BWW Reviews: OPERATING SYSTEM at fallFRINGE

Everyone has had one of those moments where their memory lapses. You are trying to remember where you went to that amazing dinner, or the song you heard as you drove down a snowy Rock Creek Parkway. You are trying to remember the last time you saw someone you love.

Joseph Price, as he demonstrates in his fallFRINGE production OPERATING SYSTEM, hasn't really had this type of moment for a very long time - since April 13, 2006 in fact.

That's the exact date that Google launched Google Calendar, which simultaneously launched Price on his own data adventure. And that is exactly where this amazing piece of work predominately lives. At its heart, it displays his meticulous attention to detail, as his life is continuously catalogued into the cloud. And these details serve him well.

Directed by Amy Couchoud, OPERATING SYSTEM is designed similarly to Google. It is neat, straightforward, and multi-faceted in all the right ways, as it asks: can knowing every possible detail of your life make you happy when you need it? And, what do you do when you've run out of space?

Price, a Speakeasy DC instructor and frequent storyteller, spends most of the show directly to the right of a slideshow projection. He holds the remote, changing the slides as he tells a collection of stories on falling in love not only with a woman, but also the relationship's data.

The slides, combined with clever light cues, vary from Stephen Colbert's "Word"-esque humor, to monochromatic markers that signify a flashback. The data displayed is pulled from multiple programs, including Google Latitude, Mint.com, and LastFM.

With all of these factors, Price has managed to structure the show in such a way that everything makes sense. Every piece of the story comes full-circle, there is a balance between laughter and heart-wrenching realizations, and the audience follows him at every step. His performance illustrates such a comfortable self-awareness (and occasional self-mockery) that makes him incredibly relatable, and that much more engaging.

I must say, the details of this show are incredibly smart, with the data almost becoming its own personified character. From the second I walked in, I saw numbers, percentages, and random facts that I would never be able to say about myself. In the pivotal moment of the show, Price struggles to remember the happiest night of the relationship. He bounces from organized data set to data set, until finally, he is able to remember. I think all of us wish we could do that on occasion, no matter what the outcome of that relationship, or even the technology where it was recorded.

If you are looking for a heartfelt, incredibly well designed show for the last weekend of Fringe, OPERATING SYSTEM is it. Take a cue from Joseph Price, and make sure you mark it on your calendar.

To post a comment, you must register and login.