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Poster courtesy of The Cardboard Box Theatre.
The great thing about seeing a show that’s full of sketches is that there will be something for everyone. That seems especially true when the show is full of laughter, quirky characters and relatable material. The Cardboard Box Theatre presented their first show consisting entirely of work written, directed, and performed by members of the group at Works/San Jose. Audiences learned about lawn gnome love and superhero wannabes and the essence of pink from Chad Eschman, about sexually suppressed Shakespeare characters from Devin Bertsch, about pop poetry from Katie Dooling, about the power of ringtones from Julie Jigour, about finding raccoon people just like yourself from Lauren Baines, and about how to act like any kind of tree and what exactly the “Rabbit” is and what happens when you take two tablespoons of codeine cough syrup instead of two teaspoons from Maren Lovgren. As for that last one, accidentally overdosing on cough syrup does require a phone call to Poison Patrol, but it sure is funny when she started dreaming of getting pregnant with sextuplets – just from shaking hands.
As any audience member could testify, there was rarely a moment without laughter. All around me I could hear and see people relating to the pieces in an audible and visible way. The words that once were only on paper were brought to life in all their glory (perhaps in all their awkward yet hilarious glory) and the actors (including Kristin Schmitz, Jeff Adams, Michael Bates and Molly Murphy along with many of the writers and directors) were wonderfully up to the task. They were excellently directed by Elisa Valentine, Greg Callaghan, Maren Lovgren, Ariana Khan, Hayley Lovgren and Thomas Jose Johnson.
This new group consists of theatre students, both current and alumni, who have come together to showcase their work. The group reminds us to “remember when [we] were little, and [our] parents got something in a big cardboard box, and [we] got to play with that box.” As many of us can still recall, that box “could be anything. It could be a fort, or a rocket ship, or even a tepee.” They’ve come together because they believe that “theatre is essential,” that it “builds community and should be accessible…theatre is a conversation between audience and performer…theatre offers a story, any story, wrapped in a box.” And, as is my personal favorite of the manifestos, “theatre can be cheaper than the movies, and we’re already in 3D, so no special glasses.”
I know from my years in theatre that all shows take a huge amount of work. Anyone out there who believes an actor’s or writer’s or director’s job is easy should spend a day in their shoes. It’s truly a huge undertaking, and I’m thrilled to see that special work so well appreciated. Actors and writers are fueled by the audience, and nothing is more exhilarating than seeing an audience truly enjoy your work.
In the words of the Cardboard Box Theatre Project, “remember when all you needed was your imagination? We remember.”
And now, so do we.
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