April 13, 2005

Xavier grad presents controversial play
jay kalagayan and the know theatre tribe present ‘iris’

Shane Gleason
Contributing Writer

The Know Theatre, directed by Calender City founder Jay B. Kalagayan (XU ’97) continues its tradition of controversial and socially conscious plays with “Iris” by Frank J. Avella.

The production is about a 25-year-old girl with an unquenchable sex drive for underage boys and an equally strong sex drive for the father whom she has only just met.

Included in the zany cast of characters is Iris’ unorthodox therapist Hallie who has a witty tongue, an unending appetite and a desire to castrate most men.

Completing the excellent and unforgettable cast are two young gay men, who although brothers, have never met and are incredibly attracted to each other.

In its world premiere as a full length play, “Iris” is strongly delivered in an intimate setting where even the last row of seats is within 30 feet of the stage. The acting is strong, the characters dynamic and the humor doesn’t miss a beat; the play is laughs from start to end.

“Iris” begins with Iris (Natasha Randall) second guessing her decision to finally meet her father who, at 14, donated the sperm that her lesbian mother used to conceive.

Nick (Matthew Pyle), her father, is everything she didn’t expect, and most of all only 40 years old, “charming, dapper and handsome and sexy.”

After an awkward first meeting the two throw conventional norms to the wind and begin having sex.

Iris leads the audience to believe she is in dire need of psychiatric help. In fact, she is getting help; she confides all of her joys and fears with her unconventional therapist, Hallie (Embrya de Shango).

Iris is not the only character that Hallie treats over the course of the play.

There is also a sex-crazed gay teenager named Rick (Mikhail Roberts), who has been sent to see Hallie by his concerned father after catching his son sodomizing his little brother.

Rick comes across as a very static and typical apathetic teen whose only concerns are getting high and getting laid. The militant feminist Hallie is explosive toward Rick.

These are some of the play’s best written and acted scenes.

Unlike Rick’s therapy sessions, which take place in Hallie’s office, each of Iris’ sessions take place at different locations in New York. While it is a novel concept to show the randomness of Iris’ personality, this is an area where the staging could be stronger.

Since the same set is used throughout the whole play, with minimal changes, these scenes seem a little off when the only indicator that the scene has moved outdoors is an overlay of traffic noises. Indoor scenes adapt quite well with minimal stage changes.

With Iris, Hallie is a different person, more of a sister than a therapist. The interesting dual personality of Hallie makes her a rather well developed supporting character, something rare in most plays.

That is not to say that Iris is left underdeveloped. Iris’ character is revealed in a genius, haphazard way. Iris’ actions and thoughts are best summed up by Iris, “I don’t think. I do. And then I usually think, ‘what the hell did I just do?’”

Often she directs her worries to the audience and acts out worst case scenarios alone. The flow of action can become a little confusing at this point, since there is no cue for the audience to see that a scene is in Iris’ sporadic mind and not actually happening.

When the ever-random Iris decides to throw a dinner party, Hallie takes it upon herself to set up Rick with Hyde (Craig Roberts), a 20 something gay man who saved Hallie and Iris from a fountain. Instantly Rick and Hyde begin flirting, and at one point Hyde offers to pay for the privilege.

Against this backdrop all the characters are drawn to together at the play’s climax, which is full of strong sexual urges, embarrassing past sexual acts brought to light, flaring tempers, and, of course, plenty of scotch.

As the smoke settles but not the sexual urges, one great big happy family emerges, although not the one you’ll remember from “Barney” as a kid.

“Iris” is a powerful look at what we call a family, and what ethics govern what is considered acceptable in a private sexual relationship.

“Iris” will make you think and question the elaborate set of rules and customs that govern sexuality in our society.

“Iris” will be playing at Gabriel’s Corner, 1425 Sycamore Street. Tickets are $12 for students. Call 300-KNOW for more information. Remaining shows will be running April 15-16 and 21-23.