Reading: "Thirty-Six" at Shotgun Players

 I've been a big fan (and sponsor) of Shotgun's Champagne Staged Reading Series for many years now, and while a few of the readings have disappointed for one reason or another, they generally pull off something pretty special.

In this case, I had a chance to read the script for Leah Nanako Winkler's Thirty-Six a few weeks ago when I had some time on my hands. It's a rather amazing piece, but I have to say that I had doubts about how it would work as a staged reading. I mean, there would be challenges with staging it fully as a play, but in a staged, script-in-hand reading, it seemed almost impossible.

I've seen a couple of Winkler's plays before, and enjoyed them. Ferocious Lotus did a production of Two Mile Hollow a few years ago, and somewhere I saw a version of Hot Asian Doctor Husband, but I don't have blog posts to document either one; alas. In any case, this play steps out of the Asian-American milieu that I associate with Winkler's earlier plays, and into some very interesting territory.

The Play

The name of the play derives from a list of 36 questions published by the New York Times several years ago, ostensibly designed to improve intimacy and even lead to love between couples. In this play, Winkler has one of the characters, David, reading off the questions from his phone to Jenny, his Tinder date who has no interest in the questions (or intimacy, beyond the immediate hook-up). As David persists, we eventually get a lot of insights into both of the characters and the world they inhabit.

Part of the staging difficulty revolves around the whole Tinder hook-up thing, because the script contains a lot of rather graphic stage directions around the couple having sex. And while modern theater certainly wouldn't shy away from something like that, I found it difficult to imagine how one would stage that for a reading.

But the script manages to steer around the trite dialog opportunities, or at least faces them head-on and self-consciously. The characters realize the situation they are in, and acknowledge when they are and aren't following the expected path.

The Reading

I should not have doubted. Director Michelle Talgarow staged the reading very cleverly, with the two characters seated at tables on opposite sides of the stage. They interact, but they never actually approach each other physically. And upstage center sits a third character, called "The Mechanic" who reads the extensive stage directions to great humorous effect, as well as reciting the thirty-six questions when those come into play. It was a very effective way of defusing what could have been very tricky logistical issues with staging the scenes as a "straight" reading.

I should add that the audience for this reading was very lively and interactive: they were into the show from the start, and clearly that made the endeavor more fun for everyone. I can't imagine how the reading would have played out if the audience had sat there passively, instead of laughing, cheering, hooting, etc. 

The actors were terrific, of course. Lauren Garcia (Jenny) and Soren Santos (David) really nailed the roles and managed to interact with each other from across the stage in ways that were quite wonderful. Nic Feliciano as the Mechanic was delightful, with wonderful timing and expression for the stage directions. That definitely made the whole thing work.

And I would be remiss not to acknowledge the Intimacy Director, Natalie Greene. One might think that in a reading where the actors don't even come near one another, intimacy direction would be pointless, but in fact, I think it was the opposite. The actors managed to create or simulate intimacy in a very effective way that was safe and respectful (and funny!), and I suspect the attention of an experienced intimacy director contributed to that.

And lastly I will add that it was not lost on me that this was all happening on the set of Shotgun's current mainstage production, The Triumph of Love, designed by Malcolm Rodgers. Having the characters deployed across a simulated, Classical-style, 18th-Century garden added a rather ironic romanticism to what is not a traditionally romantic play. That was a nice touch.

The Bottom Line

I like this play. I have no idea how it would play out in a full staging, but I think it would be fun to see. Meanwhile, the staged reading seems to have been a huge success, at least judging by the audience reaction on opening night! Sadly, as is always the case with these things, there were only two nights, and they are past now. So you'll probably need to wait to see whether Shotgun or someone else locally stages the play. I will certainly go see it when that happens!