THIRD eYE Festival

If a central theme runs through this year's THIRDeYE Theater Festival, taking place through this weekend at UC Davis' Wyatt Pavilion, it might be 'I see dead people.'

Isaac - all three of him - sees his dead mother. Jaime sees his dead grandfather. Paul sees Hemingway and Hitler in a bathing suit.

This annual festival showcases the work of three undergraduate playwrights and three undergraduate directors, and allows the students to apply to the stage what they have learned in class. This year's festival is under the artistic curatorship of Peter Lichtenfels, and the plays themselves were developed in Philip Kan Gotanda's playwriting class in the fall quarter of 2008.

'The Blue Jay's Song,' written by Daniel Jordan and directed by William MacInnis, came out of the former's own romantic crisis; the play illuminates the rebirth that comes with the death of loved ones and the loss of relationships.

The character of Isaac is shown as a split personality, with Mark Curtis Ferrando as the central figure; Micah Shyuh and Juan Gallardo represent different portions of his emotions. Gallardo (Isaac 2) is the more angry, while Shyuh (Isaac 1) is the more peaceful and loving of the emotions.

Isaac lost his mother early, and his search to understand that loss has affected his life, especially his current relationship with Elizabeth (Monica Ammerman). The two fight and make up in confusing ways, the underlying cause not always apparent to the audience.

The circus atmosphere of Isaac's emotional life is represented by a ringmaster ('circus conductor') played by Jordan himself, accompanied by a juggler (Alexander Weston) and contortionist (Megan Vaughan). They're accompanied by dancers Sasha Hao, Jenny Giles and Elizabeth Tremain.

Malia Abayon plays the ghost of Isaac's mother; she gives an exceptional performance that adds depth to the production.

A lighting designer once told me that the key to good lighting design is that it be so seamlessly integrated into the action that it remains unnoticed. If that is the case, designer Robert Quiggle has some 'splaining to do, because his lighting choices are often odd; they left me wondering why he did such-and-such, rather than concentrating on the flow of the play itself.

Kristopher Ide's 'Fools Afloat' is directed by Olufunmilayo Alabi. This play also derived from the playwright's personal experience: in this case, the death of his father.

Brendan Ward gives an impassioned performance as a man struggling to come to grips with his father's death. This struggle takes him on an imagined boat ride with Ernest Hemingway (Christopher Mantione) and a unique vision of Adolf Hitler (Ryan Geraghty), in an old-fashioned bathing suit. (Kudos to costume designer Diego Suazo-Vacarezza.)

The cast also includes Gillian Heitmen, as Paul's girlfriend Francesca, and Thomas Barrack, as Francesca's former boyfriend John.

As Paul takes his imagined trip with Hemingway and Hitler, he pulls the unraveled bits of his life back together again; he's able to return with a greater understanding of himself and an ability to move forward in his relationship with Francesca.

Fourth-year psychology and dramatic art double-major Jazz Trice wrote and gives a very strong performance in 'Empty All the Boxes,' directed by Natasha Cooke.

Trice's character, Jaime, has been having visions of his grandfather as a young man (Gordon Meacham), and can't quite understand what this means. Jaime's attempt to share his experience with his sister, Nicki (the effervescent Sophiana Carrell), underlines the difficulties in their sibling relationship.

When their parents (Stephanie Moore and Kristopher Ide) return home, it becomes obvious that this family has a lot of relationship problems. Communication doesn't happen in this house. Can Grandpa's ghostly visits help break down walls when a potential health crisis erupts?

'This play drives and asks questions that are uncomfortable,' Cooke explains. 'It reveals reality and truth, and sheds humanity amongst those searching.'

THIRDeYE Festival

The UC Davis theater and dance department's annual THIRDeYE Theater Festival once again is showcasing the work of three talented student playwrights and three student directors.

'These three original plays not only provide entertainment,' said artistic director Jade McCutcheon, 'but a forum for debate and discussion.'

The works were created in UCD playwrighting and English courses, where playwrights are encouraged to explore issues that deeply concern them, whether about the environment, death, sexuality, relationships or love.

