Who: Theatre 68
What: Live Zoom plays and talkbacks
Where: Theatre68 YouTube
When: Tuesday – Sunday through September 27, free (donations accepted), 8:00
Why: Theater companies all across the country have been trying to survive the pandemic lockdown with reunion readings, livestreamed archival shows, and new works over Zoom, with varying degrees of success. Some have been ingenious (Arlekin Players Theatre’s State vs Natasha Banina, the Public’s The Line, Larry Powell’s The Gaze), while others, well, not so much, which is just like regular theater experienced live and in person. One of the most daring experiments is being done by Theatre 68, which is based in North Hollywood and has a New York City chapter. Resident troupe the 68 Cent Crew Theatre is following up its Bi-Coastal Monologue Jam with its ninth annual One Acts Fundraising Festival, short plays being performed live Tuesday through Sunday nights at 8:00, with a bonus show Friday at 9:00; they go dark on Mondays, giving it a realistic, recognizable schedule that most brick-and-mortar theaters follow. The works are written, directed, and performed by members of the company, taking place live from wherever the actors are sheltering in place, and are followed by a talkback with cast and crew; the shows are not archived for later viewing on YouTube, although if you check out the troupe’s Facebook page, their are occasional links to help you catch up on a show you might have missed.
Theatre 68 rehearses Fear and Self-Loathing over Zoom for one-act festival
Titled “Primal Instincts,” the festival has completed one go-round of the seven plays, which are listed below. Watching them is an intimate experience, especially if you keep the chat box open as company members, friends, relatives, and theater lovers comment on the action, including artistic director Ronnie Marmo, who played the title character in Theatre 68’s I’m Not a Comedian . . . I’m Lenny Bruce, directed by Joe Mantegna. The plays were conceived prior to the pandemic but they work well just the same; stick around for the talkback and you might get to see one of the writers kvelling at how successfully a play they wrote for the stage has been transformed for this virtual presentation. Among the other tidbits you’ll discover is that Carly Wilkins’s Old Habits Die Hard was written for two female lovers but is performed here by a gay male couple and how the actors adapt their performances week to week by studying the previous shows, something they cannot do with such clarity and specificity onstage in a theater. Look out for Evenings, which brings some fun chills, while Doomed to Live offers one way out of our rather challenging human existence and Fear and Self-Loathing resurrects a famous gonzo journalist. By the time you’ve checked out all seven shows, you’ll feel like you’re part of the Theatre 68 family.
Tuesday, 8:00: Doomed to Live, a novel take on suicide, with John Varina, Louis Politan, and Snezhana Chernyavskaya, directed by Annie Lanzillotto, written by Maria Kirke
Wednesday, 8:00: Old Habits Die Hard, in which a cat threatens the relationship between two gay men in a new apartment, with Julian Guzman Abril and Riley Fee, directed by Lauren Winnenberg, written by Carly Wilkins
Thursday, 8:00: Evenings, a creepy fairy tale about pending motherhood, with Annie Lanzillotto, Janelle Gaeta, and David Erba, directed by Carly Wilkins and Riley Fee, written by Kathryn Loggins
Friday, 8:00: Carnivorous, which presents a vegan dilemma, with Samantha Bowen, Christian Leadley, and Alan Braunstein, directed by Janelle Gaeta, written by Megan Magee
Friday, 9:00: The Stork, featuring a bizarre bird-person, with Alexandra Dominguez, Kaya Simmons, and Jade Mason, directed by John Varina, written by Samantha Bowen
Saturday, 8:00: The Hooking Place, in which a lesbian is jealous of her partner’s upcoming night out with an ex-boyfriend, with Megan Magee and Jordan Gelber, directed by Ronnie Marmo, written by Annie Lanzillotto
Sunday, 8:00: Fear and Self-Loathing, where an editor tries to convince Hunter S. Thompson to get back to writing, with Marty Grabstein, Isa Goldberg, and Richard Bernstein, directed by Megan Magee, written by Christian Leadley