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Fruitful mix
Eight eclectic short plays add up to a satisfying whole at Pear Avenue Theatre

By Kevin Kirby

Picture this scenario: Two directors stage eight plays by seven local playwrights, in which eight actors portray 24 characters in two hours' time. It may sound like the start of a sadistic algebra problem, but it is in fact the formula for one very enjoyable evening of theater.

For its third annual "Pear Slices," the Pear Avenue Theatre has assembled a talented group of performers, directors and designers to bring to life eight new plays -- some comic and some dramatic -- by members of the Pear Playwrights Guild.

The resulting entertainment is nothing if not diverse. An antisocial crank finds his personal space invaded by a Vietnam vet and an ex-nun in "Nobody's Bench" by William Kenney. Siblings gather for the reading of their absentee father's will in Paul Braverman's "In Memory of Roderick Hollingsworth." A psychologist is possessed by the collected works of William Butler Yeats in Elyce Melmon's "Transference." And so forth.

Some of these plays aim for a sort of limited realism. Others are magical, stylized, absurd. Directors Troy Johnson and Shannon Stowe nurture the artistic impulse at the core of each play, allowing each to find its own voice. Their even-handedness is a gift to the playwrights with whose work they are entrusted.

Yet despite the diversity, there is enough similarity in spirit and execution that the slices ultimately do add up to a whole pear.

This is due in part to Ron Gasparinetti's scenic design. A small number of geometric objects serve as furnishings (chairs, countertops, etc.) for all the plays. Meanwhile, above and behind the actors, Gasparinetti has suspended a screen onto which a series of slides is projected, adding color and dimension to what could otherwise be a drab stage.

The screen serves a number of purposes. It can be a traditional scenic backdrop -- a view of a park, for instance -- but it can also be a collage of Italian postcards, a Native American blanket on a cabin wall, or the eye of an impending storm. In Bill D'Agostino's play, "Broken Things," in which a brother and sister face their mutual alienation on the way to their mother's funeral, it even provides a roadmap of the characters' travels. (D'Agostino is a staff writer with the Palo Alto Weekly, the Voice's sister paper.)

Ian Nelson Hargrave's sound design also helps compensate for the sparseness of the sets. The sound effects are always appropriate and supportive, from the whoosh of passing cars in "Broken Things" to a harmonica riff in Neva Marie's wonderfully surreal "The Cockatiel" that actually gets its own laugh. Particularly effective is the sound that occurs when a character in one of the plays pours water over hot rocks; soundboard operator Alan Heiple deserves credit for the spot-on timing that makes this effect work.

But what really bring these plays to life are the generous contributions of the actors. Each performer seems to appreciate the freedom and responsibility involved in performing new works, and each brings a mix of energy, inventiveness, and sensitivity to his or her multiple roles.

As the ex-nun in "Nobody's Bench," Elizabeth Lowe has a fixed smile that is almost spooky. Later, in Ross Peter Nelson's "La Fortuna," the smile is an involuntary defense, part of a physical performance that gently uncovers the insecurity and self-deception of a naive American at a tarot reading in Italy.

Terry Boero's performance as the Italian fortune teller is nicely understated. In two later pieces -- as the Yeats-spewing therapist in "Transference" and as an unstable woman trapped in an elevator in "Storm Warning" -- she is allowed to experiment with broader comic personas.

In Deborah Dutton's play, "The Goddess," a professional New York woman and her allegedly Native American lover mix negotiation and foreplay, haggling over cross-cultural differences while preparing for an earth-shattering sexual encounter. Susannah Greenwood and Manuel Caneri inhabit these roles with abandon; their crack comic timing allows them to wring a laugh from almost any moment.

Josh Sigal produces tears on cue in "Broken Things," then delivers one of the evening's most delightfully eccentric performances (and there are many) as the smoldering stranger with the eye patch in "The Cockatiel."

In "Broken Things" and "The Cockatiel," Sarah Eismann hits just the right notes. John Baldwin juggles dialects with charm and finesse in "Transference" and "La Fortuna." And John Watson's split-second hesitations in "In Memory of ..." add as much to our understanding of the play as do any of the spoken lines.

"Pear Slices 2006" may not appeal to everyone. Some of the pieces feel more like writing exercises than fully fleshed plays, and two of them rely too heavily on specific literary references. But anyone who appreciates the thrill of seeing a brand-new play will applaud the Pear's moxie for producing this collection of unknown yet delightful works.

INFORMATION:

What: "Pear Slices 2006," eight new short plays presented by Pear Avenue Theatre

Where: Pear Avenue Theatre, 1220 Pear Avenue, Unit K, Mountain View

When: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., through Feb. 26

Cost: Tickets are $15 for Thurs. & Sun. performances, $20 for Fri. & Sat. ($5 less for students and seniors).

Contact: Call the box office at (650) 254-1148. For ticketing online, go to www.thepear.org.