5 Ice Caps and a Gun

5 Ice Caps and a Gun ***
Blue’s script is arguably the strongest comic script in the festival. He has an incredible talent at writing witty one-liners as well as fantastic situation comedy. And he is also able to establish and maintain a variety of characters with individual voices. Probably the biggest problem with his script is that it is beyond the skill of the performers in our class. I have often said that comedy is much more difficult than drama – the essence of timing and character requires knowing the script cold, as well as hours of dedication to create a character beyond oneself. And in situation comedy, it requires an incredible ensemble relationship – like the starting line of a championship hockey team. Although many of the actors commendably strived for this – especially Luke, Jared, and Tamo – in the end none of them did the script justice. In fact, many of the performers need to stop relying on playing themselves if they are serious about their craft and their responsibility of fulfilling the director’s vision and bringing to life the playwright’s characters and words. Lucina’s and Ciaran’s direction was spotty. There were many times where balance and interesting blocking were established, but just as many other times where static seating lead to a disengaging presentation. Probably the biggest gaps were the shift in time with blackouts and no accompanying music to fill the dead void. But worst of all was the empty stage voiceover in the end. What a missed opportunity for a unique curtain call: the guys could have lined up and moved forward at the mention of their name – at least it would have provided some visible ACTION for the audience – and ACTION is the essence of theatre. Rachel’s costumes were perfect – especially given the low budget, and Jared’s set was practical and pleasing.