David Durham and Carol Shirley-Brown reflect on their lives together in Epiphany, an existential comedy in the Barn One Act Festival. PHOTO: Heather Hudson |
In the Seinfeld TV series, when Jerry and George pitch their pilot
to NBC executives, they describe it as a “show about nothing.” What Seinfeld meant by “nothing”
was that the show focused on the everyday existence of ordinary people. In fact, the shared experiences
of human beings living their daily lives can be fertile ground for comedy. In the Farmington Players One Act
Festival (June 21-23 at the Barn Theater), Epiphany
could be considered a play where nothing really happens. But nothing is as wonderful as
discovering a life truth that has been right in front of you the whole time.
In Epiphany, David
Durham and Carol Shirley-Brown play a couple that has been together for a very
long time. They sit in their breakfast
nook, reading and sipping coffee.
First time director Barbara A. Bruno describes the play as “a beautiful
vignette about a man who has a realization about his life and how he comes to
terms with it. What’s challenging
is that it does break some of the rules of theater in terms of what you expect
to see – for example, the actors never leave their chairs and there’s a great
temptation to compensate for that to maintain the audience’s interest. However, the material is so strong that
it really does stand on its own and doesn’t require any theatrical tricks.”
As Barbara says about the couple, “the nest is empty, their work
life is done, and they’ve settled into what’s left after all that activity of
life dissipates. David and
Carol have a wonderful chemistry with each other and bring a delightful energy
to the relationship of their characters and a great sense of timing. They understand the simplicity of the
piece and at the end of the day, this play is about their connection. I think
everyone will be able to relate to the relationship between the two characters
– there’s a familiarity to their interactions that people will recognize.”
So what is the great “epiphany” that the man discovers about his
life? Well, you’ll just have
to come see the play to learn that.
But, as Barbara says, Epiphany
is about “what is important to us, how our priorities shift over time, how we
adjust to those, and how we grow, both as individuals and in relation to those
around us. Ultimately, however,
it’s a love story.” And that’s
certainly not nothing!
The One Act Festival has 3 scheduled performances at the
Farmington Players Barn Theater on June 21 (8:00), June 22 (8:00) and June 23
(2:00). Tickets are available online at farmingtonplayers.org or by emailing boxoffice@farmingtonplayers.org
or calling the Barn box office at 248-553-2955.
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