[NEohioPAL]Berko review: STATES OF SHOCK (convergence)

[Roy Berko]

‘STATES OF SHOCK’ CHALLENGES AUDIENCE AT
CONVERGENCE-CONTINUUM

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)


--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	


Stephen Gaghan, the writer and director of the film
‘SYRIANA’ recently stated, “I think it’s really
important to go out of the theater wondering about its
meaning.  Everything isn’t explained in two hours. 
The world is a big, complex, inscrutable place.  Why
take a complex world and reduce it to simple truths? 
That’s kind of false.”  

When reading Gaghan’s quote I thought of
convergence-continuum, the little theatre in Tremont
that strongly subscribes to the theory of abstraction.
 Artistic Director Clyde Simon and Executive Director
Brian Breth seem to get special glee out of perplexing
their audiences.  Their latest production, Sam
Shepard’s ‘STATES OF SHOCK’ is no exception.  

‘STATES OF SHOCK’ opened in May of 1991 to mixed
reviews.   It was mainly perceived as a dash back to
Shepard’s late 1960s style of experimentalistic and
hallucinatory plays.  Even the subtitle, “A Vaudeville
Nightmare,” keys us into the non realistic nature of
the script.

‘STATES OF SHOCK’ condemns both the American
government's military invasion of Iraq in February of
1991 and, the compliant and complacent reaction of the
American public to that invasion and to the manner in
which it was mass-marketed by our leaders.    With
that theme, is it any wonder why convergence-continuum
chose to stage the play today, when the public is
again learning the lesson of compliancy and
complacency and government manipulation regarding the
present Iraq fiasco? 

Set in a diner somewhere in time and space, the play
is written as almost a dreamlike event.  The writing
device puts the cast into a shock-state which carries
over to the audience who often don’t know if they are
to react in horror or laughter to the goings on.

Another of Shepard’s constant themes, the
confrontation between a father-figure and a
disinherited son is present. In ‘STATES OF SHOCK’ the
father, known only as the Colonel, is costumed in bits
and pieces of historical uniforms, military
decorations, and combat gear from various American
wars.  As described by Shepard historian David Rose,
“He is an amalgam of the archetypal military man: a
firm believer in the noble myths of war which men like
himself have served to perpetuate.  He regularly
raises his glass in a toast to the enemy who has made
the present war possible. ‘Without the enemy,’ the
Colonel frequently proclaims, ‘we're nothing.’  His
companion, Stubbs, is his son, a disabled veteran.
Their confrontation, enacted before symbolic
representatives of the American public, suggests a
battle between those fathers who make war and those
sons who must do battle.”

The public present for the conflict between Stubbs and
the Colonel is a seemingly affluent couple dressed
from head to foot in white.  As Rose  states, “They
sit at a table waiting for a long overdue order of
clam chowder. Detached and unaffected, they are white
America, watching unmoved as father and son debate the
terrible cost of war.”  They are annoyed at their wait
for the chowder, seemingly interested in, but not
overly upset by, the horror that is unfolding just
feet away from them, much like the complaisant
American electorate. 

The only other character in the play is an ineffectual
waitress named Glory Bee.  In the original production
she was black, adding another texture to Shepard’s
image--the negative treatment of minorities in the
power games of an authoritarian society.  This is lost
in the convergence production with the role being
portrayed by a white actress. 

The cast is uniformly excellent.  Wes Shofner (The
Colonel) rants and raves and physically abuses with
abandon.  Geoffrey Hoffman is compelling as the
physically and mentally crippled Stubbs.  Lucy
Bredeson-Smith as Glory Bee creates a character who 
is perfectly pathetic and comic.  Steve Needham and
Dawn Youngs due yeoman duty as the bland, non-involved
couple.

Clyde Simon keeps the pacing on target.  Eric Wahl’s
visual media design greatly enhances the production.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  As is often the case at
convergence-continuum ‘STATES OF SHOCK’ is not for
everyone.  A complete set of program notes would have
helped the viewers navigate through Shepard’s poetic,
dream-like anti-war father-son conflicted world.  But,
as is, this is a compelling piece of theatre.

‘STATES OF SHOCK” runs through December 17 at The
Liminis, 2438 Scranton Road, Cleveland.  For tickets
call 216-687-0074.


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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