[NEohioPAL]Rave Review for Actors' Summit Production "All In The Timing!"

Tue May 2 11:16:40 PDT 2006

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Six quick acts register absurd batch of laughs 

Tuesday, May 02, 2006  

Zachary Lewis

Special To The Plain Dealer 
It's all in the timing, indeed. Were this compilation of six one-act comedies 
 by David Ives made to run any longer or shorter, it would feel belabored or  
rushed. But the new Actors' Summit production of "All in the Timing" gets it  
just right.  
A close-knit quartet of regulars, directed by Neil Thackaberry, presents the  
shows without intermission, transitioning between characters seamlessly and 
with  mind-boggling speed. The pace never flags, and there's barely time for 
laughter  to subside before a new round of absurdity begins.  
All six plays from the late 1980s and early '90s apply the same basic  
principle even as the scenarios they explore differ wildly. Each scene plays out  a 
brainy, existential game wherein Ives has manipulated some essential aspect of 
 language, communication, time or the human condition. Like  a top set 
spinning in a maze, dialogues stop and restart constantly while  conversations take 
new tacks every few seconds. In a way, the plays could go on  forever or 
repeat indefinitely, all the while making profound observations and  tapping into 
endless veins of verbal wit.  
The strongest and funniest plays are also the simplest in design. These are  
the ones that draw out the finest performances, too.  
"Sure Thing" portrays dating as a game of fantastically impossible odds. Ives 
 imagines a boy-meets-girl scenario in which the two characters halt their  
approach and alter their conversational reactions slightly whenever they  
encounter a potential roadblock. It's pure genius.  
Noah Varness and Alicia Kahn prove to be geniuses in their own rights,  
hitting on subtly different combinations of facial expressions, vocal  inflections 
and postures as they inch and eventually rush toward blissful  romance.  
Later these same actors play a baker and a mysterious stranger in a  
fragmented scene involving Philip Glass. This play, "Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of  
Broad," is best described as the theatrical equivalent of the composer's  
minimalist music.  
Sally Groth and Peter Voinovich have their fair share of zany roles. Both,  
for instance, play frustrated and astoundingly self-aware monkeys in "Words,  
Words, Words." But the pinnacle of their achievement takes place in "The  
Universal Language," the third play in the set.  
The premise is a bogus language lesson, and the underlying concept is our  
astonishing ability to communicate using nothing but context. The two characters 
 spend most of the scene rattling off vaguely lingual nonsense, yet we're 
able to  follow their interaction almost as easily as if it were English.  
At every moment, Groth and Voinovich are thinking in English but speaking in  
a related gibberish. This is duly impressive, but even more amazing is that  
they're portraying realistic characters all the while.  
Talk about timing. These two actors are running on three tracks at once.  
Lewis is a free-lance writer in Cleveland. 

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<H1 class=3Dred>
<H1 class=3Dred>Six quick acts register absurd batch of laughs </H1></H1>
<DIV class=3Dsubhead>
<DIV class=3Dsubhead><B></B></DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=3Dbyln>Tuesday, May 02, 2006=20
<DIV>
<DIV>Zachary Lewis</DIV></DIV><B><B>Special To The Plain Dealer</B></B> </DI=
V>
<P>It's all in the timing, indeed. Were this compilation of six one-act come=
dies=20
by David Ives made to run any longer or shorter, it would feel belabored or=20
rushed. But the new Actors' Summit production of "All in the Timing" gets it=
=20
just right. </P>
<P>A close-knit quartet of regulars, directed by Neil Thackaberry, presents=20=
the=20
shows without intermission, transitioning between characters seamlessly and=20=
with=20
mind-boggling speed. The pace never flags, and there's barely time for laugh=
ter=20
to subside before a new round of absurdity begins. </P>
<P>All six plays from the late 1980s and early '90s apply the same basic=20
principle even as the scenarios they explore differ wildly. Each scene plays=
 out=20
a brainy, existential game wherein Ives has manipulated some essential aspec=
t of=20
language, communication, time or the human condition. </P><NOSCRIPT><IMG=20
src=3D"http://ads.cleveland.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.ads/www.cleveland.=
com/xml/story/ea/eaall/@StoryAd?x"></NOSCRIPT>Like=20
a top set spinning in a maze, dialogues stop and restart constantly while=20
conversations take new tacks every few seconds. In a way, the plays could go=
 on=20
forever or repeat indefinitely, all the while making profound observations a=
nd=20
tapping into endless veins of verbal wit.=20
<P>The strongest and funniest plays are also the simplest in design. These a=
re=20
the ones that draw out the finest performances, too. </P>
<P>"Sure Thing" portrays dating as a game of fantastically impossible odds.=20=
Ives=20
imagines a boy-meets-girl scenario in which the two characters halt their=20
approach and alter their conversational reactions slightly whenever they=20
encounter a potential roadblock. It's pure genius. </P>
<P>Noah Varness and Alicia Kahn prove to be geniuses in their own rights,=20
hitting on subtly different combinations of facial expressions, vocal=20
inflections and postures as they inch and eventually rush toward blissful=20
romance. </P>
<P>Later these same actors play a baker and a mysterious stranger in a=20
fragmented scene involving Philip Glass. This play, "Philip Glass Buys a Loa=
f of=20
Broad," is best described as the theatrical equivalent of the composer's=20
minimalist music. </P>
<P>Sally Groth and Peter Voinovich have their fair share of zany roles. Both=
,=20
for instance, play frustrated and astoundingly self-aware monkeys in "Words,=
=20
Words, Words." But the pinnacle of their achievement takes place in "The=20
Universal Language," the third play in the set. </P>
<P>The premise is a bogus language lesson, and the underlying concept is our=
=20
astonishing ability to communicate using nothing but context. The two charac=
ters=20
spend most of the scene rattling off vaguely lingual nonsense, yet we're abl=
e to=20
follow their interaction almost as easily as if it were English. </P>
<P>At every moment, Groth and Voinovich are thinking in English but speaking=
 in=20
a related gibberish. This is duly impressive, but even more amazing is that=20
they're portraying realistic characters all the while. </P>
<P>Talk about timing. These two actors are running on three tracks at once.=20=
</P>
<P>Lewis is a free-lance writer in Cleveland.=20
</P></DIV></EM></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>

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