By Morgan Rousseau
“One Thing I’d Like To Say Is” is an original play put on by a relatively new non−profit group, The CockEyed Optimists Theatre Company. The five−person cast is comprised of actors, including two from Queens, with a passion for Ensemble Theater and a knack for playing multi−dimensional characters.
The show is playing at the Access Theater in the Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan. At first glance in the modest theater, it’s hard to nail down exactly what “One Thing” is about, or where it is going. It’s one of those plays that require digesting before dissecting.
To Brenda Jean Foley, a founder of the company who has lived in Woodside for 11 years, the play is about family complications.
“During the very first rehearsal we talked about this. At that time I said it was about forgiveness, but I also see it being about what it means to be a family,” said Foley, who plays the eccentric role of Lina, a part she shares with fellow cast member Kendra Mylenchuk.
Foley describes the play as relating to how complicated, wonderful and difficult family life often is. “I see it simply as, ‘this is what a family is,’ and it’s so important in people’s lives.”
After some reflection, this theater−goer would have to agree with her. However, there is a darker aspect of “One Thing’s” family theme that struck me – the production made me simultaneously feel better about my own family and wonder about the hidden corners of other families’ lives. Like her characters, playwright Amy Fox managed to conjure up in her imagination a tiny world where people are half imaginary and nobody knows who or where or how the hell anyone is.
If this is going far over your heads, here is a mild summary. There is a dollhouse, a peculiar young woman in a dress who plays with the dollhouse, a Scottish butler who exists only in the imagination of the characters, a brother living in denial and his wife who’s living with his emotional and often physical absences, a set of emotionally unavailable, alcoholic (then born−again Christian) parents and an illegitimate teenage grandson. Illusion dances freely in this story line.
As a reaction to their dysfunctional childhoods, young Lena and her Brother Toby create a world of imaginary characters and fantasy places in order to escape their familial problems. But as they become adults, Lena finds it difficult to step into the real world, while Toby runs as fast as he can away from the world he once knew.
A secret from their past comes back into their lives, forcing both siblings to face each other, and the painful truths of times past.
Cast member and Astoria resident Michael Mattie, also known as illegitimate teenager Kevin in “One Thing,” actually enjoys his character’s struggle to try and make sense of his identity.
“I have to admit I was a little intimidated about playing a character so young, but the world I have created with my fellow actors, designers and under the careful hand of [director] Terry Berliner has made Kevin a part of me,” Mattie said.
The other cast members include Brian Gillespie as Toby, Jolie Curstinger as Sam. Mylenchuk and Foley share the role of Lena for both artistic and production reasons. Foley said she was thrilled after Berliner proposed the idea of switching off performances between the two. After the auditions, Berliner simply called Foley and said she and Kendra both brought art to the role, and both fit the mold of how she and Fox envisioned Lena’s character.
“Ultimately it enriched both of us,” Foley said of the switch off. “And it broadens our audience base.”
The Optimists were formed in April 2008 by Foley and actress Audrey Maeve Hager. Past performances put on by the company include a holiday cabaret entitled “A CockEyed Little Christmas, a play entitled “Almost Maine,” and a two−part series entitled “An Evening of Scenes and Songs.”
Gillespie is artistic director of The Optimists, Mattie is the associate artistic director, Foley is managing director. Curtsinger and Mylenchuk are also members of the company, which strives to create theatre that examines the human condition in all of its complex absurdity. When asked about future endeavors, Foley said The Optimists’ next project may be a pre−exiting play or a short film, although no definitive plans have been made yet.
“The unifying idea of The Optimists was this need to put out positive energy in the universe that brought us all together,” Foley said of the close−knit group.
It is a safe assumption that the professional family that makes up The Optimists is the anti−thesis of the dysfunctional family of their production “One Thing,” except perhaps for the common thread of playing make believe.
“We are so fortunate to have so much talent coming together to form our set, lights, costumes, sound design, stage management, let alone the actors I am working with,” Mattie said of the production. “Hands down this has been one of the most satisfying theatrical experiences of my career.”
The show will be running until May 3 at the Access Theater, located at 380 Broadway, (at White St.) Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. For additional information please visit www.CEOtheatre.org. Tickets can be purchased at www.Smarttix.com or www.CEOtheatre.org.
