'REBORNING:' AN INTIMATE DOLL-MAKER'S TALE
Laced with Surprises
By Carol Benet
artssf.com, the independent observer of San Francisco Bay Area theater
Weeks starting May 13, 2011
Vol.
13, No. 96
ReBorning
is a quirky
play that plumbs the depth of human despair as well as renewal,
effectively
spun by a cast of just three.
The tiny SFPlayhouse, just two blocks from Union Square,
is making quite a name for
itself with its fine productions. Zayd
Dohrn’s drama is its current show; in
every way, it feels like Off Broadway or London’s
fringe theater.
The three
actors and technical staff are so adept that director
Josh Costello and the assorted colleagues warrant kudos.
ReBorning is a strange play about a
mother who has lost
her baby, a doll maker who has lost her mother, and a go-between, the
boyfriend. The three come together in a bizarre way meeting several
times in
the workshop/small apartment of Kelly (Lauren English) and Daizy
(Alexander
Alioto).
Kelly is an
artist who crafts dolls that look and feel
human. Emily (Lorri Holt) visits her
studio/apartment several times to check on the doll she has ordered and
that
Kelly is fashioning after pictures and videos of the baby.
The boyfriend Daizy is also an art school
product, but now makes a living by creating realistic dildos. When he enters wearing one just to show
Kelly his latest work Emily is there for her first visit.
There is much humor in this vacillating play.
The sadness
runs deeper when Kelly explains that she was
abandoned and almost killed by her parents who left her to die. She was adopted by a wealthy family in Connecticut,
and went to
the right schools. But she lives with a reccurring depression.
<>
The story of
the two women and their needs becomes very
intricate. The baby doll serves as a
center of their attention and a means for revelation, in the surprise
twists of
the story.
With the
program book came a disclaimer saying that the title and
subject of ReBorning has nothing to
do with the real art form carrying the same name. There
is a group of doll makers whose works
are so perfect that they call it Reborning.
They are even hosting a convention (OOAK Doll Competition) with
workshops in Walnut Creek
(hunnybunmama@gmail.com)
on June 3-5, 2011.
In the play
the reborning is a process of working through painful
memories of the past with the doll that represents a lost baby. But, strangely the
play is not maudlin. It is, in fact, so
effective that this world
premiere will surely spawn other venues for it.
Only 34,
playwright Sayd Dohrn has won many accolades. An
added bit of fame for him is that he is
the son of infamous Weather Underground leaders Bill Ayers and
Bernadine
Dohrn. His own childhood with his mother
in prison was as unusual as was Kelly’s in the play. You will hear more
of
Dohrn; he is an emerging star in the world of theater with his earlier
plays,
and this new one can only add to his luster.
ReBorning at the
SFPlayhouse runs through June 11.
The theater is at 533 Sutter, San
Francisco.
For info: 415 677 9596 or go online.
#
© Carol Benet 2011
Carol Benet is a regular theater reviewer for artssf.com.
These critiques appearing weekly (or sometimes semi-weekly, but never
weakly)focus
on theater, dance and new musical creativity in performance, with
forays
into recordings by local artists, and a few departures into books (by
authors
of the region)as well.
#
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