Solid performances are turned in by Shaya Carp, Desiree M. Doyle and Ashkon Royce Malmoudi in Joe Ferreira's 'The Readers,' directed by Kevin Ganger. Carp and Mahmoudi play Clara and Michael, who live in the poorest of the poor tenement apartments, are engaged to be married, and struggle to make ends meet.

Doyle plays June, their lesbian neighbor, who is attracted to Clara and fearful that Michael's erratic temper might cause him to hurt his fiancée.


The practical Clara is working to pay the bills, while the idealistic Michael is a struggling artist, trying to find a way to live the 'perfect life' in their small, shabby apartment, where the water gets turned off routinely. He is, however, unwilling to work at something that'll actually bring in some money. Arguments about finances are common.

When a large sum of money goes missing from their bank account, Michael confesses he has been seeing 'The Readers,' who are able to read his mind and tell him what his perfect life is, and where his path to success lies. Clara realizes that she doesn't really know this man with whom she is sharing her life, or what he is capable of.

The play explores whether it's possible to make every decision the right decision. And if others could see into our future, do we want them to make our decisions for us?

The incidental mood music by sound designer Reed Wagner is sometimes distracting, and often does not complement the play itself.

Carolyn Duncan's 'When Marcelli Met the Dream Maker,' directed by Jenna Templeton, concerns a 15-year-old writer and her family. The young creator of mythical stories lives with her anorexic sister and eccentric mother, and struggles with the fear of losing her father. Helped by dream-world creatures and characters, the teen makes life-changing discoveries.

Duncan explains that this is her story: 'The pain, the love, the magic are all real parts of me. It was most difficult to write about my own sister's illness.'

The play contains seven scenes, the first three of which occur in different (unnamed) war eras, while the final four take place in the present day.

The printed program is a little confusing: While all the characters have names, they're never referred to by those names in the play itself, so I may have the wrong actors playing the wrong roles. There are three Marcelli women, but only two have last names listed in the program.

I assume Amber Nolan is the young writer, Allissandra Marcelli; if so, she creates a very sympathetic character, as she tries to learn the truth about her father, and expresses concern for her sister's health.

I'm also guessing that Tianna Riva is Allissandra's mother - and also Muse Two, in a dream sequence - and does an excellent job at demonstrating the eccentricities of a parent who is unable to face what might be terrible news.

That leaves either Katie Walton (Danu) or Christina Moore (Morrigan) as Allissandra's sister, who spends her life lying on the couch, afraid to face the world. Whichever actress plays this part does a good job.

The other cast members - Kyle Robinson, William Wong and Steph Hankinson - also tackle several roles, all well.

At the age of 50, with 13 plays already under her belt, playwright Julie Friedrichson - the writer of 'A Piece of Water' - hardly is young. But she came to UC Davis to work with McCutcheon, and wrote her play in McCutcheon's class.

'A Piece of Water,' directed by Daniel A. Guttenberg, explores the roots of emotional crises that result from miscommunication. A cello, a romance and a photographer are central to this unique piece of theatrical poetry.

As Timea (Kristina Stasi) and Freide (Kathryn Hempstead) try to navigate the waters of love in Cold War Hungary, Paula (Kate McGrath) and her partner Rahim (Juan Gallardo) wend their way through a dusty apartment's history, and try to make sense of the present. The two stories intertwine and diverge, flowing in and out of each other toward a conclusion as inevitable as it is elusive.

The old woman, who knows more than she lets on, is played by Sarah Birdsall.

You have only one more chance to catch these new theatrical works, at 2 p.m. today at UCD's Wyatt Pavilion. You'll find this year's THIRDeYE Festival an enjoyable and thought-provoking afternoon of theater.

THIRDeYE Festival

The University of California Davis Department of Theater and Dance is presenting its annual THIRDeYE Theater Festival, showcasing the work of three talented student playwrights and three student directors at the Wyatt Pavilion Theater, through January 27th.

