Ulterior Motives

Ulterior Motives ****1/2
Chris’s script accomplished what no other script in the Festival did: it left us wanting more. The combined story of the playwright’s life becoming parallel with his characters is one that easily could have been expanded into an hour long script. Both plots were interesting and we wanted to be entertained longer by their respective stories. It was particularly enjoyable when Bradshaw joins Flint in the shared dialogue. In the all too brief thirty minutes, we are introduced to some great characters and all performed admirably by Lydia, Chris, Kyle, and Jackson. In particular, Lucina’s performance as the femme fatale was one of the strongest performances of the Festival – she was absolutely hypnotic to watch. Caitlin must be commended for her directing acumen and fostering a positive and strong ensemble feel to the cast. Lucas’s costumes fit the genre perfectly – although something felt odd about Lucina’s red dress (was it supposed to be a bare back, sans bra?), and Lydia sets the stage for the apartment in her design efficiently and effectively. And of course, what’s not to love about an old-style typewriter? The only major criticism is that Ulterior Motives seemed to suffer from the same disease that has been endemic to the entire Festival this year – no transitional music to help fill in awkward scene transitions as well as complement the vision and genre.