BWW Reviews: Casey Smith Gets Off AT SOME POINT IN THE PROCESS OF THE END OF THE WORLD
By: Gil Kaan Mar. 23, 2015
At Some Point in the Process of the End of the World/ created by Casey Smith & Jennifer A. Skinner/ directed by Jennifer A. Skinner/Atwater Village Theatre/thru March 28, 2015
A select audience should rush to see At Some Point in the Process of the End of the World.
More of a performance art piece than a play, Casey Smith masters an hour of mimed sketches timed with complementing video projections by Dustin Hughes. Not for the prude at heart, Smith performs a handful (pun intended) of explicit sexual miming, mimics loads of scat and vomit humor, and administers an exorbitant amount of intense violence on imaginary animals, babies, and Smith himself.
Smith's talent lie in his specificity of gestures with his nimble hands, his Gumby-like flexibility of his agile torso, and his versatility of this numerous vocal sounds; some primal, some plain disgusting, but all easily recognizable.
Most G-rated skit (with an X-rated title) had Smith miming a camera in hand. Taking photos of various audience members, sound cues clicked and light cues flashed resulting in a video projection version of what Smith just shot. Very clever.
Also well mimed in the other sketches: a basketball, a fishing rod, a bucket of lube, a baby, a puppy, pizza, hidden/now found foods, poop, a rifle; playing of drums, keyboard, and guitar. Would be very interesting to see Smith tackle less explicit, less disgusting, less violent versions of human behavior and reach a broader audience.
Co-creator Jennifer A. Skinner ably directs Smith at a quick pacing, but direction from an objective third eye might edit down the sketches to better streamline for maximum effect. A shorter and less tongue-twisting title might be preferred by marquee letter placers. Kudos to stage manager/associate producing director Dena Cerino for her well-timed video and sound cues syncing perfectly with Smith's pauses and interactions with the always unpredictable audience. The entertaining videos, including some old TV commercials screen 360 degrees on the top fourth of three walls and completely on the front wall.
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