The South Carillon Theatre Company flexed its comedic versatility with “ShortNFunny,” a performance comprised of three smaller plays covering relatable topics with humor.
The troupe opens with “The Scary Question,” a conversation between two romantic partners with no shortage of twists and turns.
While its dialogue is witty and realistic, the humor would fall flat if not for the skilled performances of South student Zach Zare, who plays Brian, and Haley Sutter as Linda.
The detailed facial expressions and body language are expressive enough to understand the inner feelings of each character, but subtle enough to be believable.
“It’s hard to pretend to be in love with someone that you’re not in love with,” Zare said. “That was a learning process for me and Haley. We had to hang out together to build that chemistry. We had to figure out where we could touch each other so we could show we’re in love.”
The next performance, “The Blueberry Hill Accord,” follows a similar storyline of a conflict between two characters with deep history and illustrates a transitional period that any college student could resonate with.
Again, the quality of writing is highlighted by two actors clearly experienced in turning a simple argument into something captivating and memorable.
Ariana Cole, who plays Hannah, says the similarities between her and her character made it easier to act out.
“Hannah’s very out there with her emotions, and that’s something that you have to be able to portray,” she said. “I am also very loud, I say what’s on my mind, and a lot of things go over my head, and Hannah’s kind of ditzy like that as well.”
The last play is the longest and most complex. “The Internet is Distract- Oh Look a Kitten” speaks on the dangers and disruptiveness of the internet in an outlandish way.
The audience follows a morning before school for Micah, also played by Sutter, as she’s bombarded with the constant stimuli of online entertainment while trying to complete an assignment.
It’s another scenario that most, if not all college students could relate to.
The highlight of the trio is a performance by Eduardo Ibarra, who personifies Amazon, Facebook and Wikipedia. Ibarra said he wanted to give each site its own distinctive characteristics.
“Think of them like businessmen,” he said. “They’re not just robotic, they have their own characteristics. Some of them are businessmen, some of them are more anxious and some get a little wild.”
And while completely chaotic in nature, the play touches on today’s concerns with online privacy, intrusive ads and constant dopamine in a digestible, lighthearted way.
Each play is minimal in set design and character complexity, but what makes the entire performance unique is its complete lack of props.
“I feel like when you act without props, everything you do, no matter how small it is, has to be enough for the audience to notice, even if you’re just clicking a pen or picking up a piece of paper,” Zare said.
The play gives one final reference to the effects of the internet on the human nervous system and how it easily rewires our priorities, seemingly trapping us into a mindless loop of scrolling, all while taking the audience on tumultuous ride.
“It’s just super silly, completely ridiculous,” Sutter said. “Everything about it, the zombies and the contracts and the Internet stuff, it’s just very off the wall.”
