As some of you may have noticed, I have posted a number
of items on my Facebook page and Twitter account promoting a one-act play
festival called “Sci-Fest” here in Los Angeles. I first heard about the
festival back in February; I think it was from one of those “Suggested Page”
ads on Facebook that mentioned the Kickstarter campaign for the festival.
I have been a fan of both science fiction and live
theater since I was young enough to be a junior Starfleet cadet. The idea that
someone wanted to mount a festival combining two of my favorite things, and in
the Los Angeles area where I had just returned after 23+ years away, was too
appealing to pass up. I pledged some money to the campaign and said that I
would be willing to help if the producers needed volunteers. David Dean
Bottrell, one of those producers, contacted me and then put me in touch with
their marketing director, Greg Hignight. Since then I have been trying to help
spread the word about Sci-Fest with some Facebook and Twitter posts.
I don’t have any personal stake in the festival. I don’t
have any friends involved; I’m not an “investor” since my Kickstarter pledge
will not be repaid to me (nor did I expect it to be). I am just a lover of
theater and science fiction, and I wanted to support this effort to bring those
branches of the arts to area audiences. I honestly was not sure whether the
festival, if it happened, would meet the expectations that I had for it. Last
night, I had the opportunity to attend the second performance of “Evening A” of
the festival (Evening B will premiere next week) to see the results of the
producers’ efforts, and judge for myself.
I am very pleased to report that my expectations were
exceeded, by several parsecs. Evening A consists of four short plays: “Forwarding
Address” by John-Paul Nickel; “Freedom of Speech” by Adam Esquenazi Douglas; “The
Ringer” by Minnesota Plates; and “Kaleidoscope” by Ray Bradbury. All four plays
came off very well in every way. “Forwarding Address” is a serio-comic piece
about two engaged couples and a disturbing message for them that might come
from the future. “Freedom of Speech” is a twist on the one-character-on-stage device;
it concerns a day-after-tomorrow criminal justice issue which might not be far
from today’s reality. “The Ringer” is right out of the “Twilight Zone” with its
unseen horrors lurking just outside and our characters slowly revealing the
predicament they are in. “Kaleidoscope” is vintage Bradbury; a group of
astronauts must face their destinies after their spaceship suffers a
catastrophic accident.
Each play was impeccably performed by its respective cast.
I hesitate to point out individual performances, because each play, and the
production as a whole, is a true ensemble piece. The design elements, from the
sets to the lighting to the sound to everything else, were right on target. There
are several video screens above and around the stage which are used before the
show begins, during the interludes between plays, and occasionally during the
plays; the integration of these video effects truly enhanced the production
rather than distracting from it. The videos were especially useful during the unavoidably
lengthy set changes, providing a way to keep the audience engaged.
Science fiction and its related genres have been huge
players in film and television for many years. They have not had nearly the
foothold in live theater. Production challenges have probably contributed to
the lack of theatrical presentations of science fiction material. But I believe
that this inaugural edition of Sci-Fest proves that high-quality,
thought-provoking, enjoyable productions of genre plays are indeed possible and
deserve our support. I recommend that anyone who is able to do so should make
the effort to attend Sci-Fest, to help make it the success it should be, and to
demonstrate that science fiction belongs on the stage just as surely as any
other type of production. I, for one, can’t wait until I get to see the plays
in the Evening B program.
Get your tickets now before they are gone: http://www.sci-fest.com/
