Heavy metal.
I went to see The Sound of Steel last night. It's a new play by a Jackson local, produced by the Fondren Theatre Workshop. First of all, let me say that this type of production is exactly what I want to see happening in Jackson. The encouragement of new, original work; the discovery of new performers, writers, and directors. It felt really good to go see a production that only exists by the virtue of people right here in Jackson. Kudos to FTW.
First, the script. The plot hinges on three primary characters: Art, a young, idealistic, ambitious Southern reporter; Jim, a cynical, jaded, older reporter from Mississippi; and Sarah, a hopeful human rights activist from New York. The opening scenes are very cleverly written, with lots of repartee and character-based exposition. Some of the comedic lines in the opening scenes are, I think, the best in the play. The three characters converge on a Missisippi bar and motel in connection with the execution of a penitentiary inmate. The script uses alot of symbolism. The paper that the two reporters write for is the Daily Mirror, and much is made of how the media holds a reflection (of life, of themselves, etc.) up to the public, how this reflection is distorted/dishonest, how people only see what they want to see when they look in the mirror (and whether this can be sustained). If I had worked on set design, I might have put a mirror behind the motel bar. Nothing fancy, just a visual ripple of the script. That way, audience members might have even been able to see themselves when they looked at the set. (Lighting, all from trees at the back of the house, might have made this an impossibility for this production.)
The train is also a metaphor used in the script, and it serves as the source for the name of the play. The train always leaves Memphis on time, and it always arrives in New Orleans on time, but the residents of Northview, Miss., never know quite when it will pass through their town. But the relentlessness of the train, and the sound it pours into the town, seem to represent many things for the different characters in the play. The train steals Jim's brother from him, the "noise" seems to be what Art might be trying to escape from or shut out. Sarah just wants to get on the train and never get off, to always be moving through some pastoral setting rather than arriving at a real destination.
Of all the characters, Cotton seems to best represent the voice of the playwright. Cotton, the owner of the motel, is astute. He knows alot about the town, and looks as if he might have sprung fully-formed from his own beat-up bar. He directly addresses the audience quite a bit, talking about the train and how people respond to it.
As for performances, the stand-out of the evening was John Howell as Jim. He made every line count, and the arc of his character was finely drawn throughout. He had great delivery, and he's obviously very comfortable in his own skin. Cotton, although not really as full of a character as some of the principals, made the most of his lines, using a style of delivery that, I thought, fit his function as a character very well. Art, played by David Fowlkes, started out in Act I a little stilted, but made up for it in later acts, particularly in a scene where he blasted Sarah with the duplicity of his own character. I would have liked to have seen more range from Alyssa Silberman, who played Sarah. I felt that so much of her dialogue was delivered with the same spirit that the arc of the character was never fully realized. I think she could really benefit from some movement training as well. She appeared a little self-conscious on stage.
All in all, though, I really enjoyed the production. I thought it was a great example of what community theatre is capable of, and how it can tackle material that is different from professional theatre (at least in Jackson, anyway). If you get the chance next weekend, go out and see it. Call 601-353-9053 for reservations, though. Last night, I think just about every seat in the small space was filled.
First, the script. The plot hinges on three primary characters: Art, a young, idealistic, ambitious Southern reporter; Jim, a cynical, jaded, older reporter from Mississippi; and Sarah, a hopeful human rights activist from New York. The opening scenes are very cleverly written, with lots of repartee and character-based exposition. Some of the comedic lines in the opening scenes are, I think, the best in the play. The three characters converge on a Missisippi bar and motel in connection with the execution of a penitentiary inmate. The script uses alot of symbolism. The paper that the two reporters write for is the Daily Mirror, and much is made of how the media holds a reflection (of life, of themselves, etc.) up to the public, how this reflection is distorted/dishonest, how people only see what they want to see when they look in the mirror (and whether this can be sustained). If I had worked on set design, I might have put a mirror behind the motel bar. Nothing fancy, just a visual ripple of the script. That way, audience members might have even been able to see themselves when they looked at the set. (Lighting, all from trees at the back of the house, might have made this an impossibility for this production.)
The train is also a metaphor used in the script, and it serves as the source for the name of the play. The train always leaves Memphis on time, and it always arrives in New Orleans on time, but the residents of Northview, Miss., never know quite when it will pass through their town. But the relentlessness of the train, and the sound it pours into the town, seem to represent many things for the different characters in the play. The train steals Jim's brother from him, the "noise" seems to be what Art might be trying to escape from or shut out. Sarah just wants to get on the train and never get off, to always be moving through some pastoral setting rather than arriving at a real destination.
Of all the characters, Cotton seems to best represent the voice of the playwright. Cotton, the owner of the motel, is astute. He knows alot about the town, and looks as if he might have sprung fully-formed from his own beat-up bar. He directly addresses the audience quite a bit, talking about the train and how people respond to it.
As for performances, the stand-out of the evening was John Howell as Jim. He made every line count, and the arc of his character was finely drawn throughout. He had great delivery, and he's obviously very comfortable in his own skin. Cotton, although not really as full of a character as some of the principals, made the most of his lines, using a style of delivery that, I thought, fit his function as a character very well. Art, played by David Fowlkes, started out in Act I a little stilted, but made up for it in later acts, particularly in a scene where he blasted Sarah with the duplicity of his own character. I would have liked to have seen more range from Alyssa Silberman, who played Sarah. I felt that so much of her dialogue was delivered with the same spirit that the arc of the character was never fully realized. I think she could really benefit from some movement training as well. She appeared a little self-conscious on stage.
All in all, though, I really enjoyed the production. I thought it was a great example of what community theatre is capable of, and how it can tackle material that is different from professional theatre (at least in Jackson, anyway). If you get the chance next weekend, go out and see it. Call 601-353-9053 for reservations, though. Last night, I think just about every seat in the small space was filled.
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