An Eventful Audition with a Plot Twist
Riot Productions brings back its 2024 award-winning piece “Audition Sides“, now to the main stage at MOXIE Theatre.
Written by Sarah Alida LeClair, who also performs as (The Woman), ‘Sides was inspired by the unsettled love story of pianist/singer Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms, composer, pianist, and conductor. The setting of the play is an audition, where The Woman is on her fourth callback and has prepared everything, including songs and monologues. Because of her experience, the actress knows the creatives are struggling to find a male counterpart for her. When she sees The Man (Timothy Benson) sitting in the lobby, old (present) wounds re-surface.
Sarah’s playwriting is smart and witty, pinpointing various vices in the industry. Like, dismissed audition materials; contracts already given, but still doing auditions for those parts anyway (a practice that also happens in other professions, with posting job positions and doing interviews while having the person already…just saying). And dear reader, I think that is the most dishonest and slimy practice of them all! Anywhoosies, as inside baseball as this play is for the theatre and the industry, it can be universally relatable.
Timothy and Benson have strong stage chemistry, and that definitely came through in the room.
Sarah’s portrayal as The Woman is multilayered and intense, bringing strength and fragility, honesty, passion, and heartbreak with prime expression. I am happy to see Benson doing more onstage work, as he has a cool flair, great diction, and poise. Josalyn Johnson as The Proctor provides comedic relief, moving smoothly across the stage and beyond, delivering hilarious lines that are also very recognizable as real characters in the industry. Rhiannon McAfee’s direction has a straightforward frame with a trace that moves back and forth among the three characters, with Johnson, as well as being the comedic relief, being the visual one when moving offstage and giving way to Hayden St. Clair’s spot on sound every time the door opened to reveal snippets of the said dance call in the piece bringing plenty of laughs and play.
There is also a cool plot twist (at least I did not see it coming, and I enjoyed it lol) to the eventful audition. Another beauty of Audition Slides is that it is 70 minutes long, with no intermission. The run is short but mighty; you have two opportunities to catch it. Tonight and tomorrow.
Looking forward to what Riot Productions brings for the rest of the theatre year.
