Nibbler, presented by Theatre of Note, plays Fri.-Sat., 8 pm; Sun., 7 pm; through Dec. 12 (except Thanksgiving weekend). Tickets: $18-$22. Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N. Cahuenga Blvd. (at Sunset Blvd.), Hollywood; call 323.856.8611 or online at theatreofnote.com.
Ken Urban
The second in a troika of plays which combined are part of The New Jersey Trilogy by Ken Urban, Nibbler brazenly embraces a self-deprecating descent into clever “Joisey-stereotypes” with equal parts humor and intellect to present the banality of life in the Garden State as more complex and entertaining than our natural inclination to think of it as dull. Originally a one-act play, Nibbler is a dark comedy about the coming-of-age of five teenagers from Medford located in Southern New Jersey. In the midst of the already overwhelming transition from late adolescence to young adulthood, the play takes place during the summer after their graduation from high school when an alien from another planet pays a visit to their small town.
Even with a much talked about Governor’s race discussed in the media, New Jersey unfortunately is scarcely known for more than the giant strip of highway that spans the entire length of the state. The defeat of the current Democratic Governor Jon Corzine by Republican Governor-elect Chris Christie seems fitting somehow to threads in Nibbler‘s story line. The character of Matt (Rick Steadman) is converted into a right-wing Republican after his encounter with the Nibbler (Darrett Sanders). It is Urban’s use of the Nibbler to begin to alter the identities of his characters that transforms commonplace dialogue of suburban sprawl into social commentary with intelligent humor. Matt, suffering from wanting to be what he’s not (or maybe not wanting to be what he is) goes from self-conscious, preppy teen to spewing religious and ultraconservatives verbiage.
As consistent as the characters references to “you know you’re from Jersey when…” one is made aware of a series of patterns used by Urban to almost create a rhythm that drives the characters. There is a repetitive use of language that nicely highlights the comedic nature of Urban’s writing. It acts almost like the reoccurring choruses in a modern pop song and facilitates the music being almost as integral to the play as its characters. An element that Urban speaks about as, “really important when you’re young because when you’re a teenager, music is your way of identifying yourself in the world. Before you have politics or before you have even sexuality, in some ways you have music as a way to bring you together with like-minded people.” Urban knew that when he was writing about teenagers that music would play an important part of the show, and as he was developing how his characters would speak, he knew they would have a very particular rhythm of how they spoke.
“Having grown up in New Jersey–we speak very quickly–I wanted to capture that. As I was working on the play I heard the play much more than I could see it,” says Urban. Adam (Nicholas S. Williams)–the “townie pothead” that has aspirations to be a musician–helps carry the musical element of the play. He does this similarly to the way one notices the Jersey accents, woven within the dialogue. The Avon Barksdale, a Boston-based band of which Urban is a member, wrote a song that made its way into Nibbler. As he was working on the play, particular songs found themselves being a perfect fit at specific points throughout the play, so Urban went back to the band to further devise the songs to work in the show.
Original music by Xiu Xiu, a well-know experimental indie rock band, is also featured in Nibbler. Xiu Xiu’s involvement evolved out of correspondence between Xiu Xiu frontman Jamie Stewart and Urban. Urban’s interest in Xiu Xiu came from listening to their album Knife Play, conceptually about social torment and the Rwandan genocide–while he was writing his play on the same topic, Or Polaroids.
This play, similarly to his other works, has an affinity to what has been previously referred to as “catastrophic theatre” but Urban doesn’t think of it quite as melodramatically as it sounds. His interests are, “in those moments in people’s lives where there’s an experience that really pushes the characters in a direction they’re not expecting. There’s such a possibility when it seems like there is a ‘catastrophe’ and in Nibbler that feeling for these teenagers is the simple fact they’re no longer going to be together; they’re going in very different directions. It feels like the end of their lives in a weird way.” Capturing that tone and mood is what Urban feels brings together a communal and collective experience for the audience in an exciting way.
While the play has very specific nuances, it is those fine distinctions in which the theme about growing up that feels very universal. His characters tackle teenage angst in their individual ways, all of which an audience can easily relate to. Things happen but nothing really changes for them: Hayley (Alana Dietze), the popular and pretty one who dates Matt, is lascivious but doesn’t want to be thought of as loose; the sexually inexperienced Tara (Joanie Ellen), doesn’t understand why Pete (Ron Morehouse), struggling to restrain his homosexuality, won’t sleep with her; all of them suffer from growing up and just thinking they’ve grown apart. The Nibbler, being the alien (extraterrestrial) as well as the urgent catalyst of what seems alien (unwelcome and unfamiliar), changes what the characters undergo.
Urban is sensitive to, as he says, “the importance of the visual in a play that has to be communicated in three-dimensions.” Those elements that might seem like someone might not get it in the language are conveyed to the audience in the nuances of the physical action, the set and the surroundings. When Theatre of Note did a reading of the play and made an offer to produce the play two years ago, Urban recommended Mark Seldis to direct. Seldis, who had previously directed Urban’s The Absence of Weather at Moving Arts, “is a great director for this play because he has such a really great visual sense, a great sense of humor and I think he’ll get the music–that’s all a big part of this play,” Urban remarks.
It’s easy to think of Nibbler as multifaceted and disjointed but it is that complexity that speaks so well to Ken Urban’s talent. He gives life to a wide-range of topics of American life in the shape of distinctive character voices. Those voices will carry you from bizarre to thoughtful in a manner that succeeds in being both humorous and heartfelt. Leaving his character and his audience caught with having to think about the future, when all they want to do is worry about now.
Feature image of front row: Joanie Ellen (Tara) left of Nicholas S. Williams (Adam); Back row, left to right: Ron Morehouse (Pete), Alana Dietze (Hayley) and Rick Steadman (Matt) by Peter Gref.
Story image from left to right: Joanie Ellen (Tara), Alana Dietze (Hayley), Nicholas S. Williams (Adam), Rick Steadman (Matt) and Ron Morehouse (Pete) by Peter Gref
Ken Urban image by Peter Bellamy.
Article by Jorge Fiffe
