BWW Reviews: #HASHTAG Examines the Daily Struggle to Stay Engaged in the Present Moment

#HASHTAG is a new comedy directed by Jeffrey Wienckowski and devised by The Mechanical Heart, a group of UCSD Alumni who put the show together in only six weeks. It explores the other kind of LA gridlock: the daily struggle to remain engaged in the present moment in a culture built on social media and status anxiety. Everyone is searching for their dream relationship and dream job, but at what cost? And just how much influence should you allow social media to have on your dreams?

The play examines the questions: What's next? Where do you go when you don't know what you want from your career, your relationships, and your life? The cast features Spencer Howard, BRian Johnson, Leland Montgomery, Parisa Pourhabib, Nathan Turner and Katie Willert.

Audience members are encouraged to leave their phones on and tweet, take videos or photos and post them online during the show to document the exact moment being created during this collaborative piece of theatre. And each scene is given a specific hashtag so the cast and audience can tweet about it during the show. I refrained from doing so but did enjoy taking many photos, some of which are posted with this review.

I found it interesting that one of the cast members, #lame, admits he does not do Facebook or tweet. In fact, he sat at the back of the stage reading a book while other cast members were busy on their photos during the show. The scene is so true of life today where people, even those standing or sitting next to each other, would rather text or tweet each other rather than have a real conversation. And how many people do you know who claim to "be in a relationship" on their Facebook page when, in fact, they have never even met the other person face-to-face? Is that really being in a relationship these days?

The basic story follows the disintegration of the relationship between Kit (Spencer Howard) and Nicole (Katie Willert) after he decides to move to L.A. to pursue an acting career. After 10 months, she follows him here and struggles to adjust as he tries to get his career started and is just too busy to spend a lot of time with her. His wonderfully snarky agent, played full tilt by Nathan Turner, reminded me of many agents and studios executives I have had to deal with during my life. His moocher brother Mikey (Leland Montgomery) takes up residence on their couch - certainly we all know someone like that. Whose side do you take when things go sour? When you get bored in your relationship, is social media sexting considered cheating? And why is it that someone you chat with online is never quite how you imaged them when you finally meet? Be careful what you wish for because in the end when your dream is achieved but you have lost everything else you valued in life, is it worth it?

It is during #Hashtag during the Hollywood Fringe Festival, and I encourage you to take your phone and/or camera and enjoy yourself during an hour of entertaining life lessons.

#Hashtag at Theatre Asylum Elephant Space, 6320 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles 90038. Performances continue through June 30; tickets are $12. For tix and performance schedule, visit www.hff13.org/1353

Photos taken during the performance by Shari Barrett

Nathan Turner, Katie Willert, Spencer Howard, Parisa Pourhabib, BRian Johnson, Leland Montgomery

BRian Johnson, Katie Willert, Parisa Pourhabib, Leland Montgomery, Nothan Turner, Spencer Howard

Katie Willert, Spencer Howard

BRian Johnson, Katie Willert, Parisa Pourhabib, Leland Montgomery

Leland Montgomery, Spencer Howard

Spencer Howard, Leland Montgomery

Spencer Howard, Parisa Pourhabib, Katie Willert

Spencer Howard, Nathan Turner

Spencer Howard, Parisa Pourhabib