A few months back I waxed rhapsodic about small theaters, and recently I was again inspired by what smaller companies can produce. R-S Theatrics is a company that plays out of The Chapel, a nonprofit performance and art space that provides its venue free to local artists. RST presented a new play, Animals Out of Paper, and everything was reminiscent of other small companies with more passion than cash. I found the spare set and lighting to be creative, leaving the play to be ‘the thing.’
While playwright Rajiv Joseph could use one more focused final edit, the play’s premise, finding creativity through loss, was surprising, emotional and often delightful. Helping the play along is the enormous talent of lead actor Teresa Doggett (as Ilana, an international origami star—who knew origami could be so sexy?). Doggett enjoys a storied reputation in town for brilliant abilities in costume design, as well as her onstage prowess. Certainly her cohorts, Andrew Kuhlman as Andy and Ethan Isaac as Suresh, benefited from their scenes with her; all the actors produced fine, nuanced, passionate work. Kudos to director Todd Schaefer on his first gig outside his own company, The Players Project Theater Company. R-S Theatrics is a young company to watch.
I had the good fortune to speak with Broadway star and St. Louis actor/playwright Ken Page about his newest project, Sublime Intimacy, which plays at Max & Louie Productions Dec. 4 through 20 in the Kranzberg Arts Center. Page wrote and directed this brand-new play.
Page has surrounded himself with a first-rate cast and design staff for his “play with dance,” including St. Louis actors John Flack, J. Samuel Davis and Bethany Barr. The project also boasts local luminaries in the design staff, including the divine Henry Palkes, who crafted and plays the original music, giving each character a specific musical style. Page is enthusiastic about working again with some of his favorite people. Flack, Davis and Palkes, who Page says “speak my language,” worked with him on the hauntingly beautiful Café Chanson (which he also wrote and directed) with Upstream Theater in 2013.
The idea for Sublime Intimacy germinated from a painting of a dancer that Page bought at Rothschild’s Antiques in 2005. The dancer was discovered to be a local university student, and the painter, a local instructor who was known to Page. In this ‘memory play,’ five friends remember a dancer who touched all their lives. Through this conceit, Page explores the concept of intimacy in any relationship and when it transcends to sublime.
When asked to choose the most intimate moment in the play, Page laughs and references the impossibility of fathers choosing their favorite child, but was eloquent about what he hopes the audience will leave the show thinking: “What is my sublime intimacy? If I have it, do I treasure it? And if I don’t have it, can I get some?!”
on the marquee
» Repertory Theatre of St. Louis: The Lion in Winter | Jan. 6 through 31
» The Black Rep: Sunset Baby | Jan. 13 through 31
Pictured: Teresa Doggett and Ethan Isaac in Animals Out of Paper
Photo: Michael Young
