Vital Signs: A Review

by Kim Keller

Walking into the Black Box Theatre on Wednesday evening my eyes were immediately drawn to the collage of pictures on the walls that enclosed the space. Supermodels and actresses stared back at me. After being guided to my seat by a young woman in stilettos and a French maid uniform, I noticed a Barbie doll hanging from the ceiling with a string tied around its neck. It was obvious to me that Vital Signs, a play comprised of monologues by Jane Martin, would be anything but mundane.

The play, which lasted slightly over an hour, consisted of six female cast members playing different roles in various monologues. These monologues ranged from the hysterical - one woman's account of how her pet iguana died - to the traumatic - a woman setting her abusive husband on fire. Despite a few hesitations in delivering lines, I found the acting to be remarkable. There was no set to speak of, save a table in the middle of the space, so the physicality of the actors was very important. I especially enjoyed Meghan Conner as the woman who lost her pet iguana.

While one actor would be doing her monologue the other members of the show either sat among the audience or stood off to the side. The only problem I had with the show had nothing to do with the performances themselves, but rather with the way the show was staged. The table I mentioned earlier was situated in the middle of the room and the audience sat in something of a broken circle around the table. Therefore, from my vantage point I mainly saw the backs of the actors, or only heard their voices. I had to crane my neck to see who was speaking. This was a little disappointing because I was enjoying the body language and facial expressions of the actors.

However, all in all, I would say that it was a good production of a very unique show and I look forward to seeing Black Box 4.