There is something so refreshing about a new work.  An audience member has the opportunity to experience a production without any preconceived notion or bias.  There is a certain honor that comes with being the first audience to put breath into a play- it is as if the audience has been charged with deciding what is funny, what is touching- what is terrible.  11:11 Theatre Company’s production of An Evening of Almost gave the audience the chance to do this- nine times over.  With plays that ranged from hysterical to haunting, the evening was full of first experiences for actors, playwrights, and audience members alike.
Entering the small studio on the upper level of the Calderwood Pavilion, a bare room was decorated with four pieces of masonite on the floor, and one wooden cube, all sorely in need of a fresh coat of paint.  Chairs lined all four walls, an intimate seating for no more than 50.  My companion and I took a front row seat on the side of the playing space, and the small house quickly filled up.  Upon the commencement of the curtain speech it was obvious that we were surrounded by some of the production’s key players- directors and playwrights, it added an enjoyable, palpable excitement to a relatively bare space.  As soon as the lights went down, however, the minimal stage was immediately transformed.  The set pieces were artfully and quickly arranged; each set transition was smooth, fast, and seemingly effortless.  In a scenario where actors are also crew, this is especially impressive.
As the title of this piece suggests, each of the nine plays was selected (out of four hundred submissions!) to explore the idea of “almost” in one way or another.  I was extremely interested in how something so abstract might be handled in nine separate plays.  Because working with the theme was a requirement of submission, I was ready to experience nine very clear and distinct choices.  I found though, that some of the plays did a better job of this than others.  “Morning Coffee” by Beth Kander is a brief encounter with a couple newly charged with dealing with a miscarriage (almost a baby), which was heartbreaking and frustrating, but disturbingly effective when the “almost” involved is an actual life.  “Struck” by J. Stephen Brantley, the only production of the night to feature more than two characters, frames the relationship of three people after one suffers a stroke and partial paralysis (almost fully functioning).  It does an amazing job of touching a range of emotion that centers on the theme- each of the characters experiencing “almost” in their own, private way.  Other pieces, “Enimatic Lucidity” by Len Cuthbert, “Happily Ever After” by Peter Cavell, and “The Day that Brando Died” by Lawrence Dukore, had subtle references to the “almost” theme though the choices either directorially or within the play itself made them less clear.  A handful of others did not do quite as well thematically. Despite being well written, Judd Silverman’s “Gallery Afternoon” doesn’t seem to have anything to do with “almost”, nor does the equally interesting, “Make It a Good One” by Elisabeth Burdick.  “Rrrr Argh Blech” (an annoyingly disinteresting title) by Valerie Work, and “Something Went Wrong” by Matt Casarino absolutely did not connect the theme of almost with the audience.  While I enjoyed Casarino’s amusing concept, I found his dialog to be weak, contrived, and ultimately forced- and without a purpose in this cycle of plays.  Work’s piece may have been visually beautiful (and very well directed by Carolyn Blais), but it didn’t “say” anything at all.
I didn’t expect to go into a night of nine separate plays and come out liking all nine of them, but I did expect to see some great performances, and 11:11 Theatre Company delivered with several standout actors.  Dmitriy Molchanov was absolutely fantastic in both “Enigmatic Lucidity” and “Morning Coffee”, and Renee Rossi Donlon, Brian Tuttle and Jonathan Rousseau were a fantastic ensemble, not to mention all equally strong individually (there is no question that “Struck” was my favorite piece, a cut above the rest).  It was a long shot that I would become emotionally invested in the characters of any ten minute play, but by the end of “Struck” my heart was absolutely won over.  It was a sophisticated and full of dramatic tension throughout.  The “fight” choreography was superb- I think I actually audibly gasped.  Jeffrey Phillips and Murray Wheeler also gave a great performance in “The Day Brando Died” and it was refreshing to see a pair of age-appropriate, experienced actors among a cast of many much younger ensemble members.  There were so many shows to think about, and so many elements to consider, I would never be able to touch on all the points that came up throughout the evening.  Each show was performance was thoughtfully crafted and solidly (if not excellently) acted, and the actors gave a wonderful foundation for the audience to be able to focus on the content of the plays themselves.
I absolutely enjoyed my evening (of almost) with the 11:11 Theatre Company. I love their mission of trying to produce funny, intimate, and wildly entertaining plays with reasonable ticket prices.  I am extremely interested to see what new works they will be presenting in their upcoming season, and am looking forward to adding them into my theatrical rotation.

Brian Tuttle and Renee Donlon in “Struck”