Upstairs Theatre Company Launches 'The April Project.' By Mari Wadsworth SIZE DOESN'T matter, but length is another issue entirely. Perhaps it's a reaction to ubiquitous social demands to do everything faster and more efficiently, but there's something inherently unappealing about a quick fix of entertainment. By this turn, a minimalist production can be challenging, creative; but TV sitcoms, short stories, and one-act plays...they all seem created for a society that just can't sit still. Because the arts often seem the final refuge for those of us who like to sit still, I couldn't help feeling a little put off when our local Upstairs Theater Company, which has shown an admirable willingness to tackle works of depth and substance in its first three seasons, announced it was canceling its full-length production of The Last of the Formicans in favor of the inaugural April Project, UTC's first-annual new play showcase. Artistic Director Anthony Runfola took a few minutes at last Thursday's preview performance to give an update: "We're taking SubUrbia to Phoenix this summer, so we didn't want to stretch ourselves too thin (financially). Plus, the April Project is something we've been wanting to do for a long time. It's important to what we do as a company," he says, to "reaffirm our commitment to Tucson and its artists." Runfola says they received fewer than 10 submissions, which seems surprising given the number of local playwrights. Nonetheless, the three one-acts admirably highlight the talents of local playwrights Toni Press and Rebecca Million. And if the small production sounds lackluster on first inspection, think again. Press has written 10 full-length and four one-act plays which have been produced throughout the U.S., and she's employed her award-winning writing skills in artist residencies and teaching positions everywhere from Stanford University to the Winona State Prison in Wisconsin. Million's works have appeared on Arizona stages as both readings and staged productions with Old Pueblo Playwrights, the Arizona Theatre Conference, Shanakie Theatre Company and the Writer's Circle/Actor's Theatre of Phoenix. Sleeping Dogs Lie, her first UTC production, was recently chosen first-alternate for the Munroe Moore Playwrighting Award, and is currently being considered for the New Work Series at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. The first in the long evening of short plays is Press' Virginia Street, which harkens back to the playwright's experience, real or re-invented, growing up in the Bronx. It introduces actress Amy Christensen as Abagail, a single woman living alone in a neighborhood which seems to be transforming before her eyes from old and familiar into unpredictable and violent. Jonathan Ingbretson, R. Gabriel Nagy and Jennie Mahalick--all return players from SubUrbia--round out the cast as Marty, Henry and Jennifer, adolescent street kids too old to be anybody else's responsibility yet seemingly too young to be on their own. They hang out on and around Abagail's front porch, revealing through angry outbursts and sad humor some of the details of their lives. While the dialog has much to recommend it, Virginia Street could use a stronger hand by Director Adam Burke in keeping the action moving. At times, both the lighting and the script keep the audience in the dark for just a little too long, preventing us from feeling as connected to the characters and their daily dramas as we'd like to in the short time frame we have to get to know them. Next up is Million's Sleeping Dogs Lie, a courtroom drama with a twist. Herein we meet Ned (David Kennedy), acting as his own attorney against his mother-in-law and step-daughter in an Alabama court. The convoluted proceedings are watched over by a dry, matronly judge, played by Carlisle Ellis. The charge is domestic violence, but as each side pleads its case in comical southern fashion, the true "crime," it seems, is merely brutal honesty. Mary Rogers is engaging as Mary May Day, both comical and irritating as the shrewish mother-in-law scared and betrayed by Ned's new identity as a gay man. If Virginia Street seemed to stretch the material to fill the space, this second play seems to cram it in. Though deftly directed (by Anthony Runfola) and well-acted, the proceedings do feel long and unnecessarily repetitive at times, especially with regard to Ned's forceful eviction from house and home. Million's telling narrative works well in the understated details, and a little self-editing might further tighten up a strong piece. The evening closes with another work by Press, The Good Old Days. Set in the '70s in the Tower of London, the mini-morality play pits three unlikely characters in an emotionally charged debate on social responsibility. It's decidedly odd, and flirts with being clichéd. But the long-haired Christensen is so effective as Manson murder witness and '70s caricature Linda Cassavier, the unbelievable takes on more of an aura of the surreal as the tower reverberates with the emotional outbursts of a Vietnam vet (Jonathan Ingbretson) and the ghost of General Custer (Glenn Coffman). "It's macabre, ya know? People come here to see where other people died. So much blood washed through it," she says. "It's only human to be fascinated by it...in a way." It's so dated, one wonders why the playwright chose those particular characters: Given the level of violence and sanctioned massacre in more recent memory, the '70s hardly seem more relevant or interesting than the '90s. For newcomers, The April Project is hardly Upstairs Theatre Company's finest work, but it's a worthwhile evening of homegrown theatre. And for those whose attention spans are trained to a short leash, it may be just the ticket. The April Project, an evening of three one-act plays, continues through April 20 at the Tucson Center for the Performing Arts, 408 S. Sixth Ave. Performances are at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, with a 2 o'clock Sunday matinee. Tickets are $10, $6 for students. Call 791-2263 for tickets and information. SubUrbia debuts in Phoenix on June 20 at the Herberger Theatre Center. Put your name on UTC's summer mailing list to receive a postcard invitation to the party following the opening night performance. Call 791-2263 for information; or send an email inquiry to antho@earthlink.net.

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