Whittier Community Theatre Presents "A Nice Family Gathering"

The cast of WTC's "A Nice Family Gathering"

Decent acting and bad writing are the main components of the play “A Nice Family Gathering.”

Nov. 4 marked the opening date of Whittier Community Theater’s version of the play. I am still puzzled as to why they chose this particular work but my best guess is someone was attempting to make the theme applicable with Thanksgiving.

Middle son Carl (played by Justin P. Murphy) is being haunted by his dead father (Jerry Marble). Dad only wants to tell his wife he loves her, and Carl just wants Dad to leave him alone. Things get tangled when Mom (Andrea Townsend) brings home a “friend” for dinner. It seems the perfect recipe for a fun, snarky holiday mishap. What unfolds is unresolved and surprisingly dark family conflict—competition between brothers, lesbian daughter is pregnant, daughter-in-law can’t get pregnant, the oldest son is deeply in debt and Mom has Alzheimer’s. Most of the first act is spent discussing the issues of each family member while the second act drags out painfully slow resolutions.

The set design was impressive. There was plenty of detail on the stage, from the family portraits to stockings over the fireplace, making the painted wood and décor appear to be the living room of Carl’s family. Unfortunately, this is the most impressive aspect of the entire show.

Meghan Duran, who played Stacy, stood out for her believability as the sulky little sister of the family. Townsend too, deserves accolades for her believability as Mom. Unfortunately, not all of the actors met this standard. Laura MacDowell (Jill) had trouble making both dialogue and blocking seem natural. Playing a woman supposedly running on an overdose of hormones, she did very little in making her character the comical mess she was supposed to be.

No matter how talented the cast might be, even the best of actors would have a difficult time with the script. There is no getting around the cheesy, poorly written lines. The actors did their best to make the script interesting and tried to bring it to life but most of the show focused on each self-absorbed character wallowing in their own problems. Although the directing, blocking and acting weren’t horrible, there isn’t any way to get around the dull storyline or the badly written dialogue.

Whittier Community Theater has the ability to produce high-quality shows. Great set design, relatively talented actors and a great venue. There is no need to settle for mediocre, poorly written plays. It is a play with no point, a story with no plot. As the house lights go up and the curtain closes, the only question to ask is, “why?”

“A Nice Family Gathering” continues through Nov 19 at The Center Theater, 7630 Washington Ave. Whittier. More information available at (562) 696-0600 or www.whittiercommunitytheatre.org

Photograph taken from Frances Baum Nicholson, Stage Struck Review

The Mockingbird Still Sings

Atticus reluctantly demonstrates his showmanship in front of the town.

It can’t be easy for a Southern California college student to play Scout Finch, a child living in the racial turmoil of Alabama in the 1930s, yet freshman Julie Ploehn succeeds with flying colors. In fact, the entirety of the cast was able to create believable characters with Southern twangs, not a hint of the collegiate vibe to be found.

Biola University’s To Kill A Mockingbird, directed by associate theater professor Forrest Robinson is an intense drama performed with passion and well-timed flow. The actors truly made the play enjoyable. The three main characters—Scout (Phlehn), Dill (Atticus Shires) and Jem (Cris Cockrell)—are young children and the college freshmen created childlike personas with seeming ease. They were not childish, but rather captured the heart of a child in their facial expressions, the way they moved around the stage and the way in which their dialogue was spoken, all while using very believable Southern accents. “I tell my students the technique of developing the characters… I like them to discover [the characters] on their own,” Robinson said. “I’m trying to lead them where I would like them to go.”

The entire play takes place on one set: three houses, a tire swing and a fence. In a small black box setting, it was easier to focus on the storyline and the actors without being distracted by stagehands moving sets back and forth. It also made the flow of the play move with near perfection. With the exception of intermission there were no breaks in between scenes. Each segment flowed right into the next as naturally as if one was reading the book, demanding the viewer’s attention with every line. Robinson did an excellent job of appropriately mixing comical relief in with an otherwise extremely intense show.

Jem and Scout speculate on a mysterious neighbor.

The entire play was carried out with professional ease. Sound effects, acting, lighting and set design created a world the audience was drawn into. Watching Atticus Finch fight for the right of a condemned black man in the courthouse left palpable suspense in the air. The chemistry of the lead characters sparked interchangeably with tension and loyalty. However, the performance was not without flaws. Some of the scenes had an awkward effect on the audience; lines that weren’t meant to be funny had the audience tittering. A couple of the minor characters stumbled over lines, but equally noticeable is the fact that the leads remained in character the entire time.

“To Kill A Mockingbird” is a literary classic, required reading in high school and made into several film adaptations. Watching the plot play out on stage made the book come to life again, thanks to believable acting under the leadership of Robinson.

To Kill A Mockingbird is playing at Biola University’s Theater 21 from Oct 27-Nov 12.

