I am so excited about attending the “Humana Fest” this year, finally, after hearing so many good things about it. It’s only a 3 1/2 hour drive from Columbus, OH, so the only reason I hadn’t gone before was lack of people to go with. A friend of mine and I went down to Louisville, Kentucky this weekend and we saw three of the festival plays (all synopses below are from festival web site).
The As If Body Loop by Ken Weitzman
Aaron’s sister Sarah is succumbing to a mysteriously icy illness and to save her, his family must save…well….all humankind, starting with one guy. With great humor, tremendous compassion, and a good dose of mysticism, maybe the apocalypse can be kept at bay by a group of eccentrically dysfunctional, but loving, people.
Strike-Slip by Naomi Iizuka
In the urban sprawl of Los Angeles, three diverse families each carry a dream, but a recent shooting creates an unexpected seismic shift that rocks each family’s foundation. Faults that were once inactive or dormant suddenly appear and abruptly change the way they think about themselves, their community and their dream.
The Unseen by Craig Wright
Imprisoned by a totalitarian regime and mercilessly tortured for unknown crimes, Wallace and Valdez live without hope of escape or release. When an enigmatic new prisoner arrives and begins communicating in code, both men develop new relationships to each other, their captors, and themselves. A darkly humorous examination of faith in an uncertain world.
All three plays were very well-written and I enjoyed seeing each one of them. The As If Body Loop was quirky, at times serious, at times hilarious, and felt the most ‘contemporary’ and fresh.
Strike-Slip was a well-crafted play with multiple interlocking stories, but I did feel at times that all the interconnections were perhaps a bit too convenient. This play was the most grounded in realism of the three.
The Unseen was the most serious play of the bunch, and the one that made me think the most. It also features probably the strongest acting, as it consisted primarily of two men on stage talking to each other, but in separate jail cells, and unable to see or directly interact with the other actor.
This was my first visit to Louisville, KY, and overall I was impressed with my experience there. We stayed in a grand historic downtown hotel (and even got to go on an unexpected “ghost tour” of the building), within easy walking distance of the theaters. Louisville has a much more active downtown than Columbus, with lots of activity, especially on the weekends.
I would have loved to have stayed longer and seen more of the plays, but I’m still excited about the plays I did see, and am looking forward to going back again next year.
