BWW Reviews: CATF: WORLD BUILDERS Displays the World Between Imagination and Insanity

In an intimate show with epic possibilities, World Builders at the Contemporary American Theater Festival raises important questions about the fine line between imagination and insanity in today's medical society.

Directed by Nicole A. Watson and written by Johnna Adams, World Builders is a mind-blowing look into the minds of two schizophrenic patients who share their imaginary worlds with each other and fall in love over the process. Whitney and Max are both participating in a clinical drug trial to test a medicine which would get rid of their schizophrenic tendencies and, at the same, destroy the unique imaginary worlds they both spent most of the their lives creating. The show raises several ethical questions and challenges society's definition of "normal".

Brenna Palughi portrays Whitney with an adorable neurosis and her quirky, intelligent performance illustrates the character's outgoing optimism. Palughi was an insane ball of energy while describing her imagined science fiction-esque world and characters and her high energy at the top of the show instantly won the audience over.

As fellow patient Max, Chris Thorn had the difficult job of playing the straight man to most of Palughi's zany antics and he more than expertly rose to the challenge. Thorn's moments of dead-pan delivery and awkward social mannerisms were wonderful and reminiscent of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory. Thorn made Max's emotional journey over the course of the show extremely powerful to watch.

The two actors had exceptional onstage chemistry and deftly handled material in the show which frequently changed from intensely dramatic to comedic in a matter of seconds. In an unusual choice which marvelously set up the tone of the show, Max and Whitney sat on stage on the set, in full view of the audience, for half an hour as the house opened before the performance began. Both characters stared straight ahead, occasionally moving or changing focus to a different part of their imaginary worlds as the audience shuffled into the house. The moment the play began, they started speaking, almost occurring as though the audience came in to watch real patients in a mental facility.

In a similar manner to hit musical Next to Normal, World Builders looks at a serious mental condition from the perspective of the patient and allows the audience to see their imaginary worlds as if they were real. World Builders causes audiences to question if our perceived definition of "normal" is actually the best lifestyle choice for every person and if seemingly "insane" ideas like imaginary worlds should be ignored or preserved. The powerful performances in an intimately directed production of World Builders will leave audiences questioning the ideas of imagination and insanity in their own world.

World Builders continues to run as one of the five plays in rotating repertory at the Contemporary American Theater Festival. World Builders performances occur at the Studio 112 in the Center for Contemporary Arts on the campus of Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, WV. The final performance occurs August 2 at 4:30 PM. For more information about the show schedule, the 2015 season or to order tickets, please visit www.catf.org.

Photo Credit: CATF Media Gallery

To post a comment, you must register and login.