Review
Spatter Pattern: or, How I Got Away With It
Christo Grabowski, Lucy Van Atta, and Jeffries Thaiss in Spatter Pattern. Photo by Stan Barouh.
BOTTOM LINE: A film-noir mosaic story.
The Potomac Theatre Project (PTP) has returned to New York City this summer for their 25th anniversary season. Three shows are performed in rep: Spatter Patter: or, How I Got Away With It by Neal Bell, Territories by Steven Dykes, and Victory: Choices of Reaction by Howard Barker. This weekend I saw Spatter Pattern at the Atlantic Stage 2. It should be noted that this is not an Atlantic Theatre Company production, but rather a production by an independent theatre company associated with Middlebury College.
Their minimalist approach might make for a simple stage, but that doesn’t mean the quality of detail isn’t there. Spatter Pattern is set on an open black stage with a simple silver block in the center. The cast of four includes two actors (Jeffries Thais and Adam Ludwig) playing individual characters while the other two actors (Lucy Van Atta and Christo Grabowski) play multiple roles. The story is told as a mosaic, and the collection of scenes eventually reveal the larger story about a college professor who allegedly murdered one of his students. The story follows the now former professor, Tate (Ludwig), and a semi-successful writer, Dunn (Thais), as their lives interweave with one another as they find themselves neighbors in a New York apartment building.
The film noir style of presentation offers acting that often plays up the emotion, rather than being fully grounded. It's a bit jarring at first, but serves the story well and enhances the performances. And Spatter Pattern deals with heavy emotions. Exploring our underlying human sexuality is part of PTP's mission, and it is a theme of the play. Grief and guilt are also a big part of the story and drive Dunn and Tate throughout the play.
Van Atta and Grabowski do a fine job playing their multiple roles. I rather enjoyed seeing them come on stage as an investigator, funeral home director, agent or whatever was called for in a particular scene. This script is well written, and noticeably so in these characters, who come and go through various scenes, always doing justice to the overall story. I actually wanted to see more of these characters, but that probably would have taken the story off track.
Spatter Pattern is told simply. The most complex element of the show is actually the lighting design by Mark Evancho. The script includes many asides by the characters, where they flash into what they want to say but come back to reality with what they do say. This device reminds me of the old HBO series Six Feet Under and seems to be used to explore the underlying drives and pathos of the characters. Some of the things said are quite dark, and a simple light change creates an appropriate feel for the necessary moment. As I mentioned earlier, the story is a mosaic with a collection of short scenes that create the full tale, and since the stage is so empty, the lights help create the feeling of movement through the piece.
I appreciate theatre that can use so little to tell a fully developed story. The creative choices used by director Jim Petosa are very inspired and help maintain the illusion necessary to maintain an engaging story. It’s often easy to get wrapped up in big Broadway sets and elaborate props, but it is nice to see minimalist theater done well, such as one particular scene in this play involving scuba diving. I think it’s good for theater goers to see this kind of work and remember how satisfying it can be.
Theater people should put this show and PTP/NYC on their radar. It’s not a perfect show (the story becomes confusing toward the end and could probably be a bit cleaner in its execution), but there is a lot of good stuff happening on this stage with the artists involved. And tickets are affordable at a mere $25 each. Spatter Pattern is a solid production, and one worth checking out.
(Spatter Patter: or, How I Got Away with It plays at Atlantic Stage 2, 330 West 16th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues, through July 31, 2011. Performances take place on Tue 7/5 at 7:30pm, Thu 7/7 at 7:30pm, Sat 7/9 at 8pm, Sun 7/10 at 2:30pm, Sat 7/16 at 2:30pm, Sun 7/17 at 1pm, Wed 7/20 at 7:30pm, Sat 7/23 at 2:30pm, Thu 7/28 at 7:30pm, Sat 7/30 at 2:30pm and 8pm, Sun 7/31 at 4:30pm. Running time is 90 minutes. Tickets are $25 and are available at ticketcentral.com or by calling 212.279.4200.)