He's the new host of "Jeopardy". Well, most of the time, anyway.
"Okay. That clears up one question I had, but not the other."
Wondering about that post title?
"Oh, you betcha."
"The 24 Hour Plays: Savannah" was held tonight and so the answer would have to be "Items which appeared onstage at the Savannah Children's Theatre".
"Whoa. There was an actual armadillo???"
Of course not, silly rabbit. It was represented in balloon animal form, in several colors, in the third play, "Escape The Drama". That was written by the Kamerons' neighbors, Chris and Molly Bass. Chris even played the Clue Master of the escape room.
"That sounds like it was a lot of fun!"
I think I would have liked it much better a couple of weeks ago, when life was not smacked so hard by the deaths of two I knew.
"What death did it have in it??"
The death of a childhood pet, Skippy the armadillo, when the two women in the escape room had been teens and were close friends. The animal's death had sundered that friendship.
"That's a far cry from what happened with Barbara and Kal, though. So, you should cut that play some slack."
Here's the thing: it wasn't the only one that dealt with death. The play festival opened with "Bird's-Eye View" about death and funerals, and closed with "Elephants & Flowers" about death and suicide. Plus, the two to either side of the escape room had guns in them.
"Really? Why were those plays all so dark?"
I don't know. And, try as I might, I could not determine what the plays had to have in common. This isn't my first time around 24 Hour Play Festivals, as I've been supporting them since 2011. My favorite is still the one from 2017, when all of the plays had to include the line, "Thank you, JinHi" - totally awesome! For the five tonight, though, I could not pluck the unifying thread.
"And you're an analytical chemist, so finding a pattern is your thing."
Exactly.
"Did Ryan McCurdy have a play involved? I know he's the one who invited you to this."
No, he did not. He is with Savannah Performance Alliance, which includes folks from SavRepTh, SavStageCo, SavCabaret, and SavChTh. Those are the troupes that survived the pandemic, so it's heartening to see them working together. Thomas Houston wrote one, as did Rick Garman. Jayme Tinti directed one. So, it was good to see some carryover of talent from the previous play festivals.
"Garman? He's the "p is silent" guy, right?"
Correct. His play was the last one, "Elephants & Flowers", with a guy perched on a 20th-floor ledge of an apartment to commit suicide. The crazy old lady neighbor manages to talk him in with a promise of fresh knishes. It was actually pretty nice.
"That's good to hear. You thinking of giving his Club One productions another try?"
Maybe, we'll see. Money's a bit tight, right, since the vacation and I have house insurance coming up due with AllState.
"Yes, dear. What did Thomas write? You've always liked his stuff."
Yes, and I laughed several times during "His Dark Secret". That starred Rayshawn Roberts as a man who has taken his g'friend to his "cave lair" to tell her that he is the 'Golden Gun'. That's when he shows her this huge nerf gun than turns things into gold! That was funny. Then the Mistress Diablo surprises them, and she has an even bigger nerf gun. Seriously, you would have had to have been there.
"I would have greatly enjoyed that! What about the one with Jayme?"
Well, she directed it, as was really obvious, given the fast pacing of so many of the SavStageCo performances. That was "The Case of the Tenacious Thief" which featured a London apartment owned by a guy named Moneybags, who loved his cowbell and could talk like Christopher Walken. I kid you not! He's entertaining a lady friend when McThief comes in, with lots of pratfalls, and steals that cowbell. Really funny piece, it was! But everyone had a gun, even though they were nerf guns. I know, I know, the timing for this playfest was just not the best for me.
"Trust me, things will get better. It just takes time."
Don't I know it. I have far too much experience with grief and loss adjustment.
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