Life > January 31, 2008

By By Carie McElveen | Contributing writer

The Ring Theatre and the Virtual Theatre Project hosted staged readings of two plays on Jan. 28 – one a winner of the University’s Ten Minute Play Competition and the other of The Pen is a Mighty Sword Competition.

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The first reading was of the 10-minute play, “The Shrouded Canvas,” by university senior Drew Grindrod, which captures a pivotal afternoon in a couple’s relationship.

Rianna is clearly in a state of nervous tension, whereas her boyfriend Mike is easygoing and very kind to her.

She continually rebuffs his advances, as she evidently has for the past three weeks. Rianna’s eventual confession that she has some unnamed STD cuts Mike to the quick.

This type of betrayal is deeper than infidelity because it affects not only his emotions but his physical health as well.

The actors’ satisfying performances were all the more impressive because they sat in two chairs in an empty black box theater and relied solely on their voices and their body language.

The strength of a staged reading is that it showcases the artistry of the playwright.

Grindrod is skilled at fully illustrating a scene in relatively few words. His neat portrayal of the abrupt transition from Mike’s light-hearted mood at the play’s start to panic and despair demonstrates the tragedy into which trust and love can deteriorate. The playwright’s succinct depiction of the reality of our times leaves the audience shaken by the unexpectedness of Rianna’s admission, and undeniably aware of how quickly a pleasant life can become a catastrophe.

The second play, “Django Salvatore’s Awe-Inspiring Death-Defying Big Top Spectacuganza … Featuring Ralph,” tells the story of a small struggling circus operating in an American town during World War II.

In a desperate effort to save his show, Django contacts a young man named Ralph who is rumored to have the best circus act ever seen.

Ralph tells Django that his brother was killed years ago in a fire, and that the two of them had begun to perform their incredible act in an effort to measure up to their father, a World War I soldier. It is later revealed that the famous Ralph actually died along with his brother.

The man in the Spectacuganza is merely a draft dodger trying to scrape by with the borrowed circus act. The romance and magic associated with the performer are stripped away, leaving Barnes, the circus’ most loyal fan, dismayed.

This frustration of our idealism is what causes us to grow up and leave childhood behind.

As Django explains to Barnes, there is no such thing as magic; we must make our own.

Barnes should pursue whatever seems fantastic and wonderful to her — clearly, circus performing. She has secretly learned Ralph’s act, and she performs it before a sold-out crowd the night he skips town.

The tent actually catches fire during the act, effectively ending the Spectacuganza, but Barnes still retains her determination to find joy and goes on to start a new circus.

With an unexpected setting and an unprecedented cast of characters, Cioppa gets his point across without cluttering the story with clichés.

His theme is a vital one: the importance of creating our own satisfaction and fulfillment in a world that seems cruelly bent on eliminating joy.

The originality of the story does more than catch the audience’s attention; it remains in our memory.

A girl whose dream is to be a circus performer is not a normal girl, but her commitment to gaining fulfillment from life even after disillusionment resonates with everyone.

Furthermore, a playwright and a circus proprietor operate in different arenas.

However, their goal is the same — to provide enjoyment and wonder to a variety of audience.

Both Django and Cioppa certainly achieve this goal in the perfomances.