For the next two weekends, Riverside Theater will present ROAR, a collection of solo work.
By Justus Flair | [email protected]
What is your world like?
Who are you?
On the surface, these are simple questions. Try answering them, and challenges emerge. It’s all too complicated for Martha, unable to give a great response to people from another realm in Mackenzie Jahnke’s “Hole in the Wall,” the opener for ROAR at Riverside Theater
ROAR, a collection of solo work being performed this weekend and next, is a change from Riverside’s annual Walking the Wire.
“We decided, because it’s been around for a while, to give it a fresh coat of paint,” said director Sam Osheroff.
The set is an obvious difference. “ROAR” is boldly emblazed in orange and cream across staggered black walls, segmenting the stage without creating clear divides. Plain black platforms in front of some walls provide depth and dimension.
To fill the space, Osheroff narrowed 280 submissions to 15 pieces. Unlike in past years, the works don’t all fit a unifying theme.
“I didn’t want to shoehorn pieces into a theme,” he said. “I wanted an eclectic diversity. That being said, I think there is a theme running through this show, but it was unintentional.”
That theme is “decay and rebirth.” It began with the first piece Osheroff selected, “Rip of Skin,” by Robin Rice Lichtig.
“It was like none of the other submissions,” Osheroff said. “It grabbed me as original and effective. It’s written in this very odd poetic vernacular.”
The piece features Aaron Weiner as a crow searching for a meal.
“Crow is very, very hungry and has been for a long time,” Weiner said. “Used to eat mostly people and is very disappointed with the quality of human flesh lately.
“It’s all very poetic and weird, and he’s always trying to find the right words and can’t, really. It’s creepy, and I like creepy.”
Other pieces are slightly more straightforward but still a bit off-kilter.
Rob Cline has been to dozens, perhaps hundreds of performances at Riverside, always watching from the audience, usually with a note pad in hand, scribbling comments for the review he’ll pen after rounds of applause. This year, he still sits, note pad on his knee, but in the left stage corner.
“Under most circumstances, I try not to review the audience,” Cline said. “Eventually, I found myself wondering, ‘What if I were reviewing the audience from on stage?’ ”
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That’s just what he does, dropping into the stage’s green seat between other performances, looking out at the audiences and letting them know what he thinks of their work, from phones lighting up to laugh lines overlooked.
Osheroff knew immediately that Cline had to be up on stage, but Cline was a bit hesitant. It was the first thing he’d ever written to be performed, and he hadn’t graced a stage since high school.
“I am nervous for a lot of reasons,” he said. “Almost everyone else in the show, I’ve reviewed. I’m giving other people a chance to review me.”
Luckily, there have been no harsh critics thus far. If any plop themselves into seats come opening night, Osheroff is optimistic they’ll enjoy at least one piece over the course of the night.
“It’s more loose and rock and roll than a lot of theater, so hopefully, people will be entertained and slightly disturbed,” he said. “You get a little smattering of everything.”
THEATER
ROAR
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 3 p.m. March 6; 7:30 p.m. March 10-12, 3 p.m. March 13
Where: Riverside, 213 N. Gilbert
Admission: $12-$30
