fill the seats at our performances. Having an audience, a real audience (not just one composed of friends and family and students looking for some easy extra credit for their English class) made all the difference in the world to a bunch of young and not-so-young humans like me, insane enough to actually pursue a degree in Theatre.
All of the post-secondary education institutions of higher learning in the North Bay have vibrant theatre programs. Napa Valley College, College of Marin, Santa Rosa Junior College, and Sonoma State University (for now) all mount productions that welcome the public’s attendance and support. The state-of-the-art facilities at all four campuses are some of the best venues in the area to enjoy a live performance.
Santa Rosa Junior College’s Burbank Auditorium has two theatres: the 400-seat Main Theatre and the 200-seat Frank Chong Studio Theatre. The studio theatre has fast become one of my favorite North Bay venues. It’s modern yet comfortable and has all the bells and whistles one expects when it comes to lighting and sound. Â
Those bells and whistles are put to good use by a bunch of current and former student designers in the SRJC’s production of All in the Timing: An Evening of David Ives Comedies. The show runs on the Santa Rosa campus through October 13.
The show is a collection of six one-act comedies that gives the student cast the opportunity to play a variety of roles, from a couple of folks chatting at a coffee shop to monkeys sitting at typewriters to Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky to two mayflies looking to make the most of their 24 hours on Earth.
Sure Thing plays like an improv comedy sketch as two people (Maya Tuchband and AJ Correa) meet in a coffee shop and engage in a conversation. The conversation literally turns on a bell.
Words, Words, Words is Ives’ take on the infinite monkey theorem. That theorem states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ives puts three monkeys (Cameron Sundberg, Ethan Fuller, Emerson Reynolds) to work on Hamlet.
The Universal Language introduces the audience to Unamunda, a nonsensical language being hawked by a shady huckster named Don (Orion Pudoff) to an unsuspecting woman named Dawn (Nataly Garduno) who’s trying to overcome a speech impediment.
The Philadelphia features two gentlemen (Will Mosier, Kasey Vannoy) and a waitress (Mariah Burgos) living in a world where you can never get what you ask for.
Variations on the Death of Trotsky is just what its title indicates. The Russian revolutionary lived 24 hours after a mountain climber’s axe was smashed into his skull, so Ives gives us Trotsky (Gavin Sellors), his wife (Samantha Rokes), and his gardener/assassin Ramon (Juan Torres Ibanez) in a number of Monty Python-esque bits, all with the axe protruding from Trotsky’s head.
Time Flies features two mayflies (Maya Tuchband, James Maverick Cheney) trying to get it on under the watchful eyes of Sir David Attenborough (Orion Pudoff).
Director Leslie McCauley’s young cast handles Ives’ often intricately amusing wordplay extremely well. For folks who like their comedy a bit more on the physical side, the casts of Words, Words, Words and Time Flies deliver the goods, with Sundberg’s work as monkey ‘Milton’ particularly funny.
The utilitarian set by Nathaniel George Gillespie allows for quick scene changes and crisp projections (also by Gillespie) announce each play. The cast is well-supported by the lighting and sound designs by Alex Clark and Grace Reid. If you’ve ever wondered what mayflies on the make look like, costume designer Reynalda Cruz gives them a Las Vegas lounge singer look (with antennae).
With a running time of less than two hours and ticket prices of only $15 – $25, this well-produced, well-performed, and often very amusing show is an absolute bargain. It would be time (and money) well spent.
‘All in the Timing’ runs Thurs–Sun through October 13 in the Santa Rosa Junior College Burbank Auditorium Frank Chong Studio Theatre, 1501 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa. Thurs–Sat, 7:30 pm; Sat & Sun, 2 pm. $15–$25. 707.527.4307. theatrearts.santarosa.edu