The plays are written in various UC Davis playwriting and English classes, some taught by Jade McCutcheon, reprising her successful 2007 role as Artistic Director for the festival.

Kellie Raines, who wrote last year’s delightful “Saving Trophies,” is back for her second THIRDeYE experience. This time it’s “Miracle Fish,” directed by Jason Masino, and inspired by a story from the Internet about a pair of men in London who found a fish they claimed had the word “Allah” on it. The men put it on display and people came to view the fish, nicknamed “Miracle Fish.” From this Raines formed the central theme of her play which is how we often look for answers or signs in objects and ephemera that are man made.

Heidi Kendrick is Samira, an aspiring writer suffering from writer’s block and wracked with guilt over an issue which is not revealed until midway through the play. She seeks guidance from a “Magic Eight Ball” (“Should I have told him no?”) Kendrick shines in this piece, nicely conveying her frustration and her reliance on outside objects to give her a sign that will help her make major life decisions.

Thomas (Kevin Ganger), with whom we assume she is romantically involved, arrives with his friend Matt (Roth Wiedrick). The men had been at a club and on their return home during a big storm Thomas asserts it began raining fish. A fish with the likeness of Jesus on it landed on their car windshield and the men plan to put it up for auction on eBay and become rich.

While Matt and Thomas are in the bedroom watching the bids on eBay rise, Samira’s former boyfriend, Steven (Mark Ferrando) arrives. Steven apparently dumped Samira for his Uruguayan boyfriend, Eluid (Nathan Lessa). Revelations are made, decisions are made, and Samira finds her inspiration in an unlikely place.

Scenic design of Samira’s apartment by Kelsey Nix, is particularly nice.

I didn’t feel nearly as bad during intermission following the second play, “Brigid’s Reign,” by John Crosthwaite (directed by Cary Babka), when a large group of people sitting next to me huddled and compared notes, trying to figure out what the play was about. I had difficulty following it myself. While the 8-member cast is strong, the combination of their Irish accents, Wyatt acoustics, and my seat on the side of the stage rather than in front made it difficult to catch large parts of the dialog, which made it nearly impossible to follow the plot.

The play was inspired by testimonies and legends surrounding the Troubles of Northern Ireland from the late 1960's to the mid 1990's. Seannan (Daniel Reano-Koven) loses his wife (Gia Battista) and daughter Brigid (Bridgette Davis) as a result of the violent Irish conflict. Reano-Koven brings an intensity to the role which underscores the pain of his loss, the depth of his guilt, and the anger which fuels the conflict that rages within him.

Seannan and his friend Jared (Bryan Marcus Pham, who has one of the best of the Irish accents)) come to America to stay with relatives. Katie Hulse gives a wonderful performance as Casey, the mother of the transplanted Irish-American family. Cory McDaniel, Ulysees [sic] Morazon and JT Reece are Casey’s sons. "Secrets drive the family apart, but experience brings them closer," says the playwright.

What do the ghosts (the afterlife in general having a huge impact on the play) have to say about the outcome of the living? I’m not exactly sure–and my seatmates at Wyatt Pavilion weren’t sure either!

“Ghost, Bathtub and Windmill,” a comedy by Elise Kane (who appears to have a particular love for bathtubs, as her performance art piece last year was entitled “The Bathtub Experiment”) was directed by Daniel Guttenberg,

Its nine-member cast is headed by Figg (Brian McFadden) and Czewski (Erin Cookston), the ghost of a Polish Holocaust victim, now working as a costumer in a New York theater. McFadden is wonderfully droll and Cookston gives a gentle dignity to the ghost of this little costumer.

Matt Moore is also quite funny as Alastair and Kelly Fleischman sparkles as the diva, Echo. Others in this excellent cast include Geoffry Jenson as Clifford, Alison Stevenson as Minnie, and Stephanie Hankinson, Cody Messick and Daniel Storrow as Producers.

The bathtub features prominently and is the location for some of the funnier bits of physical comedy.

THIRDeYE Theater Festival has once again shown us that talent is alive and vibrant at the Department of Theater and Drama!