Photographs by Heather Tanji

Urban Brings Country to the City

Urban opens the night with "Write You In A Song"

Walking into Staples Center, located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, and seeing cowboy hats, boots and floral dresses abounding on a Saturday night had an ironic “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore” twang. The last time I went to a concert arena was to see Muse and before that, Usher. Keith Urban gave an entirely different—given the country genre—but equally well-done performance as any rock or hip-hop concert.

There were some technical flaws. Urban’s voice could barely be distinguished from the music throughout most of the show. Echoes and too much volume on the guitar made it difficult to enjoy his distinct, smooth pop-meets-country vocal quality. Urban himself had a strong stage presence however, and it was easy to enjoy the overall experience.

His set list started strong, including fan favorites like “Put You In A Song” and “Long Hot Summer.” There was a good mix of his upbeat happy-go-lucky tunes (“Better Life,” “Jeans On,”) and his slower heartfelt hits (“Without You,” “Tonight I Wanna Cry.”) During his ballads, especially, Urban was able to croon and woo the audience, as the screams of fans died and the noise of drums and bass came to a halt and all that was left was a guitar and the rawness of a Keith Urban ballad.

Urban really knows how to bring his shows to a personal level. Fans jumped up and down, sat and swayed and clapped their hands in equal measure. “Kiss A Girl” was especially memorable as he brought three fans on stage to sing with him, and then gave them time to sing individually while he clapped and stood in the background.

From beginning to end Urban proved his showmanship, not only singing and interacting with the crowd but also showcasing his prowess on the guitar with several elaborate solos, particularly during “Sweet Thing,” when he grabbed his electric guitar and improvised various riffs during the chorus and bridge, much to the crowd’s delight. “Hot damn,” one audience member said. “Never knew he could play guitar like that.”

Sometimes a concert isn’t meant to show the world the talent an artist possesses. The audience already loves Urban, they know he’s good. Instead of focusing on performing an exact, perfect live rendition of his albums, he deviated a little. He jumped up and down, he talked to the crowd, he brought people on stage and let them take the lead. Jack Black made a guest appearance in the encore. Girls screamed, guys drank their beer and bobbed their heads and Urban catered to it all. He brought a quality, entertainment experience and fans ate it up.

Photograph by Heather Tanji

How PR and God come together.

I just came home from an amazing conference for public relations students (a blog re-cap coming soon.) It was inspiring, motivating and above all, eye-opening. I truly feel I can make a career out of what I have learned, and I feel it is what I am supposed to be doing for the next few years.

One thing I have learned: PR is a crazy busy, fast-paced career. You go-go-go all the time. There’s a reason your phone is never off. There isn’t a guaranteed off time. You are always on call. And I enjoy that.

However, I am a child of God. I have a relationship with Him (however faulty on my end) and it’s important that I spend time quieting down and making a space for Him to work and move in my life. I need Jesus. I need His guidance and strength.

And sometimes, between work, interning, school, working out, friends, PRSSA, family and my TV/food/shopping vices I forget to make that space. I don’t take the time to spend with my Savior.

I know that once I start working in PR full-time it’s going to be crazier and harder for me to make time for Him. PR is my passion and I love it… but what if it cancels out Jesus? What if I get so involved with working—campaigning, planning, creating and being a PR pro that I forget to center my life around Him?

Today I was re-reading a chapter on spiritual meditation from “Celebration of Discipline” by Richard J. Foster. Basically, he said this:

“If we are constantly being swept off our feet with frantic activity, we will be unable to be attentive at the moment of inward silence… [have] a sense of balance in the life, an ability to BE AT PEACE through the activities of the day, an ability to rest and take time to enjoy beauty… holy leisure.”

I’m a busy girl; I thrive on crazy. But I really want to try and make sure I have a sense of peace as I go through each day. I need to make sure that GOD is constantly a part of my actions and my life and that no matter how fast I’m moving, He’s there. I want to be at peace because I have made space for Him in each and every aspect of my life and I’m LISTENING and DWELLING in His teachings and love. His presence.

Easier said than done right? All my PR people know that our phones are connected to our very beings and that we don’t rest often. On top of that I’m still working through some things and attempting to be walking in God’s light and path and stop dancing with the world. I still dance with it quite a bit. Always a struggle.

But I’m learning and trying to quiet down, slow down, allow God to speak and to apply what He shows me to my fast-paced life. PR calls me to work with authenticity and to work for something I love and feel passionate about.

God calls me to LIVE with authenticity and to LIVE for something I love and feel passionate about. Career and calling… let’s merge.

Yes I am a PR student soon-to-be professional, yes I’m a college kid, yes I love living my life and trying new things and going crazy but I am first and foremost a child of God.

How often I forget that.

But to integrate my initial identity with the rest of my life is essential to living this life how God wants me to live it.

To live as God designed us to… it’s an endeavor worth pursuing.

