Language Takes Center Stage in Person Laughter Ducks the Hard Stuff

Love Person is the only play I can remember attending in which the action onstage is carried out through long silences broken only by an occasional audience chuckle. It’s not as if there’s no dialogue. This whole play is about dialogue, but much of it is unvoiced, either in American Sign Language or appearing on an enlarged screen over the stage as the play’s four characters – three women and one man -- attempt to connect by the best means available to them.

Free (short for Frieda) is deaf and lesbian. She uses sign language and lip reading to “talk” to her partner, Maggie, and to her hearing sister, Vic (short for Victoria.) But Free turns out to be pretty good at text messaging, too, which she uses with unexpected skill when communication with Maggie breaks down. Maggie can operate successfully in both the hearing and non-hearing worlds, and Free is a little jealous of that.

Vic, Free’s sister, speaks liberally and fluently, but says little of substance. Vic is infatuated with Ram, a teacher of Sanskrit and its poetry. (A Sanskrit poem illuminates the wall.) Sanskrit, says Ram, is the root of all Indo-European languages; it’s subtle and has many synonyms. Could it also be the root of sign language? This point is argued, but because Ram makes frequent trips back to India, he depends more on his laptop and e-mail to stay connected with English speakers.

This play by Minneapolis playwright Aditi Brennan Kapil is being produced at Marin Theatre Company as part of the National New Play Network’s series of World Premieres. It is, as MTC’s Jasson Minadakis explained, “a very complicated show.” It’s also original and an eye-opener.

When Maggie and Free are having an argument in sign language, every hearing or deaf person in the audience understands the meaning of “Blah, blah, blah.” When an e-mail draft shows up on the screen, everyone understands the writer’s block that’s causing the message to be edited, then deleted. And when a lovely Yeats poem transfers silently from a book’s printed page and brings tears to the reader, we can grasp that too. The play’s examination of language as both connection and barrier is intelligent and challenging.

Love Person needs an intimate performing space, and Director Gia Forakis is presenting it in the 99-seat Lieberman Theatre. Eric E. Sinkkonen’s pared-down set allows quick scene changes and prop storage. Erin Gilley designed the essential videos, Chris Houston prepared the sound and music, and a number of communication professionals assisted with the signing translations.

Cathleen Riddley, an Equity actress and a certified sign language interpreter, plays the warm-hearted and eloquent Maggie. Ms. Riddley gives two beautiful performances, one silent and one spoken. She owns the stage when she’s on it. Mary C. Vreeland as Free makes only one sound, but carries her story with compelling facial expression and hand movements. Janak Ramachandran (Ram) becomes more lovable as the play progresses, entirely convincing in his love of Sanskrit and in his argument that “continuing” is not the same as “leaving.” Emily Morrison plays the trash-talking, self-involved Vic, an unsympathetic character who’s desperate for a happy ending.

With few exceptions, Love Person is a tightly-crafted, strong story with a wimpy title. The title’s meaning is explained in the text, but this dense little drama deserves a better name. There is plenty of inspiration right there on the wall.

Love Person will be at the Marin Theatre Company through May 18. Wednesday performances are at 7:30pm, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00pm, Sundays at 5:00.
Ticket prices range from $20 to $35. For reservations, call the box office at 388-5208 or see the website, www.marintheatre.org.

Tiburon resident and director Jayne Wenger opened her most recent show, a world premiere of Hard Laughter, just up the highway in San Rafael. Working close to home is not typical for her. A specialist in new work, Wenger has directed projects in New York, Illinois, and San Francisco. She took on Hard Laughter a year ago, when San Rafael’s AlterTheatre began to assemble the production.

The play is based on Marin writer Ann Lamott’s first book, written when she was twenty-three.( Wenger says she and Lamott used to live near each other in Tiburon, but weren’t acquainted at the time.) Another well-known professional, Ann Brebner, is a long-time friend of Ann Lamott’s and had wanted to adapt the book for a screenplay. The present script was created in collaboration with Laurel Graver.

Hard Laughter, says the play’s director, is “a small family play about a bohemian family’s response to the father’s brain tumor.” The family lives in Bolinas, 1979. The father is a likeable guy, a lover of birds and opera, a benevolent buddy to his children. The mother has left home to find herself in a law career. Of the adult kids, two are stoners, and one is-- recently and militantly -- sober. How will these four cope with this horrible news?

Cope? Well, they don’t much. They make themselves available for all kinds of distractions, including three extra characters: Megan, a cute little neighbor who has wise things to say about the meaning of life; Kathleen, an unreliable best friend who makes and breaks bar dates, and Honey, a dotty grandmother whose attention is devoted to who’s still living and who’s not. A cooler of beer occupies center stage. It is never empty, except when everyone is drinking wine. Wallace, the father, is going through a life-threatening illness, but the rest of his family seem already anesthetized with various occupations and substances.

There are some beautiful things about this production, though. One is the cast, which is blessed with seven fine actors. Jeffrey Bihr as the father is especially good as he struggles with the difficulties of speech. Lindsay Benner, as his daughter and stand-in for Lamott, is entirely believable and even looks like the book’s author. Zac Jaffee and Rio Codda play the brothers, Ben and Randy, both part of and separate from the rest of the family. Hannah Rose Kornfeld (Megan) is an 8th grader in Mill Valley and already a stage veteran. Frances Lee McCain carries the role of Honey, the grandmother, and Laura Lowry is the now-and-then best friend, Kathleen.

Another happy surprise is the performance space itself. AlterTheatre operates out of various storefront locations along Fourth Street in San Rafael. This one’s in The Wooden Duck, a furniture store transformed into a theatre with subtle lighting (Jon Tracy) and well-designed sound (Will McCandless.) Ms. Wenger’s direction leads the actors around the limited space and allows close-ups of the action.

This is Hard Laughter’s first time on the stage. In its present form, it won’t get legs, but if the script can be tightened and focused, it could become a Marin classic.

Hard Laughter will be at The Wooden Duck, 1848 Fourth Street in San Rafael, Thursdays through Sundays, through May 18. Sunday shows begin at 7:30; all others are at 8:00. For reservations and prices, call 453-0345.