Thursday, May 08, 2014

Sci-Fest 2014, “Evening A” – Science Fiction Lives On Stage

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/