EXPLODE and
The Collective
Sure, some of the Collective’s ensemble members overacted a bit. And sometimes the direction, particularly in Explode, seemed a tad pretentious. But overall this company of mostly recent arrivals from Southern Methodist University provided a solid evening of engaging, intelligent theater.
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Making their debut in the small, virtually naked Heartland Cafe Studio Theater, all of the actors were surprisingly good. But the men, Jason Blum and Joey Slotnick, were especially impressive. Performing multiple roles, the two excelled at finding each character’s essential gesture. These gestures were wonderfully nuanced, often self-effacing, and curiously familiar. During the course of the evening Slotnick went from mischievous to terrifying; Blum managed both naivete and a simmering sexuality.
Unfortunately, this is probably the strongest scene in the work, which never climaxes but keeps repeating the same tensions. The ending, which resembles an old Twilight Zone episode, is cliched and disappointing.
As in Explode, the scenes change with MTV rapidity, but the themes are darker, more disturbing. Just as one idea hits home, another is hurled out. At one point Slotnick, playing a rapist confronting his victim on national TV for the first time, tells her, “I showed you what it was like to be God.” The moment is chilling because he doesn’t say it defensively or angrily, but so matter-of-factly, so terribly smoothly.