Individual Project #3: Freshman Project

Freshman Project from Heather Tanji on Vimeo.

The Chili Peppers Are Still Spicy (Non-Biola Art Review 1)

Variety is the spice of life and the Red Hot Chili Peppers seem to agree. Their newest album “I’m With You” (2011) mixes unique sounds of funk, blues and rock from each of their albums and creates a hybrid of them all.

Marking their eighth best-selling album, the Grammy-award winning band manages to maintain the upbeat vibe from their first album mixed with the instrumental ease of
“Stadium Arcadium.” Gone are the days of continuously rapped out lyrics and repetitive chorus lines that gave them initial success with “Blood Sugar Sex Magic” (1985). Their new album presents a variety of ska, funk and alternative rock, easy on the ears of any surf or skate fan; a compilation of the best of their style.

The 14-track album gives proof that the band is slowly but surely refining their sound. Anthony Kiedis vocals have decidedly improved since the debut of their first album and the band has amped their instruments into rock machines.

Holding consistent with the sound of their last album, “Stadium Arcadium” (2006), the band continues with alternative rock chords but bring back fun-loving side of the past. There is no hint of the obnoxiousness of “Sir Psycho Sexy” (Blood Sugar Sex Magic) or the dull monotony of “The Other Side” (Californication.) What remains are the catchy beats and funky lyrics the fans fell in love with; a wonderful mixture of slow and fast songs, great riffs courtesy of guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and even some saxophone and piano thrown in, thanks to the many talents of bassist Michael “Flea” Balzary.

“Happiness Loves Company” and “Monarchy of Roses” are good for bobbing your head around as you get through the day. “Did I Let You Know” throws in some brass instruments, while “Ethiopia” brings back a taste of the hit single “Californication” (Californication) and that’s not a bad thing. The style is the same, the melody sounds the same, but it doesn’t make the song boring. “Even You Brutus?” is similar to the band Cold War Kids but there is no mistaking whose voice is on the track. Kiedis carries an undeniably unique sound. A new element to the artist’s style is the smoother, softer side of alternative rock, most apparent in “Dance Dance Dance” and “Meet Me At The Corner.” Think The Killers meet 311. It’s a welcome addition to their repertoire.

Although there are some tracks that don’t necessarily seem pure Peppers, Kiedis’ voice leaves no doubt that the band will always stay true to themselves. Change can be a positive thing. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have managed to stay true to their style while upgrading their music to a new level. It’s fun, it’s nice to listen to, it’s laidback. It’s them.

Hyatt Moore at Biola University

Moore's mural "Feeding the Three Thousand" on display at Biola University

The “Year of the Arts” has invaded Biola and the university library is not exempt. Dotted with sculptures, paintings and photographs, a building usually confined to the silver color of Macs and brown pages of books is splashed with color from top to bottom. Paintings by famous artist Thomas Kinkade line the stairwells and the Thomas Macklin Bible—the largest English Bible in the world—is displayed on the main level. Upon entering the upper level of the library, several large paintings grasp your attention. These are the work of painter Hyatt Moore.

Moore’s paintings focus on people of all races, backgrounds and time periods. Several of his paintings line the walls of the library, portraits and still life especially. His paintings are not intricate or particularly detailed. His art is not noticed because of its realism or minute brushstrokes, but for the bold colors and the vivid vision in each of his pieces. There is life in his work.

Moore's paintings can be seen on all levels of the library

One mural in particular stands out from the rest, titled “Feeding the Three Thousand.” Drawing from the Biblical account of Jesus feeding His many followers, the painting shows missionaries of many races giving Scripture rolls to the thousands. The “three-thousand” aspect of the mural is the number of peoples in the world who are without written words. The expressions on the faces of the people are vague, the details of location and time unknown, but Moore makes his message clear: those with the written word must venture to those who do not. The colors of his art grab your attention but it is the concept and symbolism of the art that make you appreciate the mural itself.

Another such art piece available in the library is “The Last Supper with Twelve Tribes.” Deriving off Leonardo DaVinci’s beautiful masterpiece, Moore’s interpretation replaces the 12 disciples with 12 nationalities with Jesus Christ as the center. Moore enhances the differences between races with detail to clothing, skin tone and facial features. The acrylic painting is a tribute to the diversity of the world, with no one man standing out above the rest, all eyes focused on Christ, the only figure in bold red. It is a mural that makes you look twice. It is a familiar scene with a different meaning. His art makes you ask why.

Moore’s murals and paintings aren’t just pretty things to admire. They make you pause, stare into the eyes of a portrait or stop and find the meaning in a mural. Though the humans in his portraits aren’t realistic they are lifelike. The eyes of the woman in “Happy Mother” draws you in, the bold brushstrokes of “Two Writers” gives one a sense of appreciation for the simplistic picture of learning. Moore’s artwork is beautiful because it captures the essence of a human soul: life.