Hunter Gathers, Theatre Vertigo

Hunter Gatherers
by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb

January 18, 2010 Reading One Night Only

This was a standard reading with 4 characters and a 5th person reading stage directions.


Darius Pierce read  Richard
Heather Rose Walters read Pam
R David Wylie read Tom
??? read Wendy

This is a very funny piece about the universal/primal aspects of humans. They want to eat and procreate.  There are, of course, variations (heterosexual, homosexual, dominant, submissive etc,) on how each of us want to go about these things--but underlying all of our talk and nicety-nice there is still the beast within us all.  Take this theme and turn up the volume to make it all a caricature of our wildest impulses, mix in a bit of our silly cultural pretensions and fads and it is a rollicking good time.  After the reading the company asked if they should produce it next year as a full production--the gathered crowd was unanimous in the opinion that they should.  My only question is do they have the skill as comedians?  It will require some accomplishment at broad physical, over the top type of comedic presentation. If they have that talent it ought to be a great play--if they don't it could be an embarrassment. But isn't that always the case with comedy.  It is a particular type of presentation that requires particular skill.  Tune in next year to see if they attempt it.  It is hard to grade a reading--but this was good--so I'll just go with a standard grade.

mjc adds:  readings are so much fun because, if the actors get into it, you are able to supply your own imagined stage settings and actions.  This is especially true in this reading in which so much action from slaughtering a lamb to choking someone to death in the throes of dominant sex seem difficult to produce with the small budget and small stage of Vertigo.  So, if they mount the production I'll go but this was fun all by itself. 


GRADE B