theater
Stage against the machine In a city mired in musicals, a new uprising of playwrights and actors is shocking! thrilling! inspiring! the theater scene
D by david mckee
Dimly lit bars, backyards in seedy neighborhoods, junkyards and living rooms — these unlikely spaces are fertile ground for a new wave of local theater talent. This isn’t some fresh-faced thespian community, either. Rather, it’s a hardscrabble dramatic corps that’s producing a surprising amount of original theater in a town typically drenched in musicals and revues. What it may lack in brand-name appeal, this Vegas fringe-theater scene more than makes up in sensation. A Los Angeles Times critic was referring to Las Vegas playwright Ernest Hemmings when he described his “flair for the outrageous and the risqué,” but that could apply to the oeuvre of several authors who represent the leading edge of local drama. Their plays grapple with sex, war, death and relationships — with keen dramatic intensity and sometimes biting humor. They generally draw small crowds, but occasional big critical acclaim — and sometimes sharp criticism. On March 18, Insurgo Theater Movement premieres Dave Surratt’s “Listen.” He summarizes the plot as: “Young audiophile brings a first date back to his place, manically plays a string of songs and bits of songs from different CDs that remind him of each other, and ends up (unwittingly) offending her.” “Listen” was born as a vignette originally performed at the Katherine Gianaclis Park for the Arts, a nondescript building next to some dodgy apartments on Boulder Highway in the east side of town. Another luminary of the alt-theater scene, Ernie Curcio also crafted works in that improbable place; his “Rambis” is a riotously black comedy about a dying casino dealer. His KGPA experiments also yielded the tortured monologue “Unfinished,” the Iraq-inspired surrealism of “War Mouth” and “Perturbed” (plot: school teacher makes “video love letter” to student). Their revival at alternative festivals and small theaters make Curcio the mostfrequently performed local author.
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Three theater luminaries who are acting up. From left: Ernest Hemmings, Dave Surratt and Ernie Curcio
Fans in high places College of Southern Nevada theater professor Joe Hammond — who’s helped workshop these plays and appeared in some of them — says gloom-laden comedy is Vegas playwrights’ genre of choice. “It’s as if there is an angst,” Hammond
says. “Everybody is looking for something that’s full of rage and find comedy in it.” They hope to find local resonance as well. Hammond says the unique sense of place and the fascination Sin City holds for Americans is generally lacking in local theater, which should “concentrate more on how to
Look ma, no script: Improv Vegas performs on “KNPR’s State of Nevada” at www.desertcompanion.com/hearmore
16 D e s e r t C o m pa n i o n M a r c h 2 0 1 1
PHOTOGRAPHY By Christopher SMith