Theatre on a Shoestring spins fairy tales and art

By Katy DeMong
VT Times
Appeared in the Vermont Times - June 8, 2005

Vermont's own Theatre on a Shoestring (TOAS) put on premieres of four short one-act comedies during May. TOAS is a non-profit organization devoted to providing exciting live theatre to the community. Performances took place Thursday through Saturday nights and drew an intimate, supportive audience at Contois Auditorium. The small handful of performers was a mix of seasoned TOAS performers and newcomers trying their hand at local theatre.

Theatre on a Shoestring's performances stray from the conventional with actors performing not on stage, but right in the midst of their audience, with seating divided so that the performance really is the center of everything.

The first three plays, written by Bruce Kane, put a contemporary comedic twist on literary characters from Disney's Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel, to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, to the historically disreputable Casanova. These historical and literary figures become intertwined in contemporary relationship dilemmas and the audience finds out what happened following the mistaken assertion "And they lived happily ever after." For instance, who would have guessed Prince Charming would lose interest when he found out that Cinderella's (Cindy's) stepmother wasn't really wicked, but was only portrayed as such to make her character sympathetic? Or that Romeo and Juliet were none other than a couple of rebellious teenagers? Writer Bruce Kane cleverly puts a modern spin on the old stories that make them less fairy tales and more every day life.

The fourth and final comedy of the evening, "Eye of the Beholder," written by Kent Broadhurst, examined the meaning of art on both sides of the canvas. Two artists trying their hand at painting a model bicker over techniques and paint colors until their exasperated model has had it with their uninformed opinions. Melissa Wyman, in the role of the model, Leona, tries to convince the artists that she is more of an art form in the flesh than whatever replica they could muster on canvas. When finally the artists can't beat Leona, the only thing left to do is join her. This smartly written, humorous play concluded another delightful TOAS spring performance.