Jorie Parr

Playwrights Circle Plays 'The Sandgame'
For a play with the theme of dark energy, The Sandgame is just a whole lot of fun.
By Jorie Parr

Directed By Tony Pastor, Jr.

For a play with the theme of dark energy, The Sandgame is just a whole lot of fun.  The wildly witty script is laced with laughs, just what we can use in these perilous times.  But the humor is underscored with drama, rather like life.

In a reading by the Playwrights’ Circle in Palm Springs Feb. 6, Karen Schiff’s work-in-progress was enthusiastically received.  In a way it was an audience-participation event, with the playwright on board to test out reactions.

The plot revolves around two sisters and a brother.   One (Suzi Goldner) is the mother of new twins, and she seems on an even keel, except for the inevitable infant howling.  Her brother (Stephen Gergerly) tells her to zap them with the mute button.

He and the other sister, Jane the brain (Marilee Warner), each seem to be trapped in  “date-and-dump” syndromes.  There is a poignant confrontation when these two dig out a long-hidden truth.  Warner gets more from her pauses than most actors do from their best speech.

An extra-added attraction for comedy relief was brilliantly provided by our Notes From Hollywood publisher, Nicholas Snow, as a transsexual waitperson.  Don’t accuse me of nepotism; we are always more critical of those close to us.  Trust me, when he asks something as simple as are you ready to order now, it’s hilarious.

In the Q and A session afterwards, some of us owned up to being a bit hazy about the definition of the sandgame.  Presumably it’s a metaphor for coming clear with each other, but we didn’t quite grasp the burying each other in the sand part.

The playwright had written several sequences with dual action on the stage – kind of like a split screen at the movies.  Some people wondered about the device.  I loved it.

Let’s hope the Playwrights’ Circle presents a return match of The Sandgame.

...Jorie Parr

Repartee:

Viga Dean:  I'm going to the L'Affaire Chocolat party.
Regina McGrath: Wear your Coco(a) Chanel.

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